Everyone who flew can mostly tell like the same. Usually, the perception of what was there in the sky, begins to be felt only after you lose it. It's because the memory becomes aggravated.
If you ask any pilot who has not stop flying , and he could tell something except that the board is in order! Because it's everyday work.
My wife's father, at the age 17 went to the front. And realizing how holy to us that terrible war, I pester him with the questions. He suddenly said to me that the bullets are not fearfully as in the sky. I was very surprised !
Not long time ago, having lost already the main joys of the life, I bother with
my questions to 85-year veteran,who had passed through the war with 203-mm gun. The first two days he was held and told me everything, and then me and asked me who am I. And learning about me, he
started ask me with the questions. As appeared he had the same point of view as my wife's father.
Have you ever heard that the pilot fell on the town? (in the 70s in Novgorod, however, was a case where the pilot sent his An-2 at the apartment of his mother in law. Mother in law, however, was not at home!) All of them try to carry away the death of the city. Probably, in the subconscious of every pilot the words of the famous song of Edita Piekha! (the main for me for all my life)
Probably, the dream is the most important. The dream consists of the thoughts. And the idea, as you know, is material. Consequently, the dream is material too. Do not put unrealistic goals.
So the dream of millions is to fly but only units are flying . (That was told before me ). My journey in a dream began in deep childhood . I remember that in the 3 or 4 class , we wrote a standard work on the standard theme of a future profession, and 11 boys had written that they want to fly. As I know I flew only. Then there was the flying club, where more than 50 people wanted to fly and only 5 met requirements . Now there are remained only two. In the Academy of Civil Aviation the competition was 10 people on one place. Of course, it was the main figure. This rate is not constant. Except of terrible Yeltsin-Chubais mayhem that hit our youth on 10 years, the competition ranged from 1/10 to 1/50. Moreover, the same competition and in other countries, and is proportional to the level of developed countries. That is, the more developed a country is, the higher the competition. Of those who overcome this barrier, no more than 3-5%, not dreaming about it since childhood, with at least 13-15 years. In the civil aviation, for example, after passing the medical exams the competition becomes 1 / 3-1 / 4. In the military, health requirements are higher, but the requirements for knowledge out there a little less. While we studied four years, 3-4 students were written off because of health , but nobody because of underachievement .
During 3 academic flying years and 24 years the total time of flights was 11095 hours and 18 minutes. This is of course officially. Not officially, of course, was more. 11095 hours is consisted in 1 year 3 months and 7 days. The distance was covered 8,289,560 kilometers or 211 times flew around the globe, or 11 times reached the Moon and came back. For all the time there were one case of fault of technology and two cases with batteries ( i did not pay attention that time on locator event). The rest were so call "human factor". All of them are described here.
From our course, about 100 people, Kostya Hozeev, Alexander Dyatlov would never read these lines. Kostya crashed down in Yugoslavia, and Sasha, somewhere in the Pacific, on the island of Timor. One person Zdor Sasha, sat in Taliban prison in Afghanistan. He was in captivity. The event was covered by the press and television. Three had dead, three were killed. Now flies 50 people, the other flies away, or had gone away. As a pilots are flying two.
(Now as navigators flies 2 (on An-124 Ruslans)and as a pilots are 2 or 3 (MD-11 and Airbuses. About 5-7 as controllers of briefing in Aviation)
I faced with the birds about 15 times. It's a pity the birds, but they did not call for a visit. I faced with one bird at 1000 meters, in Moscow control zone.
For all 24 production years I met with more than 100 people. Only here I briefly touched about 50 people. 49 of them are wonderful people. With someone I could not work, but for all time saw only one vile person! Every family has its black sheep
Interestingly, in what other profession, except, perhaps, the sailors of the Navy there is such constellation of people? Probably because that goes to such kind of work romance, for whom wages something is secondary, the most important thing is the dream of the childhood. And how can a childhood dream or thoughts can be dirty?
I am eternally grateful to my parents for help, which was provided to me in achieving their dreams. I am happy to be and remain among my brothers and proud of it!
My wife Luda is always with me. I call her Miss Tu-134. This is my "Roman Holiday."
I worked in the Office of Aeronautical Information with Sergei P. until September 1 2005, and then I was taken to the briefing - where I thought to work after retirement.
And as my friend Nick says, The Flight is continue!
March 2006