History assigned the responsibility for preserving Russia in one of the most difficult times in the last thousand years to Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin.

And he coped with this responsibility with honor, preserving the country and all the peoples living on its territory, making Russia a country of advanced science and great culture. He did this with the minimum possible loss of life and property.

The most influential world forces were unable to crush the Soviet state and exterminate the peoples of the USSR during Lenin and Stalin times. In Russia, many of the interventionists of Western countries, their mercenaries, including the White armies, enemies of Russia within the country and hordes of troops of Europe united by Hitler found their grave.

This is what the West cannot forgive either Stalin, the Russian people, or itself.

The era of the 1930s, war and post-war times, attracts us with the grandeur of its achievements, the heroism of millions of people, and the greatness of a power called the Soviet Union.

In the post-war period, the lives of the peoples of the USSR were preserved thanks to enormous achievements in the field of weapons. Throughout its previous existence, Russia has never had such a powerful, victorious Armed Forces, which since the end of 1942 have surpassed the armed forces of any country in the world and remained the strongest in the world until last day existence of the Soviet Union.

Our army and our military industry, destroyed since 1985 by the traitor M.S. Gorbachev, had such a margin of safety that in 1991, before the destruction of the USSR, it remained the strongest. And today we are alive thanks to the fact that under Gorbachev and Yeltsin we did not manage to destroy all nuclear weapons, all missiles, planes, guns and tanks, all weapons factories.


Unfortunately, few people understand that the security of the peoples of Russia fully corresponds to the state of its Armed Forces. But the leaders of the Soviet Union understood this well.

The USSR did not doubt for a minute that only thanks to a well-armed, strong army, our country is free, independent and calm for the life and future of its children.

Few people can imagine the power of our post-war army. It was a multimillion-strong army, working like a well-oiled machine, which was capable of defeating any enemy. But an army cannot successfully defend its country if it is not equipped with weapons whose combat qualities are equal to or superior to those of the enemy.

The Soviet leadership understood this, thought about the future of the country and, despite the colossal costs associated with the introduction of hostilities with the enemy that attacked us, allocated funds to create a new generation of weapons. And not thanks to our intelligence, but thanks to the work of Soviet scientists and engineers before the war, during and after the war, new types of weapons were created in the USSR.

Our intelligence, in my opinion, was characterized by insufficient capabilities to provide reliable information. Before the war, she “catched German ducks” and named one after another incorrect dates for the attack on the USSR and became so bogged down in disinformation that she lost the trust of the Soviet government.

Intelligence did not indicate the direction of the main attacks of the German troops in 1941, but claimed that half of the German troops were intended to attack England, looked at the transfer of Manstein’s army from Sevastopol to Leningrad, tripled the number of German troops surrounded at Stalingrad, and could not determine to which front near Kursk in 1943 the enemy would deliver the main blow.

Even in 1945, when our troops, fighting for every house, were advancing towards the Reichstag, intelligence did not know that Hitler’s headquarters bunker was located nearby in the Imperial Chancellery and therefore our troops were not sent specifically to capture the Imperial Chancellery and Hitler was neither alive nor dead didn't take it.

And it is not at all by chance that the presence of secret representatives of the USSR in the highest echelons of power in Hitler’s Germany, for example, Stirlitz, was written by a person more drawn to the West than to Russia.

The myth about the omnipotence of Soviet intelligence was inflated by the West with the aim of accusing the Soviet Union of not having designed new military equipment, atomic weapons, but of stealing the developments of Western countries and especially the developments of Germany and the USA.

These myths were and are being invented to discredit Soviet science, our scientists, designers, engineers, workers, country leaders, research teams and production enterprises. Without these myths, the United States would have to admit that Russians in science and production are much more capable than rich Western countries, and the socialist system is more effective than the capitalist system.

In fact, Soviet designers and scientists already during the war were working on creating fundamentally new military equipment. One type of such equipment was aircraft with turbojet engines, or, as they were called, jet aircraft.

The Yakovlev Design Bureau took as a basis the design of the famous, lightest and most maneuverable fighter of the Second World War - the Yak-3. On April 24, 1946, the first flight of our country's first jet fighter, the Yak-15, designed by the A. S. Yakovlev Design Bureau, took place. On the same day, April 24, 1946, the Soviet jet fighter designed by the Design Bureau of A. I. Mikoyan and M. I. Gurevich MiG-9 made its first flight. Both flights were successful.

April 24 became the birthday of Soviet jet aviation. But almost no one in the country knows about this significant day, because our media hides the achievements of our ancestors from their descendants. August 18, 1946 on the Day Air Fleet In the USSR, both aircraft were demonstrated at the parade in Tushino.

By November 7, 1946, about 30 aircraft were prepared for the air parade over Red Square, but due to weather conditions, the air parade was canceled and only on May 1, 1947, the country's first jet aircraft flew over Red Square for the first time. The rustling whistle of the formation of flying planes was greeted with delight by thousands of Muscovites and guests of the capital.

The USSR did not lag behind in the creation of jet bomber aircraft. In February-April 1949, it passed state tests and the Il-28 front-line bomber, designed by the S.V. Ilyushin Design Bureau, was put into mass production.

The MiG-15 jet fighter, taken into the air at the end of 1947, became the symbol of post-war Soviet aviation. Already in 1948, mass production of this remarkable aircraft, superior to all types of US fighters, began.

In response to the US threat to use atomic bombs against the USSR, Stalin, who had excellent air defense systems and a Mig-15 fighter, had reason to say that American planes would not reach the cities of the Soviet Union. The ability of our Air Force to protect the peaceful labor of the Soviet people was demonstrated by the war in Korea unleashed by the United States on June 25, 1950.

The Soviet Mig-17 fighter was publicly demonstrated at the air parade in Tushino on June 20, 1953, but it was also created under Stalin. It became the first aircraft in the USSR to reach the speed of sound in horizontal flight.

When creating the aircraft, testers again encountered the formidable phenomenon of flutter of an unprecedented variety and the reverse action of the ailerons at speeds close to sound. Only the highest flying skill of test pilot Sedov saved the plane, since within a second the plane was in flutter, no more than a third of the rudders remained. Our talented engineers identified the causes and fixed all the problems.

Thanks to its high performance characteristics, reliability and ease of operation, the MiG-17 was recognized as one of the best fighters of its time, especially after participating in battles in Egypt in 1956.

Testing of the remarkable MiG-19 fighter began in 1952 under Stalin. In flight, the plane reached almost one and a half speed of sound and a fantastic rate of climb - in 1.1 minutes it took off to 10 kilometers altitude. At that time, no aircraft in the world had such a rate of climb.

Having such a machine, equipped with guns, missiles and bombs, our children could sleep peacefully, since the plane was able to instantly intercept and destroy any enemy vehicle. The MiG-19 was noticeably superior to its foreign contemporaries: F-100, Super Saber, Starfighter.

I would especially like to note one more aircraft - the two-seat loitering interceptor of the Design Bureau of A. S. Yakovlev Yak-25, also tested during the life of I. V. Stalin on July 19, 1952 and demonstrated to the public in July 1955 at the aviation festival in Tushino and on May 1, 1956 over Red Square and in Tushino.

This aircraft, with two AM-5A engines of 2600 kgf each, designed by A. A. Mikulin, was intended for long-term patrols away from the base. It had excellent flight, navigation and radar systems that made it possible to intercept enemy targets in any weather conditions and over a wide range of altitudes.

This aircraft, together with by ground means Air defense blocked the possibility of the US attacking us from the north through North Pole. It was indispensable for workers in the Far North with a small number of airfields. A total of 480 Yak-25 aircraft were produced, mainly with the powerful Sokol radar. And despite the fact that there was no replacement for it, N.S. Khrushchev, having organized a pogrom of Soviet aviation, did not spare the irreplaceable Yak-25 and in 1963 he removed it from service.

It is impossible not to recall another unique machine - the attack aircraft of the Design Bureau of S.V. Ilyushin Il-40, which took to the air in 1953. But N.S. Khrushchev in 1956 decided to abolish attack aviation, and the country was left without a wonderful aircraft, especially needed by the infantry.

In the mid-1950s, the Sukhoi Design Bureau resumed its work. In September 1955, the first flight of the SU-7 aircraft took place, and in 1956, for the first time in the USSR, the SU-7 aircraft reached a speed twice the speed of sound. Sukhoi's aircraft were heavier than Yakovlev's and occupied a middle position between a front-line bomber and a fighter. And it was precisely this type of vehicle that the country’s Air Force needed.

In April 1959, the SU-7B aircraft (modified SU-7) took off, capable of carrying tactical nuclear weapons and bombing from low altitudes. At the end of the 1980s, SU-7B of all modifications were removed from service by M. S. Gorbachev.

Such a decision can be called sabotage, because airplanes can fly and have been flying all over the world for decades. Even planes from the 1950s have normal flight characteristics. specifications and with periodic repairs, updating of equipment and weapons, they can serve for a long time in protecting the country. Destroying planes, as Khrushchev destroyed out of his own stupidity and Gorbachev and Yeltsin did to please the United States, is a crime.

N. S. Khrushchev did not allow the production of bombers - flying boats designed in 1952 and subsequent years by R. L. Bartini.

Perhaps in this case Khrushchev is right, but it is necessary to talk about at least one project.

The unique seaplane A-57 designed by Bartini is flat, like a triangle cut out of a board, which has part of the fuselage under water, and on top it is flat and rises slightly above the water. Therefore, it is difficult to notice on the surface of the ocean. Its speed is 2500 km/h, flight range is 12-14 thousand kilometers, take-off weight is 320,000 kg, armament is one thermonuclear bomb “244 N” weighing 3000 kg.

It could reach the United States and return, especially with the nuclear power plant proposed in 1961. It gives the impression of a project of the future.

And jet seaplanes designed by the G. M. Beriev Design Bureau are a reality embodied in metal. For the first time, the R-1 jet gyroplane weighing 20,000 kg took off from the water at the end of May 1952, that is, also during the life of I.V. Stalin.

Even the United States recognized the P-1 as the world's first jet flying boat. On its basis, the Beriev Design Bureau in 1953 began developing a more advanced seaplane, and on June 20, 1956, the BE-10 jet seaplane weighing 48,500 kg took off from the surface of the water. It set 12 world records, including speed - 912 km/h and heights of 14,962 meters without load and 11,997 meters with load. This is truly a flying ship.

But the most expensive and difficult to design and manufacture were, of course, bombers. The Soviet aviation industry produced very beautiful aircraft. In my opinion, the most beautiful planes in the world. But each type of aircraft produced in the 1950s has its own beauty. The beauty of bombers is special, memorable forever, because behind this beauty one can see the formidable power. And the most beautiful are the planes designed in the first half of the 1950s.

In my opinion, the most powerful aircraft of the 1950s was the 3M OKB strategic bomber designed by chief designer V. M. Myasishchev. This aircraft was shown very well at the beginning of the 1974 feature film “The Sky With Me.” On January 20, 1953, during Stalin’s lifetime, the M-4 aircraft (prototype of the 3M aircraft) was flown into the air. Subsequently, all M-4 aircraft were converted into tanker aircraft for refueling aircraft in the air.

On March 26, 1956, flight tests of the 3M bomber began. The maximum take-off weight of the 3M aircraft was 193 tons without external tanks and 202 tons with a drop tank. The flight range with one in-flight refueling was over 15,000 km with a flight duration of 20 hours. It was truly an intercontinental aircraft, capable of taking off from airfields on the territory of the USSR and attacking targets in the United States.

The 3M aircraft and its modifications set 19 world records for altitude and speed of flight with cargo. The 3Ms were in service with long-range aviation until 1985 and were then destroyed in accordance with the Soviet-American agreement on the reduction of strategic offensive weapons.

And this handsome man was killed by M. S. Gorbachev. The 3M aircraft was the great strategic bomber of a great continental power. It is huge, squat, with huge wings descending to the very ground, connected into a single monolith, aimed at flight, striking in its size and power. Today's cut-down Russia, unlike the USSR and the USA, does not produce any strategic bombers, and does not design new ones.

It should be noted that when, in connection with the creation of the Energia-Buran system, the question arose about transporting the system units by air to the assembly site at Baikonur, they remembered 3M. Vladimir Mikhailovich Myasishchev redesigned the plane and named it VM-T.

In just two years, the Myasishchev Design Bureau created an aircraft similar to the Boeing B-52, which was national program USA. VM-T Atlant aircraft, 3M converted into cargo aircraft in 1980, performed more than 150 flights to transport cargo of the Energia-Buran system.

The second great aircraft of the great Soviet power of the 1950s is the Tu-95 strategic bomber. The bomber, designated "95", was intended to destroy important stationary targets with cruise missiles and bomb weapons day and night, in any weather conditions and anywhere in the world.

The first copy of the Tu-95 strategic bomber, designed by the Tupolev Design Bureau, also flew under the leadership of the country by I.V. Stalin on November 12, 1952. The aircraft was equipped with turboprop engines, characterized by lower fuel consumption, but due to the propellers, lower speed.

This aircraft met all the requirements for strategic missile-carrying bombers. Its flight range was 15,400 km, maximum speed flight speed - 882 km/h, maximum take-off weight - 172 tons.

And to conclude the topic about bombers of the 1950s, we need to talk about one more famous long-range bomber, the TU-16. The Tu-16 aircraft, designed by the A. N. Tupolev Design Bureau, was lifted into the air on April 27, 1952, that is, under Stalin.

Already in 1953, mass production of this complex machine began, and the first bombers began to arrive in combat units of the country's Air Force. On May 1, 1953, nine TU-16s passed over Red Square.

The Tu-16 occupied a middle position between a strategic and front-line bomber and was used very widely as a carrier of bombs, nuclear weapons, anti-ship missiles, as well as as a reconnaissance aircraft, patrol aircraft, anti-submarine aircraft and for many other military purposes.

Due to the size of the state's territory, the USSR really needed such an aircraft with a flight range of 5,800 km and a maximum take-off weight of 79 tons. In 1993, under Yeltsin's rule, the TU-16 aircraft was removed from service with the Russian Air Force and Navy. We have become even more defenseless against threats from the West and the East. But in China, the TU-16 aircraft, called N-6, is still in service today. It must be said that over the past 25 years Russia has not produced a single aircraft of the 3M class, TU-95 and TU-16.

Pay attention to the timing of testing, fine-tuning and the start of serial production of the most complex jet aircraft in Stalin's time. The quality of design and production time of the machines are amazing. We achieved perfection in aircraft production under Stalin. Not a single country in the world has achieved our results in the design and manufacture of aircraft by any indicator.

We had exactly the number of types of aviation equipment needed to ensure the security of the country. And if you remove at least one type of the named aircraft, then a gap will appear in the country’s air defense, which means the safety of the citizens of the USSR will decrease.

In addition, by creating a reactive strategic aviation, we made the territory of the United States vulnerable and put an end to American permissiveness in the world, as well as the possibility of implementing the plan to destroy the Soviet Union, that is, we disrupted the possibility of Western countries carrying out a conspiracy against Russia.

It is impossible not to notice the fact that the production of the vast majority of aircraft was started under I.V. Stalin (Stalin died on March 5, 1953) and N.S. Khrushchev enjoyed the fruits of his labors after the aircraft were designed, tested, completed, and launched into mass production and under the reign of Khrushchev began to be supplied in large quantities to the Air Force, Navy, and Air Defense Forces.

The flight crew, soldiers, sailors and officers praised Khrushchev for the new excellent jet aircraft technology, with which one can defeat any enemy, but they did not name the true organizer of the triumph of Soviet military aviation in the 1950s, I.V. Stalin.

The majority of the country's residents, of course, did not understand that it was not the mind and will of Khrushchev, but the mind and will of I.V. Stalin and L.P. Beria that these mighty defenders of the sky of the Motherland were born. Designers, engineers, workers, managers of sites, enterprises and many other Soviet people whose intelligence and labor the country ensured its security were not glorified. The people did not know their heroes.

It must be said that liberal revisionists not only hide information about Soviet military aviation, but also present it to our youth in a clearly distorted form. And only a few people in our country know about such an outstanding aircraft as the strategic bomber of the 3M OKB of V. M. Myasishchev.

After the war in civil aviation There were still pre-war aircraft: LI-2, R-2, PO-2 and others. But gradually funds were allocated for the production of new passenger aircraft.

Were designed and put into mass production passenger aircraft An-2, Il-12, Il-14 with piston engines that meet the new requirements for civil aviation.

The An-2 aircraft was not only a passenger aircraft for local airlines, but also the best agricultural aviation aircraft in the world. If it had been produced not by the USSR, but by the USA, then even today it would be cultivating agricultural land in most countries of the world. It is no longer produced in Russia, like other domestic civil aviation aircraft, but the remaining machines still continue to cultivate the country’s fields. Every year there are fewer and fewer of these cars left.

Passenger aircraft Il-12 and Il-14 differed from the Li-2 in their greater maximum take-off weight, comfort, nose wheel and the embodiment in their design of many achievements in the field of aircraft construction of piston aircraft.

The Soviet aviation industry also began producing piston helicopters Mi-1, Mi-4, Ka-15.

In 1955, Il-12, Li-2, An-2 aircraft and Mi-4 helicopters were even used in the Soviet Antarctic expedition. But, of course, for the development of civil aviation in the post-war period there is enough Money was not highlighted, since the most important issue of the post-war period was the question of preserving the state and people and protecting them from an external aggressor, and for this they needed military aviation that was not inferior to the enemy.

Leonid Petrovich Maslovsky

On June 20, 1939, the first ever experimental jet aircraft, the He.176, created by German aircraft designers, flew. With some lag, the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition, as well as Japan, produced jet vehicles.

1. First pancake

Work on the creation of the first jet aircraft began at Heinkel in 1937. And two years later the He.176 made its first flight. After five flights, it became clear that he did not have the slightest chance of going into production.

The designers chose for it a liquid-jet engine with a thrust of 600 kgf, which uses methanol and hydrogen peroxide as fuel and oxidizer. It was assumed that the car would reach a speed of 1000 km/h, but it was only possible to accelerate it to 750 km/h. The enormous fuel consumption did not allow the aircraft to move more than 60 km from the airfield. The only advantage compared to conventional fighters was the enormous rate of climb, equal to 60 m/s, which was three times higher than that of vehicles with piston engines.

The fate of the He.176 was also influenced by a subjective circumstance - during the display, Hitler did not like the plane.

2. First serial

Germany was ahead of everyone in creating the first production jet aircraft. It became Me.262. It made its first flight in July 1942 and entered service in 1944. The aircraft was produced both as a fighter, and as a bomber, and as a reconnaissance aircraft, and as an attack aircraft. In total, almost one and a half thousand vehicles entered the army.

The Me.262 used two Jumo-004 turbojet engines with a thrust of 910 kgf, which had an 8-stage axial compressor, a single-stage axial turbine and 6 combustion chambers.

Unlike the He.176, which succeeded in devouring fuel, the jet Messerschmitt was a successful machine with excellent flight characteristics:

Maximum speed at altitude - 870 km/h

Flight range - up to 1050 km

Practical ceiling - 12200 m

Rate of climb - 50 m/s

Length - 10.9 m

Height - 3.8 m

Wingspan - 12.5 m

Wing area - 21.8 sq.m.

Empty weight - 3800 kg

Curb weight - 6000 kg

Armament - up to 4 30-mm cannons, from 2 to 14 hardpoints; weight of suspended missiles or bombs up to 1500 kg.

During the period of hostilities, Me.262 shot down 150 aircraft. Losses amounted to 100 aircraft. This accident rate was largely due to both insufficient training of pilots for flights on a fundamentally new aircraft, and to defects in the engine, which had a short service life and low reliability.

3. One way ticket

The liquid-propellant jet engine was used in only one production aircraft during World War II. In the Japanese Yokosuka MXY7 Ohka manned bomber aircraft designed for kamikaze use. From the end of 1944 until the end of the war, 825 of them were produced.

The plane was built on the principle of “cheap and cheerful.” A wooden glider with 1.2 tons of ammonal in the nose was equipped with three liquid-propellant rocket engines that operated for 10 seconds and accelerated the aircraft to a speed of 650 km/h. There were no landing gear or takeoff engines. The bomber delivered the Ohka on a sling within visual range of the target. After which the rocket engine was ignited.

However, the effectiveness of such a scheme was low. Because the bombers were detected by the locators of American Navy ships before the kamikazes were aimed at the target. As a result, both bombers and aircraft filled with ammonal were senselessly lost at distant approaches.

4. British centenarian

The Gloster Meteor was the only Allied jet aircraft to see action in World War II. It made its first flight in March 1943, entered service with the Royal Air Force in July 1944, was produced until 1955 inclusive, and was in service with the air forces of a number of British military allies until the end of the 70s. A total of 3,555 vehicles of various modifications were produced.

During the war period, two modifications of the fighter were produced - F. Mk I and F. Mk III. The F. Mk I squadron shot down 10 German V-1s. F. Mk III, due to their special secrecy, were not released into enemy territory. And they had to repel the attacks of the Luftwaffe, based near Brussels. However, starting in February 1945, German aviation was exclusively engaged in defense. Of the 230 Gloster Meteors produced up to mid-1945, only two were lost when they collided while landing in heavy cloud conditions.

Performance characteristics of Gloster Meteor F. Mk III:

Length - 12.6 m

Height - 3.96 m

Wingspan - 13.1 m

Wing area - 34.7 sq.m.

Take-off weight - 6560 kg

Engines - 2TRD

Thrust - 2×908 kgf

Maximum speed - 837 km/h

Ceiling - 13400 m

Range - 2160 km

Armament - 4 30mm cannons

5. Late to the call

The American Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star began arriving at British airfields immediately before the end of hostilities in Europe - in April 1945. He didn't have time to fight. The F-80 was used extensively as a fighter-bomber a few years later during the Korean War.

The first ever battle between two jet fighters took place on the Korean Peninsula. F-80 and the more modern transonic Soviet MiG-15. The Soviet pilot won.

A total of 1,718 of these first American jet aircraft.

Performance characteristics of Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star:

Length - 10.5 m

Height - 3.45 m

Wingspan - 11.85 m

Wing area - 22.1 sq.m.

Take-off weight - 5300 kg

Engines - 1TRD

Thrust - 1×1746 kgf

Maximum speed - 880 km/h

Rate of climb - 23 m/s

Ceiling - 13700 m

Range - 1255 km, with PTB - 2320 km

Armament - 6 12.7 mm machine guns, 8 unguided rockets, 2 454 kg bombs.

6. Soviet-style tender

The first Soviet experimental aircraft BI-1 was designed in the spring of 1941 in twenty days and completed in a month. A wooden glider to which a liquid-propellant rocket engine was attached - it was purely Stakhanov-style. After the start of the war, the plane was evacuated to the Urals. And in July they began testing. According to the designers' plans, BI-1 was supposed to reach a speed of 900 km/h. However, when the famous tester Grigory Yakovlevich Bakhchivandzhi approached the 800 km/h line, the plane lost control and crashed to the ground.

The creation of a jet fighter was normally approached only in 1945. And not even one, but two. By the middle of the year, a twin-engine MiG-9 and a single-engine Yak-15 were designed. They took off on the same day - April 24, 1946.

The MiG was more fortunate in terms of its use in the Air Force. As a result of a comparison of the characteristics of the two machines, in which Stalin also took part, the Yak-15 was ordered to be made into a training aircraft for training jet pilots.

The MiG-9 has become a fighting machine. And already in 1946 he began to join the Air Force units. Over three years, 602 aircraft were produced. However, two circumstances greatly affected its fate, and therefore the MiG-9 was discontinued.

Firstly, its development was carried out at an accelerated pace. As a result, until 1948, changes were regularly made to the design of the aircraft.

Secondly, the pilots were very suspicious of new car, which required a lot of effort to master and was not forgiving of even minor piloting errors. They were much more familiar with the Yak-15, which was as close as possible to the Yak-3, perfectly familiar to everyone. Actually, it was built on its basis with the necessary minimal deviations.

And in 1948, the first jet fighter, which turned out to be damp, was replaced by the more advanced MiG-15.

Flight characteristics of MiG-9:

Length - 9.75 m

Wingspan - 10.0 m

Wing area - 18.2 sq.m.

Take-off weight - 4990 kg

Engines - 2TRD

Thrust - 2×800 kgf

Maximum speed - 864 km/h

Rate of climb - 22 m/s

Ceiling - 13500 m

Flight duration at an altitude of 5000 m - 1 hour

Armament - 3 guns.

It is difficult for modern youth, and even mature citizens, to understand the delight these flying machines, which seemed fantastic at that time, caused. Silvery droplets, rapidly cutting through the blue sky behind them, excited the imagination of young people in the early fifties. Wide left no doubt about the type of engine. Today, only computer games like War Thunder, with their offer to purchase a USSR promotional jet aircraft, give some idea of ​​this stage in the development of domestic aviation. But it all started even earlier.

What does "reactive" mean?

A reasonable question arises about the name of the type of aircraft. In English it sounds short: Jet. The Russian definition hints at the presence of some kind of reaction. It's clear that we're talking about not about fuel oxidation - it is also present in conventional carburetor aircraft, the same as in a rocket. The reaction of the physical body to the force of the ejected gas jet is expressed in giving it an oppositely directed acceleration. Everything else is subtleties, which include different technical specifications systems such as aerodynamic properties, layout, wing profile, engine type. There are possible options here that engineering bureaus came to in the process of work, often finding similar technical solutions independently of each other.

It is difficult to separate rocket research from aviation research in this aspect. In the field of powder accelerators, installed to reduce the take-off run and afterburner, work was carried out even before the war. Moreover, the (unsuccessful) attempt to install a compressor engine on the Coanda airplane in 1910 allowed the inventor Henri Coanda to claim Romanian priority. True, this design was initially inoperable, which was confirmed by the very first test, during which the aircraft burned down.

First steps

The first jet aircraft capable of staying in the air for a long time appeared later. The Germans became the pioneers, although certain successes were achieved by scientists from other countries - the USA, Italy, Britain and then technically backward Japan. These samples were, in fact, gliders of conventional fighters and bombers, on which a new type of engine was installed, devoid of propellers, which caused surprise and distrust. In the USSR, engineers also dealt with this problem, but not as actively, focusing on proven and reliable screw technology. Nevertheless, the jet model of the Bi-1 aircraft, equipped with a turbojet engine designed by A. M. Lyulka, was tested immediately before the war. The device was very unreliable; the nitric acid used as an oxidizer ate away fuel tanks, there were other problems, but the first steps are always difficult.

Hitler's Sturmvogel

Due to the peculiarities of the Fuhrer’s psyche, who hoped to crush the “enemies of the Reich” (to which he included the countries of almost the entire rest of the world), after the outbreak of World War II, work began in Germany on the creation of various types of “miracle weapons,” including jet aircraft. Not all areas of this activity were unsuccessful. Successful projects include Messerschmitt-262 (aka Sturmvogel) - the first jet aircraft in the world to be mass-produced. The device was equipped with two turbojet engines, had a radar in the nose, reached speeds close to sound (more than 900 km/h), and turned out to be quite effective in combating the high-altitude B-17 (Flying Fortresses) of the Allies. Adolf Hitler's fanatical faith in the extraordinary capabilities of new technology, however, paradoxically played a bad role in the combat biography of the Me-262. Designed as a fighter, it, on instructions from “above,” was converted into a bomber, and in this modification did not prove itself to the fullest.

"Arado"

The jet principle was applied in mid-1944 to the design of the Arado 234 bomber (again by the Germans). He managed to demonstrate his extraordinary combat capabilities by attacking Allied positions that had landed near the port of Cherbourg. A speed of 740 km/h and a ten-kilometer ceiling did not give anti-aircraft artillery a chance to hit this target, and American and British fighters simply could not catch up with it. In addition to bombing (very inaccurate for obvious reasons), the Arado carried out aerial photography. The second experience of using it as a strike weapon took place over Liege. The Germans did not suffer losses, and if Nazi Germany had more resources, and the industry could produce the Ar-234 in quantities of more than 36 copies, then the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition would have had a hard time.

"Yu-287"

German developments fell into the hands of states friendly during the Second World War after the defeat of Nazism. Western countries Already during the final stage of hostilities, they began to prepare for the upcoming confrontation with the USSR. Stalin's leadership took countermeasures. It was clear to both sides that the next war, should it happen, would be fought by jet aircraft. At that time, the USSR did not yet have a nuclear strike potential; only work was underway on creating the technology for producing an atomic bomb. But the Americans were very interested in the captured Junkers-287, which had unique flight data (combat load 4000 kg, range 1500 km, ceiling 5000 m, speed 860 km/h). Four engines and negative sweep (a prototype of future “invisible” aircraft) made it possible to use the aircraft as a nuclear carrier.

First post-war

Jet aircraft did not play a decisive role during World War II, so the bulk of Soviet production capacity focused on improving designs and increasing production of conventional propeller-driven fighters, attack aircraft and bombers. The issue of a promising carrier of atomic charges was difficult, and it was resolved quickly by copying the American Boeing B-29 (Tu-4), but the main goal remained to counter possible aggression. For this, first of all, fighters were required - high-altitude, maneuverable and, of course, high-speed. How the new direction developed can be judged from the letter of designer A. S. Yakovlev to the Central Committee (autumn 1945), which found a certain understanding. The party leadership considered a simple study of captured German equipment to be an insufficient measure. The country needed modern Soviet jet aircraft, not inferior, but superior to the world level. At the 1946 parade in honor of the anniversary of the October Revolution (Tushino), they had to be shown to the people and foreign guests.

Temporary Yaks and MiGs

There was something to show, but it didn’t work out: the weather was bad and it was foggy. The demonstration of new aircraft was moved to May Day. The first Soviet jet aircraft, produced in a series of 15 copies, were developed by the Mikoyan and Gurevich (MiG-9) and Yakovlev (Yak-15) design bureaus. Both samples were distinguished by a modified design, in which the tail section from below was washed by jet streams produced by the nozzles. Naturally, to protect against overheating, these sections of the skin were covered with a special layer made of refractory metal. Both aircraft differed in weight, number of engines and purpose, but generally corresponded to the state of the Soviet aircraft building school of the late forties. Their main purpose was the transition to a new type of power plant, but in addition to this, other important tasks were carried out: training flight personnel and working out technological issues. These jet aircraft, despite the large volumes of their production (hundreds of units), were considered temporary and subject to replacement in the very near future, immediately after the appearance of more advanced designs. And soon this moment came.

Fifteenth

This plane has become a legend. It was built in series unprecedented in peacetime, both in combat and in twin training versions. The design of the MiG-15 used many revolutionary technical solutions; for the first time an attempt was made to create a reliable pilot rescue system (catapult), it was equipped with powerful cannon armament. The speed of the jet, small but very effective, allowed it to defeat armadas of heavy strategic bombers in the skies of Korea, where war broke out shortly after the appearance of the new interceptor. The American Saber, built according to a similar design, became a kind of analogue of the MiG. During the fighting, the equipment fell into the hands of the enemy. The Soviet plane was hijacked by a North Korean pilot, lured by a huge cash reward. The shot down “American” was pulled out of the water and delivered to the USSR. There was a mutual “exchange of experience” with the adoption of the most successful design solutions.

Passenger jets

The speed of a jet aircraft is its main advantage, and it applies not only to bombers and fighters. Already at the end of the forties international airlines The Comet liner, built in Britain, was released. It was created specifically for transporting people, it was comfortable and fast, but, unfortunately, it was not reliable: seven accidents occurred within two years. But progress in the field of high-speed passenger transportation could no longer be stopped. In the mid-fifties, the legendary Tu-104, a conversion version of the Tu-16 bomber, appeared in the USSR. Despite numerous flight accidents that occurred with new aircraft, jet aircraft increasingly took over the airlines. Gradually, the appearance of a promising airliner and ideas about what it should be were formed. propulsors) were used less and less by designers.

Generations of fighters: first, second...

Like almost any technology, jet interceptors are classified by generation. There are currently five of them in total, and they differ not only in the years of production of the models, but also in their design features. If the concept of the first samples was based on an established base of achievements in the field of classical aerodynamics (in other words, only the type of engine was their main difference), then the second generation had more significant features (swept wing, a completely different shape of the fuselage, etc.) In the fifties there was an opinion that air combat would never again be of a maneuverable nature, but time has shown the fallacy of this opinion.

...and from third to fifth

The dogfights of the sixties between Skyhawks, Phantoms and MiGs in the skies over Vietnam and the Middle East pointed the way forward, ushering in the second generation of jet interceptors. Variable wing geometry, multiple sound capability and missile armament combined with powerful avionics became the hallmarks of the third generation. Currently, the basis of the air force fleet of the most technically developed countries is made up of fourth-generation aircraft, which have become a product of further development. Even more advanced models are already entering service, combining high speed, super-maneuverability, low visibility and electronic warfare systems. This is the fifth generation.

Double-circuit engines

Externally, even today, the majority of jet aircraft of the first types do not look like anachronisms. The appearance of many of them is quite modern, and the technical characteristics (such as ceiling and speed) are not too different from modern ones, at least at first glance. However, upon closer examination of the performance characteristics of these machines, it becomes clear that in recent decades a qualitative breakthrough has been made in two main directions. Firstly, the concept of a variable thrust vector appeared, creating the possibility of sudden and unexpected maneuver. Secondly, today they are able to stay in the air much longer and cover long distances. This factor is due to low fuel consumption, that is, efficiency. It is achieved by using, in technical terms, a dual-circuit circuit (low bypass ratio). Experts know that the specified fuel combustion technology ensures more complete combustion.

Other features of a modern jet aircraft

There are several of them. Modern civil jet aircraft are characterized by low engine noise, increased comfort and high flight stability. They are usually wide-body (including multi-deck). Models of military aircraft are equipped with means (active and passive) to achieve low radar signature and, in a sense, the requirements for defense and commercial aircraft today overlap. All types of aircraft need efficiency, although for different reasons: in one case to increase profitability, in another to expand the combat radius. And today both civilians and military need to make as little noise as possible.

In any business there are pioneers: what is completely familiar today was once new. Probably few people will be able to remember flying on an airplane from the windows of which they could see air propeller(However, in Europe, regional airlines often use turboprop aircraft). Turbojet engines rule the world today - nothing better, apparently, on this moment they haven’t invented it, and hydrogen and nuclear planes don’t fly yet. Almost 80 years have passed since the appearance of the first effective motor of this type.

The German engineer Ernst Heinkel is behind the implementation of the idea, but who owns it is another question. As often happens, the idea was thought out by another person (who ultimately remained in the shadows), then, thanks to the money and resources of large businesses, it was brought to life.

Engineer Ernst Heinkel

Heinkel was born in Germany in January 1888. In his youth, he had nothing to do with aviation, which was then only taking its first serious steps. The German enthusiastically studied mechanical engineering in Stuttgart, worked as a turner's apprentice in a foundry and followed the development of Zeppelins. The accident with one of these aircraft in 1908 had a particular impact on Ernst’s professional future. Then the experimental LZ 4, already participating in a series of test flights, was destroyed by fire during landing to repair a broken engine. "The future is in airplanes"- Heinkel decided for himself.

By 1911, Ernst, who was 23 years old at the time, had built his first airplane. As the test flight showed, engineering skills required further improvement - the young man received injuries and took a long time to recover from them. Some would have given up, but that era was remembered by passionate people. Or rather, history remembers only such people. Since 1914, the German worked in large aircraft manufacturing companies and was engaged in the design of aircraft. He is sometimes credited with developing the popular Albatros B.II biplane, but many historians dispute this information.

Shortly after the end of the First World War, in 1921, Heinkel took the post of chief designer of the Caspar-Werke company, reorganized after a long pause. However, very soon the engineer leaves her due to disputes with the founder of the company, Karl Kaspar, regarding the rights to the design of manufactured aircraft. Surely Ernst highly appreciated own experience and professionalism, which is why the Heinkel-Flugzeugwerke company appeared in 1922.

The company was looking for ways to circumvent the Treaty of Versailles, which imposed serious restrictions on Germany in terms of equipment production. At a certain point, the Japanese government provided serious support to Heinkel. The fact is that Japan was at the same time a major customer of Heinkel-Flugzeugwerke and was part of a special commission that checked whether the company complied with the agreements enshrined in the Treaty of Versailles. It is alleged that this allowed Ernst to prepare in advance for upcoming inspections, and then continue to work as if nothing had happened (the Japanese warned about the events in advance).

In the 30s, Heinkel’s company was no longer “one of”, but was ranked among the industry leaders. The company naturally attracted the attention of the Reich Chancellor, who soon usurped power. “I joined the party in 1933, but I was never a Nazi,”- this is what Ernst wrote much later. By the way, in 1948 he was arrested for collaborating with the Nazi regime, but then acquitted due to his connections with the conspirators planning to overthrow Hitler.

Heinkel He 178

Heinkel-Flugzeugwerke was actively investing in the development and research of new types of engines. Therefore, when the young engineer Hans von Ohain came to Heinkel, the head of the company happily took advantage of the technology patented by this man (von Ohain registered the jet engine in 1935). It is worth noting that shortly before this, regardless of Hans, Sir Frank Whittle received a patent for a turbojet engine, but the British plane took off later - it received government support after the successful tests of the He 178 became known.

Von Ohain visited Heinkel with a proposal to build a workable aircraft using his engine. The project took several years to complete, as it was decided to improve the design, making the system more powerful and efficient.

Heinrich Hertel, Karl Schwerzler and Siegfried Günther had a hand in creating the world's first operational turbojet aircraft. The latter took part in the development after World War II Soviet fighter MiG-15. Work on the He 178 was carried out without government support; the company's own funds were used to create the concept and prototypes.

First flight

The He 178 made its first takeoff attempt on August 24, 1939. More accurately, it was a test “jump” over the runway. And a few days later, on August 27, Captain Erich Warsitz made a full flight (a couple of months before that he took off the He 176 jet).

According to available data, the maximum speed of the aircraft with a metal fuselage and wooden wings, with a single pilot on board, was just under 500 km/h (according to other information - about 600 km/h), the flight range reached 200 km.


The first independent flight ended without unnecessary pathos and sharp turns. Everything was ruined by a bird that got into the engine: there was a flameout, but Varsits was able to land the car safely. The aircraft was also demonstrated to representatives of the Ministry of Aviation. The flight lasted only 10 minutes, and it was pointless to take the He 178 into service in that condition. This is what the special commission thought.

The decision not to support Heinkel's project was probably influenced by the development of the BMW 003 and Junkers Jumo 004 engines with state support. The additional burden was seen as unnecessary, and the war that had begun should soon end (there was such an opinion). The engineer nevertheless decided to continue his work, which led to the appearance of the world's first fighter with a turbojet engine - the He 280.

The Heinkel-Flugzeugwerke company continued to develop engines, which, in general, contained the promise of aircraft of this type. On March 30, 1941, the He 280 made its debut flight, but again failed to satisfy the commission's requests. It didn't help that it used kerosene rather than burning high-octane fuel like "classic" aircraft. Heinkel time after time made attempts to prove the superiority of his designs over competitors' aircraft. In speed racing, the He 280 outperformed the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, but in vain. Only in 1942, after a demonstration battle between these two aircraft, the Ministry of Aviation recognized the promise of the He 280 - it turned out to be more maneuverable and faster.

As a result, Heinkel-Flugzeugwerke received an order for 20 test copies and 300 production samples of the He 280. However, Ernst had to solve problems with the HeS 8 engines, which were replaced by the more advanced but complex HeS 011. This had a negative impact on the execution of the order, and the engineer was forced to use the Junkers Jumo 004 imposed on him. Heavy and huge engines negated all the positive aspects of the He 280. As a result, the winner in this competition was the jet Messerschmitt Me 262, while only nine copies of the Heinkel aircraft were produced. He lose. And around the same time, his property was nationalized. In reality, this means that the engineer was detained and demanded to transfer control of the enterprise to Hermann Goering, who was later recognized as a war criminal. After this, Ernst went to Vienna, where he founded a new company.

After some time, participating in the Nazi Germany's Jägernotprogramm competition, Heinkel presented his “dream fighter” - the He 162 Salamander. Today, such a program would be called a “prototype competition” - few of the participants were able to go beyond the design stage. The planes presented are pure retro-futurism by today's standards. Ernst's brainchild looked like theirs, but one of the prototypes was able to accelerate to an incredible 900 km/h. This could make it the fastest aircraft of World War II...

In the early 50s of the last century, Ernst Heinkel founded a new company that began producing bicycles, mopeds and motorized strollers - aircraft manufacturing in Germany was banned for some time. In 1955, restrictions eased, and the company began assembling aircraft based on orders from abroad (including one of the modifications of the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter for the United States). The creator of the world's first turbojet aircraft died in 1958.

Short list of sources: World War II Database, Aerospaceweb.org, EDN, Scientists and Friends,

The post was written for the anniversary almost three years ago, but the material is very interesting.

Original taken from zzaharr 60 years of civil jet aviation

At a time when the friend feeds of all aviation lovers are simply bursting with an abundance of posts about the celebration of the centennial anniversary of our valiant Air Force, another significant event somehow passed unnoticed, namely the 60th anniversary of civil transportation on jetliners.
Experts will immediately correct me, saying that “Comet” took off back in 1949, and they will be right. But let’s still count from the first passenger flight.

January 1952 D e Havilland Comet:

De Havilland Comet 1 receives an airworthiness certificate. An aircraft with a difficult fate, but it was the first. In May and August it makes its first scheduled flights from London Heathrow to Johannesburg and Colombo.

July 1954 Boeing 707

Boeing 707 prototype makes its maiden flight. In October 1955, Pan American Airlines places its first order for six 707-121s.

May 1955 Sud Aviation Caravelle

The Caravel made its first flight on May 27, 1955. This is the world's first passenger aircraft with tail-mounted engines, but one cannot help but notice that the forward part of the fuselage borrowed a lot from the Comet.

June 1955 Tu-104

The Tu-104 made its first flight on June 17, 1955. On November 5, 1955, the first production aircraft built at the Kharkov aircraft plant in Ukraine took off. In 1956, the Soviet Union managed to amaze the Western world when, during the visit of the First Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Nikita Khrushchev to London, a Soviet-made jet plane flew there.

September 1959 Douglas DC-8-10

In September 1959, Delta Air Lines and United began commercial operation of the DC-8. On August 21, 1961, the Douglas DC-8 broke the sound barrier and reached a speed of 1.012 Mach or 1262 km/h. during a controlled dive from a height of 12496 m.

May 1960 Convair 880

Delta Air Lines introduces the Convair 880/22 into scheduled service (first prototype flight in January 1959). It is followed by the 880-M, designed for intercontinental routes. The designation "880" is given to it because its maximum speed is 880 ft/s (1000 km/h).

January 1962 Hawker Siddeley Trident HS121

The Hawker Siddeley Trident HS121, a “second generation” medium-range jet, takes off in Hatfield, UK. The aircraft was designed to meet the BEA requirement and had three engines located in the tail. The aircraft was equipped with very advanced avionics for its time and became the first airliner capable of performing a fully automatic landing (since 1965 in evaluation mode, and since 1966 - on regular flights).

October 1962 Tu-124

A new product appears on the Aeroflot flight Moscow - Tallinn. The Tu-124 is actually a smaller copy of the previously developed Tu-104, and both types are similar in appearance but differ in size. On the Tu-124 for the first time in the world for passenger aircraft Turbofan engines were used, which differ from previously used turbojet engines in their increased efficiency. Made a successful landing on the Neva after both engines failed.

August 1963 BAC One-Eleven

The BAC One-Eleven, also known as BAC 1-11, is a British short- and medium-haul jet airliner. Developed and produced by British Aircraft Corporation. First flew on August 20, 1963. From the start of operation it was in great demand and was well purchased by British airlines.

February 1964 Boeing 727

The first commercial flights were made by Eastern Airlines Boeing 727 from Miami to Washington and Philadelphia. Tri-engine, medium-range jet, first flown in February 1963. To simplify the use of the aircraft at poorly prepared airports, important attention was paid to the mechanization of the wing (reducing the required runway length) and the built-in ramp (to simplify the boarding and disembarking of passengers in the absence of a standard ramp).

April 1964 Vickers VC10

On 23 April 1964, the Vickers VC10 received its airworthiness certificate and was placed on regular passenger service between London and Lagos. During its operation, the Vickers VC10 set a record for the time to cross the Atlantic (London - NY), which could only be beaten by the supersonic Concorde.

November 1965 McDonnell Douglas DC-9

In November 1965, Delta Air Lines unveiled its first McDonnell Douglas DC-9. This twin-engine short-haul jet aircraft became one of the most popular airliners in history.

Subsequent modifications of the DC-9 were the MD-80, MD-90 and Boeing 717. Taking into account the last Boeing 717 aircraft produced in 2006, the total production of the DC-9 family (DC-9/MD-80/90/717) continued 41 year and amounted to about 2,500 aircraft.

March 1967 IL-62

Il-62 is the first Soviet jet intercontinental passenger aircraft. In service since 1967, mass-produced from 1966 to 1995. A total of 276 aircraft were produced. A third of all cars produced were exported to socialist countries. A design feature of the aircraft is a small fourth two-wheel rear landing gear, used to prevent the empty aircraft from tipping over when parked and taxiing. Il-62 became the first domestic jet aircraft to use reverse engine thrust.

April 1967 Boeing 737

On April 9, 1967, at 13:15, the first flight of a Boeing 737-100 aircraft with tail number N73700 took place at the Boeing Field airfield. This served as the beginning of the flight biography of perhaps the most successful and mass-produced aircraft in the history of civil aviation. The Boeing 737 is in such widespread use that at any given time there are an average of 1,200 aircraft in the air, and every 5 seconds one 737 takes off somewhere in the world. In fact, the Boeing 737 is common name more than ten types of aircraft.

September 1967 Tu-134

In September 1967, the first commercial flight Moscow-Adler was made on a Tu-134. However, for almost three years the Tu-134 was used only on international lines and only in the summer of 1969 they began to serve the intra-Union lines Moscow-Leningrad and Moscow-Kyiv. Initially, the Tu-134 was not designed as a new aircraft. The design bureau had the idea of ​​modernizing the Tu-124. The plane's fuselage was lengthened, the engines were moved to the tail section, and the tail was replaced with a T-shaped one. A total of 852 aircraft of all modifications were built.

December 1968 Tu-144

Tu-144 first in the world supersonic airliner that have ever been used by airlines for commercial transport. It made its first flight on December 31, 1968. The plane crossed the symbolic milestone of Mach 2 on May 25, 1970, flying at an altitude of 16,300 m at a speed of 2,150 km/h. Production of the aircraft began at Voronezh Plant No. 64. Subsequently, the Tu-144D was used only for freight transport between Moscow and Khabarovsk. By the time it was abandoned, 16 Tu-144 aircraft had been built.

March 1969 Aerospatiale/BAC Concorde

Prototype No. 001 was completed in early 1969, and made its maiden flight on March 2, 1969, from the factory airfield in Toulouse under the control of Sud Aviation test pilot Andre Turk. Commercial operation of Concordes began on January 21, 1976, when British Airlines G-BOFA (No. 206) took off on its maiden flight from London to Bahrain. On the same day, flight F-BFBA (No. 205) opened the Paris-Dakar line of Air France. On April 10, 2003, British Airways and Air France announced their decision to cease commercial operations of their Concorde fleet. Last flights took place on October 24.

January 1970 Boeing 747

The first Boeing 747, officially designated Boeing 747-100, was built on September 2, 1968. On January 1, 1970, the plane, owned by Pan American World Airways, made its first commercial flight. The Boeing 747 has a two-deck layout, with the upper deck being significantly shorter than the lower deck. Dimensions and peculiar “hump” upper deck made the Boeing 747 one of the most recognizable aircraft in the world, the hero of dozens of films and a symbol of civil aviation.

May 1971 Tu-154

In May 1971, pre-production Tu-154 aircraft began to be used to transport mail from Moscow to Tbilisi, Sochi, Simferopol and Mineral water. It was mass-produced from 1968 to 1998, with a total of 932 aircraft produced. The production rate sometimes reached 5 cars per month. From 1998 to 2011, small-scale production of Tu-154M aircraft was carried out at the Aviakor plant in Samara. The final cessation of production is planned for 2012.

The most popular Soviet jet passenger aircraft, which until the end of the first decade of the 21st century remained one of the main aircraft on medium-range routes in Russia. Became one of the main characters in the feature film “Crew”; Mosfilm, 1979

August 1971 McDonnell Douglas DC-10

The first mid-range DC-10-10 began service with American Airlines in August 1971. Apart from the Jumbo, it was the world's first wide-body aircraft in the modern sense of the word. Production of this aircraft ceased in 1989, but many aircraft were converted into a cargo version and continue to fly to this day. As of February 2010, there are 168 DC-10s in service (including tankers), of which 67 belong to FedEx and 59 to the USAAF.

October 1972 Airbus A300

On October 28, 1972, the star of a new player in the market of medium and long-haul aircraft rose - Airbus Industry. On this day, her first-born, the A300 B1 airliner, made its first flight. During the development of the A300, it was almost impossible to imagine that a twin-turbo aircraft would be capable of transatlantic and Pacific flights. Therefore, the range was determined only for continental flights. Later, the limited range became a major disadvantage of the aircraft.

December 1980 IL-86

On December 26, 1980, the first and most popular Soviet/Russian wide-body passenger aircraft Il-86 performed its first regular flight on the route Moscow - Tashkent. Il-86 is considered one of the best and safest aircraft in Russia and the world. In the entire history of its operation, not a single passenger has died. The spacious cockpit was larger in size than even the cockpit of the A-380.

September 1982 Boeing 767

The Boeing 767-200 wide-body long-haul aircraft became the first aircraft of a new generation passenger airliners, which began to appear on air lines in the early 1980s. Also, the Boeing 767-200 became the first twin-engine aircraft capable of serving transatlantic routes between Europe and America without landing. The first 767 entered service on September 8, 1982. To date, the 767 fleet has flown over 27 billion nautical miles and completed 7.7 million flights.

March 1988 Airbus A320

In March 1988, Air France received its first A-320 aircraft. The A320 is the world's first passenger aircraft with a fly-by-wire control system (FFS), a flight deck equipped with sidesticks instead of conventional control columns, and a horizontal tail made entirely of composite materials. The A320 family includes both younger brothers (318/319) and older ones (A321). To date, more than 5,100 units have been produced.

January 1989 Tu-204

In 1988, the first prototype of the Tu-204 was manufactured at the ANTK pilot production facility, designed to replace the aging Tu-154. On January 2, 1989, he took to the skies for the first time. On February 23, 1996, Tu-204 made its first flight with passengers on the route Moscow - Mineralnye Vody. The cockpit is equipped with color displays and central Y-shaped handles with short strokes. The aircraft and engine control system is fly-by-wire; Tu-204 became the first domestic airliner to use these innovations.

February 1993 Airbus A340

In competition with Boeing, the Airbas corporation decided to go its own way and created a direct competitor for the 474. At the end of February 1993, the first A340-300 aircraft received airline Air France. At the beginning of February 1993, the first A340-200 joined the fleet of the German airline Lufthansa. On June 16-18, 1993, the A340-200 aircraft, named World Ranger, flew around the world on the route Paris - Auckland ( New Zealand) - Paris with one stop in Auckland. The Airbus A340-600 was the world's longest passenger aircraft with a fuselage length of 75.36 meters before the release of an extended version of the Boeing 747-8 - 76.4 m.

May 1995 Boeing 777

The Boeing 777 (aka Triple Seven, aka "port") is the world's largest twin-engine jet passenger aircraft. The General Electric GE90 engines installed on it are the largest and most powerful jet engines in the history of aviation. A distinctive feature is also the six-wheel landing gear. The Boeing 777 was the first commercial airliner to be designed 100% by computers. The first 777-200 was delivered to United Airlines on May 15, 1995.

April 2005 Airbus A380

Airbus A380 is the largest aircraft for passenger transportation. This double-deck liner has the following dimensions: height - 24 m, length - 73 m, wingspan - 79.4 m. In the standard configuration it can accommodate 555 passengers, the charter version can accommodate 853 people. Designed for non-stop flights over a distance of up to 15,000 km. The Airbus A380 is the most economical aircraft of its class. It consumes 3 liters of fuel per passenger per 100 kilometers. It took 10 years and 12 billion euros to develop this model. The aircraft was announced as an alternative to the Boeing 747.

May 2008 Sukhoi Superjet 100

The first Superjet 100 was presented to the public on September 26, 2007 at the plant in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, where it successfully made its first flight on May 19, 2008. In February 2012, the SSJ100 received EASA type certification. As of mid-July 2012, nine airline-operated SSJ100 aircraft have completed more than 5,200 commercial flights totaling over 10,200 flight hours.

December 2009 Boeing 787 Dreamliner

The first test flight of the new “soldier” in the war for passengers and economic efficiency took place on December 15, 2009. As of June 2010, 868 aircraft were ordered. The Boeing 787 is a wide-body twin-engine passenger aircraft capable of carrying 250-330 passengers over a distance of up to 16 thousand 299 kilometers (depending on modification). More than half of the aircraft’s parts are made of lightweight composite materials, the new 787 has a 12% greater fuel efficiency compared to the Boeing 777, and will also consume 20% less fuel during operation than modern aircraft the same class.

That, in fact, is all 60 years. Among the upcoming new products, we can expect the Airbus A350 and MC21, which will be even lighter, more economical, quieter, more comfortable, more reliable, etc. and so on. But, all the same, these will be twin-engine low-wing aircraft... More on that next time.
Thank you for your attention.