Beautiful photos of airplanes. Beautiful photos of soaring planes in the endless sky. Hitchhiking in the Volgograd and Astrakhan regions
And the event took place a week before it began.
The Irkut company invited me to take part in an aerial photo shoot of two aircraft preparing to perform at the air show - the Yak-130 in a new red retro livery and the Su-30SM - a modernized Sushka for the Russian Air Force. The story is about how cameraman Pavel Novikov and I filmed them from the ramp of the An-12 aircraft.
A ramp in aviation is a device designed to load and unload an aircraft. It is a mechanized hatch in the nose or tail of the fuselage, capable of descending onto the apron surface:
For those who have never seen the military transport An-12, I’ll show you. Highlighted in red is the ramp, which opens for landing or, as in our case, for photographing the trail of a flying aircraft:
To gain access to filming from a transport aircraft, you need to pass a medical flight expert commission (VLEK) and have a life insurance policy. For a videographer, the requirements are not as stringent as, for example, for a flight attendant or flight engineer. Not to mention the pilots.
I have limited vision (that is, I can only take pictures from transport aircraft and helicopters), and Pashka is generally handsome - he can take pictures from fighter jets! What he has been doing successfully for several years now. He started in the MiG company, flew with the Russian Knights on the Su-27, participated in the filming of various films - feature films and documentaries, and even flew on the MiG-25. He studied at VGIK on the course of Vadim Yusov, and now works with the Zvezda TV channel.
No one will just allow you to stand by an open ramp. A net and belts were tightly stretched around its perimeter, and a beam was tightly screwed to the floor to support the legs. The operator is wearing special climbing equipment, to which is attached a safety harness screwed into the floor. Moreover, the amount of insurance is calculated strictly for such a distance as not to fall outside the net:
I sling my two cameras (second and third Marks) with 24-70/2.8 and 70-200/2.8 lenses with long straps over my neck. Practice has shown that 70-200 was most often used. One 28-300 lens would be ideal here, but I don’t have one.
Pashka is looking forward to it. By the way, you need to dress warmly. At an altitude of 100-1500 meters, the temperature is ten degrees lower than on the ground. For example, a leather pilot jacket made of thick leather is perfect! I also personally got hold of a paratrooper’s cap somewhere:
After gaining the required height, they give us a sign that it’s time and we run to fasten ourselves to the ramp, which is closed for now. The operator is wearing a headset for conversations with An-12 pilots, but with the noise of the engines it is almost useless.
And now, when we are standing strapped in with cameras at the ready, the ramp is opened! There is some dust flying, I expected more debris and wind. A minute or two later, the first participant in the Yak-130 photo shoot appears:
The aircraft is flown by Honored Test Pilot of the Russian Federation, Hero of the Russian Federation Roman Taskaev and Test Navigator 1st Class Sergei Kudryashov:
On the ground, at the pre-flight briefing before filming, we discussed its conditions. Altitude, speed, distance of the “model” from the operators, maneuvering and aerobatic maneuvers that must be captured. Height - 1000-1500 meters, the closest distance of approaching the subject to the ramp is 25 m, at a descent 10-15 m.
And it’s not necessary to go higher, because the object will fall into the wake from the An-12 engines, and in this mode you can’t fly, and the picture will be blurred.
We didn’t have a choice of shooting time, and ideally, air-to-air should be carried out at dawn and sunset, and preferably somewhere in the mountain area.
The route ran from Zhukovsky to Yegoryevsk and back.
And this is above some lakes (I’m looking, looking on the map, but I can’t find it). In general, my favorite pastime is looking at and recognizing places taken from an airplane. But the track was not registered here.
For the first few minutes, the Yak-130 moved smoothly, and then it began to move. To make the picture more dynamic, Pashka asked the pilots to swing and make several rolls and moves in different directions.
The plane, after maneuvering directly below us, quickly leaves the frame:
"Barrel". And rrraz!
And three! The 22-minute shooting of the Yak-130 is completed.
The Yak-130 has been photographed, the ramp is closing and you can take a nap while waiting for the next “model”, which will take off from the Ramenskoye airfield at that very moment. The communication said that the Su-30SM would appear in a few minutes.
At first we couldn’t see the Su-30SM blending into the terrain, but when we noticed it. Averyanov Vyacheslav Yurievich - test pilot at the flight test and development base of the Sukhoi Design Bureau. The co-pilot is his son Evgeniy:
General view from the An-12 ramp:
The plane is so close that you can meet the eyes of the pilots. We on the ramp behind the net are not illuminated in any way and they don’t see us. To enhance the effect, a brake flap is available:
The Su-30SM multi-role super-maneuverable fighter is a further development of the Su-30MKI family of combat aircraft:
Contracts for the supply of 60 Su-30SM in the period until 2016 were concluded between the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation and OJSC Irkut Corporation in 2012.
We were personally convinced that the plane is super-maneuverable 😉
Photo without cropping. Canon EOS 5D Mark III, lens 70-200/2.8LII, focal length 110 mm, ISO 320, shutter speed 1250, aperture 7.1:
That's it, the handsome guy is gone. The shooting lasted 8 minutes and, in my opinion, was a success. And what do you think?
And no one did the backstage with me. I have to take a self-portrait:
August 12, 1912 is considered the birthday of the Russian Air Force. Anton Trofimov and other Forbes website authors selected 15 of the most remarkable domestic aircraft and helicopters, from the Ilya Muromets to an amazing device with a giant tank on the roof
100 years of Russian aviation in photos of famous planes and helicopters
"Ilya Muromets" (1913)
The world's first passenger aircraft and the first Russian bomber.
Produced: more than 80 copies.
The Ilya Muromets aircraft were the basis of the bomber aviation of the Russian Empire during the First World War and became one of its symbols.
Po-2 (U-2, 1928)
One of the most popular aircraft in the world.
Produced: over 33,000 copies.
Created as a training aircraft for mass training of Soviet pilots during the Great Patriotic War, the Po-2 performed, in particular, the functions of a light night bomber and became famous thanks to the female pilots who flew it.
I-16 (1933)
A symbol of pre-war aviation of the USSR, the world's first high-speed low-wing aircraft with retractable landing gear
Produced: 19,292 examples
The I-16 was the main fighter of the Soviet Air Force on the eve and during the first period of the Great Patriotic War. The last aircraft were withdrawn from service in 1952 by the Spanish Air Force, where the aircraft were supplied by the USSR during the civil war of 1938-1939.
ANT-20 "Maxim Gorky" (1934)
The largest aircraft of its time with a land landing gear.
Produced: 1 copy.
Used as a propaganda aircraft, crashed on May 18, 1935 as a result of a collision with an escort aircraft.
IL-2 (1939)
The most produced combat aircraft in the history of aviation.
Produced: 36,183 examples.
An attack aircraft used on all fronts of the Great Patriotic War. It is unique in that the armor of the engine and cockpit was part of the power structure of the aircraft's airframe. In addition to the USSR, it was in service with five other countries of the Warsaw bloc, where it was used until 1954.
Yak-18 (1946)
Symbol of mass aviation of the USSR.
Produced: over 4800.
The Yak-18 replaced the Po-2 as a training aircraft and was the first aircraft for almost all Soviet post-war pilots and amateur pilots involved in flying clubs.
An-2 (1947)
Before its appearance, the An-3 was the world's largest single-engine biplane in the history of aviation.
Produced: 17,000 copies.
It was produced in the USSR and Poland (under license, supplied to the USSR), and is still produced in China (cost about $75,000).
IL-18 (1957)
The first Soviet aircraft to be massively sold on the foreign market.
Produced: 675 copies.
In addition to the USSR, it was operated by 17 foreign airlines, and today remains in operation in four countries, not counting Russia.
MiG-21 (1959)
The most common supersonic aircraft in the world.
Produced: 11,496 copies, not counting those built under license in China.
It was in service with more than 40 countries, and currently remains part of the air forces of 22 countries.
Mi-8 (1961)
The most popular twin-engine helicopter in the world.
Produced: more than 12,000 copies.
Price: $14.75 million to $17.5 million.
Operated in more than 70 countries around the world, it is still (in various modifications) in service with the Russian Air Force and is the most popular domestic military transport helicopter.
Tu-144 (1968)
The world's first airliner to break the sound barrier.
Produced: 16 copies.
The first flight of the Tu-144 took place two months earlier than the flight of the Concorde. Commercial operation on the only route Moscow - Alma-Ata was curtailed in 1978 due to unprofitability: the cost of a flight on a Tu-144 was one and a half times higher than the cost of a flight on subsonic airliners.
Tu-154 (1968)
The most popular Soviet jet passenger aircraft
Produced: 932 copies
Tu-154s were operated by passenger airlines throughout the socialist camp and many other countries that maintained friendly relations with the USSR. To this day, 30 airliners make regular flights in Russia; a few examples remain in operation in other countries, including as government aircraft (Bulgaria, Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic).
VM-T "Atlant" (1981)
A unique aircraft designed to transport elements of the Energia-Buran rocket and space complex. Operated by the Air Force.
Produced: 3 copies.
The cylindrical load above the VM-T fuselage is the oxygen tank of the Energia launch vehicle installed backwards in a special fairing.
Ka-50 "Black Shark" (1982)
The world's first single-seat coaxial combat helicopter.
Produced: 15 copies.
Despite the small number of vehicles in service, it has become one of the symbols of modern Russian aviation - thanks to its futuristic outlines and even more so after the release of the action movie “Black Shark”, which gave the helicopter its unofficial name.
An-225 "Mriya" (1988)
The world's largest transport aircraft performing regular flights.
Produced: 1 copy.
Like the VM-T, it was designed to transport the Energia-Buran rocket and space complex. Currently in commercial operation.
P.S. It’s nice that “Russian aviation” includes Ukrainian aircraft.
And here are the planes that I studied and worked on: Il-76 and MiG-29
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Photographer Slawek Kraniewski loves airplanes and everything connected with them. Thanks to his hobby and work as a photographer, unique and very beautiful photographs of airplanes were obtained.
The pictures are truly impressive. See the 10 best photos of winged cars on the entire Internet.
10 PHOTOS
The material was prepared with the support of the Elion awning shelter auto studio, which offers sewing awnings for almost any application - for a boat, a car, a swimming pool, a summer house, as well as for airplanes and helicopters.
1. The picture was taken at the air show - Axalp 2008 - in Switzerland. In the photo: the American McDonnell-Douglas F/A-18 Hornet fighter-bomber, in service with the Swiss Air Force, during a high-speed flight between Alpine peaks. 
2. Training before the air show in Minsk Mazowiecki in 2012 (Poland). In the photo: MiG-29 is a Soviet (Russian) fighter. 
3. Airshow Bodo International Airshow 2012 (Norway). In the photo: during the Scandinavian Airshow. 
4. Airshow Malbork 2012 (Poland). In the photo: the MiG-29 takes off after a very heavy rain. A very spectacular cloud of steam formed behind the plane. 
5. Airshow Airpower 2013 (Austria). In the photo: display of the Austrian Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft. The lucky moment made the photo unique - the plane seemed to have flown into the sun. 
6. Air Tattoo 2013 (UK). In the photo: a Rafale aircraft during maneuvers in a rainbow-colored glow. 
7. Airshow MAKS 2013 (Russia). In the photo: the pride of Russian aviation, the T-50 PAK FA - a fifth-generation multirole fighter - during displays over Moscow. 
8. Airshow MAKS 2013 (Russia). In the photo: the Su-34 aircraft, a Russian tactical fighter-bomber, shows its capabilities. 
9. Airshow Axalp 2013 (Switzerland).
If you want to watch the Axalp airshow, you must first climb Mount Wildgarst - about 2400 meters - at dawn, because at 9am the flying fighters start shooting at the shields mounted on the nearby peaks - this is one of the mandatory elements of the Swiss Air Force show. In the photo: daredevils climbed the mountain, and right above them an F/A-18 Hornet in the rays of the morning sun.
10. Jones Beach Airshow 2012 (USA). A unique show: almost a million spectators who simultaneously admire the aerial displays and swim or sunbathe. Photo: F-22 Raptor - the most expensive fighter in the world - during maneuvers. More photographs of aircraft can be seen on the author’s website - hesja.pl
The passenger plane you are currently on board is convenient, fast and safe. And, if you think about it, this is simply a fantastic achievement of man: a hundred-ton car flies, supported by air. It allows you to breathe at such altitudes, where even the most experienced climber could not do without an oxygen mask. And a spacesuit. Very close to you are engines with fuel burning, and you are drinking soda from the refrigerator. The passenger plane is a collection of wonders and human achievements, compressed into one streamlined body. But throughout history, man has created aircraft such that your airliner is the height of banality.
1)Flying chariot
Vimana
Flight times: Unknown.
Type: Military(bomber, fighter) Executive.
Distinctive feature: most likely fictional.
It’s interesting that the ancient Indian epic “Mahabharata” and the book “Kama Sutra”* are considered the property of Indian culture. But they don’t believe the first book at all, and the second is considered almost a textbook. Although many researchers call the second book fantastic.
Vimanas, the use of which is described in the Mahabharata and some other sources, are called chariots, but the authors describe take-offs, landings and battles with such ecstasy and such knowledge of details that you can’t help but wonder. After all, a culture that considered it necessary to decorate its temples with reliefs with scenes of sex** could come up with such a thing.
*5/6 of which is devoted to how to be a good citizen and husband. Why are these chapters of the book always forgotten?
**In this way, the entertaining Hindus scared away the shy goddess of lightning.
2)Vakhmistrov Circus
St. Petersburg
Flight times: 1937-1942 (1943)
Type: Military(flying aircraft carrier-bomber).
Distinctive feature: The only successful flying aircraft carrier project.
We present to your attention the world's only combat flying aircraft carrier. "SPB" (Composite Dive Bomber). A unique aircraft, as usual, generated by the urgent need to destroy something somewhere. Summer of 1941, the German army is advancing on all fronts, and the Red Army Air Force urgently needs a weapon that combines flight range and the ability to carry out targeted bombing strikes. Similar projects have been developed in the USSR since 1931, and the time has come for SBP to prove itself. “Vakhmistrov’s Circus,” as it was often called, consisted of a TB-3 bomber (a legendary machine in itself) and two I-16 dive bombers suspended under its wings. Usually such unique vehicles perform either poorly or very poorly in battle, but the SPB turned out to be so effective that the command more than once received requests for the urgent production of new “Carriers”. But the TB-3 had already been discontinued, and starting it again in war conditions was unrealistic. Five St. Petersburg fighters fought successfully at least until the middle of the 42nd.
3) Muscleflight
Gossamer Albatross
Flight times: 1979
Type: experimental
Distinctive feature: Built solely on the principle “Are you weak?”
A muscle plane is a vehicle that can fly only with the help of human muscle power. Before the invention of normal internal combustion engines, people tried hundreds of times to take off in muscle planes. And they never succeeded. And Brian Allen did it, his plastic-cellophane Gossamer Albatross flew over the English Channel on June 12, 1979. Throughout the flight, the professional cyclist pedaled, turning the plane’s only propeller. After which lucky Brian received the cash prize promised for such a feat.
4) “Weapon of Vengeance”
Unique developments in Germany 1939-45.
Flight times: 1939-1945
Type: Military, various purposes.
Distinctive feature: A variety of both the most advanced and downright strange ideas.
German scientists of the Second World War are a unique subculture, if you like. Historians who study their developments either admire their genius, or seriously discuss the varieties of hallucinogenic mushrooms that Nazi researchers could have used when coming up with THIS. We are interested in aviation, and in this area German scientists have created so much that it would be enough for the entire list. There are rocket planes, and V-1 projectile planes, and “flying wings”... even “flying saucers”. And this is only what managed to take off before the end of the war.
Hitler considered most of this fleet to be his “Weapon of Vengeance,” capable of turning the tide of the war. It didn't work out. But it worked out quite well to build the most incredible aircraft. Look at the photo, even now this doesn’t fly.
5)Flying tank
Project CT
Flight times: 1942
Type: military(disposable transport glider)
Distinctive feature: A real flying tank.
The idea of dropping tanks on the unprepared heads of enemies, who would immediately rush into battle, has excited the minds of military engineers since the time these tanks appeared. Now this is feasible: heavy aircraft drop armored vehicles using parachutes, and a few meters from the ground the jet braking system ensures a soft landing. But in the 40s they could not even dream of this, but they could well dream of the horror that tanks that suddenly appeared deep in the rear wreaked in the enemy’s camp. The result of dreams: “project KT” - tank wings. The T-60 light tank was equipped with wings, after which it took off on a trailer from a heavy bomber. Tests have shown that the CT can fly and land independently with a crew inside, but to transport it in the sky a very strong “tractor” is needed. Only Pe-8s were suitable, of which there were about 60, and all of them were busy with depth bombing of Germany. The project had to be closed and the T-60KT was able to surprise only the personnel of the Soviet airfield where it suddenly landed.
6) Portable wings and rocket pack.
EXO-Wing and Bell Rocket Belt.
Flight times: 2008-present(EXO-Wing) and 1961-present("Bell Rocket Belt").
Type: experimental.
Distinctive feature: Ultra-small aircraft.
Such devices can often be found in science fiction, but who would have thought that they were real. EXO-Wing - small wings with jet engines. No fuselage, except for a special heat-resistant suit and helmet. This is a unique device, but at least it has wings, while the Bell Rocket Belt doesn’t even have those. Few people know that rocket packs ceased to be science fiction back in 1961, exactly 8 days after Gagarin’s flight. And six months later, pilot Harold Graham, during maneuvers, took off from a military amphibian, flew over a water obstacle and landed dashingly in front of Kennedy. According to eyewitnesses, the president watched the flight with his mouth open in amazement. Kennedy can be understood; in the air a man with a rocket pack looks simply unreal. And our sky would have long ago been filled with flying people, if not for the high price of the backpack, the flight altitude (about 10 meters) and, most importantly, the duration, which they have not been able to significantly increase until now - about 30 seconds.
7) Scandinavian gray planes
Unmarked planes over the Scandinavian countries in the 1930s.
Flight times: 1932 - 1938
Type: Unknown.
Distinctive feature: What it was, no one understood.
During this period, dozens of gray planes of various classes were noticed in the skies of Norway, Sweden and Finland, including those with floats and skis, sometimes flying with brightly lit cabins, sometimes with engines turned off. The intensity of the flights was so high that the military command of the Scandinavian countries was forced to justify itself to the press for the fact that they could not do anything. Norway used the Eagle cruiser to search for them; the Swedish Air Force lost (due to bad weather) two aircraft while trying to find the airfields from which these intruders were taking off. To no avail.
With the beginning of World War II, the strange gray planes were forgotten. Neither journalists, nor military personnel, nor researchers (some of whom died trying to find the planes' bases) could understand what kind of planes they were and who they belonged to.
8)Flying beluga
Airbus A300-600ST (Beluga)
Flight times: 1994–present
Type: Transport.
Distinctive feature: A small plane with a huge transport compartment.
Only the existence of special tasks gives rise to such aircraft. The famous aircraft manufacturer Airbus is forced to assemble aircraft from parts that are produced throughout Europe. But what if these parts are the wings of an airplane or, even worse, its fuselage? The A300-600 Beluga (really, it resembles a beluga whale) became a salvation for the company. The huge transport compartment contains fragments of other aircraft of the company, which are then assembled at the plant in Toulouse.
9) Ship-plane
Ekranoplan KM
Flight times: 1966 – 1980
Type: Military(transport).
Distinctive feature: the only aircraft that, according to documents, passes as a ship.
Back in the 30s, engineers noticed a strange feature: near the ground, planes suddenly significantly reduced their descent speed, as if not wanting to touch the ground. But in those years, this effect only gave rise to many romantic stories about planes “loving the sky and not wanting to land.” They really became interested in it only in the 60s in the USSR. Later, this phenomenon was called the “screen effect” - an additional lifting force that occurs near the surface itself (from several centimeters to several meters).
The KM*** ekranoplan was the largest flying machine of its time. Although the flight altitude was only a few meters. Experimental model, took off in 1966 near Kaspiysk. Interestingly, the Navy flag was raised on the plane, and before the amphibian was launched into the water, a bottle of champagne was broken on the side. Despite its “airplane” appearance, despite the fact that it was piloted by pilots, and even despite the main method of transportation - flight, the KM was considered a ship.
***The large letters KM on board the ship were deciphered in Western sources as “Caspian monster.” But the USSR never called military equipment so pretentiously. In fact, this is a “Mock-up Ship”.
10) Space plane
SpaceShipOne
Flight times: 1994–present.
Type: Commercial spacecraft.
Distinctive feature: The first of its kind.
SpaceShipOne is a unique space plane. If only because it was created by the private company “Scaled Composites”. In 2004, she won the Ansari X Prize - $10 million, promised to the company that managed to make two flights into space in two weeks on one ship. SpaceShipOne fulfilled all the conditions of the competition, rose 112 kilometers and returned safely to Earth. It may have made our list simply because of its looks, but it did something more: it made history as the first private aircraft in space.
Interestingly, SpaceShipOne pilots are not astronauts. An astronaut is a person who has made at least one orbit around the Earth at an altitude of more than 100 kilometers. But they are astronauts, since in the USA anyone who, even for a moment, reached an altitude of 80 and a half kilometers is an astronaut.
Ps. Take a look at the photo. SpaceShipOne is a small plane below, everything else is the White Knight plane carrying it, lifting the space plane to an altitude of 14 kilometers.