30 years ago, the Soviet heavy military transport aircraft An-124 "Ruslan" completed its round-the-world flight across two poles. This flight was included in the Guinness Book of records as the longest and longest-in 72 hours and 16 minutes of flight time, the plane covered 50005 kilometers. In addition, 7 world and 10 all-Union records were set during the flight.
The crew of a record flight. Alla Strelnikova shows the route around the world. Photo: https://t.co/OoHEzb0Oxw pic.twitter.com/GYPFmCCky7
— Ivan O'Gilvi (@o_gilvi) December 4, 2020
Following Chkalov
The organizer of the ultra-long flight was the head of the state flight test center of the Chkalov defense Ministry (where the su-57 is currently being tested), Lieutenant General Lev Kozlov. He "fell ill with the sky" as a child - which was largely contributed to the well-read autobiography of three times Hero of the Soviet Union Ivan Kozhedub. Having passed the competition 10:1, Kozlov graduated from the special school of the air force, then the military school of pilots and the Gagarin Academy - all with honors. Asked to join the long-range aviation, flew the Tu-16, piloted the first combat Tu-160. When he performed the first successful launch of the x-55 cruise missile, Kozlov was also on Board - but as a General, as an inspector.
The dream to continue long-distance flights of Chkalov and his friends has not left Lev Kozlov since his cadet days. In 1986, he and air division commander Mikhail Bashkirov flew a Tu-95 bomber around the perimeter of the Soviet Union. The flight with two refueling stops in the air lasted 33 hours. I wanted more. A year later, the largest aircraft in the world at that time, the An-124 Ruslan, was put into service. Vladimir Tersky, test pilot of Antonov design Bureau, flew around the USSR on it. And Kozlov thought about circumnavigating the world.
He decided to fly through both poles and special points of the equator, 0 and 180 degrees - so that no one would surpass. The idea was supported by the air force headquarters and the Ministry of defense, but they did not give money for fuel, advising to look for a sponsor. Kozlov agreed with the Australian businessman Viktor Jamridze, who provided the necessary $ 166 thousand, provided that the start and finish of the expedition will be in Melbourne, and his 12-year-old son will fly around the world. The foreign Ministry agreed on a route: from Australia via Antarctica to Rio de Janeiro, where refueling is possible. The next one is in Casablanca (Morocco). From there, across the North pole to Kamchatka and, after refueling, back to Melbourne.
The Ruslan with the serial number 05-07 was carefully prepared for the expedition. It was painted and new engines were installed-in exchange for the participation of representatives of the Ulyanovsk aircraft factory and the Motor Sich company in the expedition. A second An-124 (serial number 06-02) also arrived in Melbourne. During the entire expedition, he was on standby for take-off with a spare engine and emergency equipment on Board. In total, the record flight was provided by more than 70 aircraft and vessels, but their help was not needed - during the voyage on the "Ruslan" there was not a single failure.
Night length of a day
On the evening of December 1, An-124 took off from Melbourne and headed for Antarctica. There were two crews on the plane - they replaced each other every eight hours - and 24 passengers: children of sponsors, representatives of manufacturers, and generals.
- We started from Melbourne not only for the sake of sponsors. This section was the longest - almost 18 hours without landing-and difficult. The route took place far from international routes, there are few means of communication and rescue, there are almost no airfields for emergency landing, - Alla Strelnikova, a participant of the record flight, told the magazine "aviation and time".
By the way, more than 90 percent of the route ran over four oceans, where there are no landmarks, and a few percent-over almost deserted Antarctica. But the sixth continent noticed "Ruslan" - greetings to the pilots were transmitted by radio from the Soviet Antarctic stations "Molodezhnaya" and "Vostok", the American" mcmurd", the Indian" Maitri "and the German" Georg Forster", after eight hours of flight, the South pole was under the wing. Turning sharply above it, the An-124 headed for Brazil. After refueling in Rio de Janeiro, the Ruslan headed for Africa. Landing in Casablanca, the pilots set the first record-the speed of flight from the pole to the equator.
- In Morocco, we refueled "to the eyeballs": 220 tons instead of the regular 200, - assuming that Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky will not be able to accept us due to weather conditions. And so it happened, " Strelnikov continued.
On the approach to the North pole, the crew received a message about a snowstorm in Kamchatka. The strip in Petropavlovsk was covered so that it was impossible to clear it by the arrival of the plane. The only place that agreed to accept the "Ruslan" was Vozdvizhenka airfield in Primorye (this part was once commanded by Lev Kozlov). For 10 hours, throwing all his strength, his runway was cleared of a one-and-a-half meter layer of snow and at three o'clock in the morning, the An-124 landed. The whole village met him.
After refueling, the plane took off again and headed for Melbourne. On the way, "Ruslan" passed through a point of 180 degrees on the equator and at 21.30, bypassing the Typhoon over the Pacific ocean, landed safely in Australia. The crew spent the last day of the flight on the night side of the Earth, guided only by instruments. The pilots dedicated their record-breaking flight to the 70th anniversary of the Chkalov glitz.
Anton Valagin