The history of the aerobatic team "Strizhi"

"Swifts" - aerobatic team awarded the titlethe best in the world. With numerous performances at international air shows, air parades and other events, Strizhi maintains a high reputation of the Russian Air Force, demonstrating high-level piloting of Russian fighter pilots, as well as the grandiose capabilities of domestic aviation equipment.

Prerequisites for creating a group

The Strizhi flight group is part of the 234ththe regiment of the 16th Air Army, which was formed at the dawn of the 1950s. The regiment was intended primarily to participate in air parades held in the capital. The base was the Moscow suburb of Kubinka near Moscow, where regular displays of aerobatic art for cadets of aviation schools, members of the government and representatives of various diplomatic missions have been held since the middle of the last century.

Also pilots of the aviation regiment participated in theescorting the aircraft of the heads of foreign states, who arrived in the USSR on official visits and planes with the first Soviet cosmonauts. In 1983, the regiment pilots began to develop a new model of fourth generation fighters.

On what fly "Swifts"?

The aerobatic team, subsequently named"Strims", the first in the Soviet Union began to use the MiG-29 fighters, considered one of the best military aircraft. The supersonic jet fighter, distinguished for its lightness and maneuverability, was developed at Mikoyan's design bureau from the beginning of the seventies of the twentieth century. By the middle of the decade, an original sketch of the future fighter was created. In addition to its flight characteristics, the new aircraft was supposed to have modern weapons and sighting equipment, which equally corresponds to the requirements of near and far air combat.

The first tests of the MiG-29 took place in 1977. Withstood a series of test flights, the aircraft was put into production in the early eighties. Currently, the fighter is produced in two versions - single and double (combat training model). To date, about 1,500 machines of this model have been produced.

The appearance of "Swifts"

The "Swifts" aerobatic team exists from the sixthMay 1991. This date appears in the order to create the group. Then there was a unique coloring of the aircraft. The original version was as follows: fuselages of white color, combined with keels, painted in bright blue. On the sides of the cars were blue lights. On the air intakes were drawn black swifts.

In 2003, all the aircraft of the aerobatic team"Swifts" underwent a planned repair, after which the technique acquired a new color: a red and white case with blue swifts on the top and bottom. Thus, the technique began to carry the colors of the Russian flag. The keystone of the fighters had the letters "MiG". The "Strizhi" aerobatic team first demonstrated its program to the foreign public in France at the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Normandie-Niemen flight squadron. Since then, the group regularly shows the skill of high-quality piloting on all sorts of Russian and foreign events.

Features of flights

The Strizhi aerobatic team includesperformances of various figures performed both solo and two aircraft at the same time. The repertoire also contains many elements that are performed by the whole group. Aircraft of the group are capable of performing such flight orders as "hammer", "star", "arrow", "cross" and others. Often there are joint flights of aerobatic teams "Strizhi" and "Russian Knights". So, at the air show in 2007, nine pilots of these groups performed a "barrel" in flight order "Big Diamond". This figure was produced for the first time by a composition consisting of different models of aircraft.

The basic structure of the aerobatic team "Strizhi"consists of six pilots under the command of Colonel of the Air Force Osyaykin Sergei Ivanovich. The commander of the group performs the function of the master during flights. All participants of the "Strizhi" aerobatic team have the qualification of the first class pilots.

About flights "Swifts" compose songs. There are a variety of collector models of the airplane flight group in a reduced form. And a man who has ever seen an air show of these aces, can hardly forget the impressions of their unforgettable flights, because the group includes the best pilots of the country.