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There are about a hundred Soviet, Russian and foreign aircraft and rocket engines, even rare samples, on display at the AEHC. Professor Vladimir Zrelov, Director of the AEHC, demonstrated the Centre’s unique collection to be actively used in the educational process to Svetlana Kapanina.
Colonel Ivan Khablo, Head of the Military Training Centre, and his deputy, Colonel Victor Odobescu, told the guest about the history of the MTC, its famous leaders and graduates, showed the museum, demonstrated aviation engineering to be studied by trainees under the programs for soldiers, sergeants and reserve officers.
And then, in one of the MTC classrooms, there was Svetlana Kapanina’s meeting with students of Samara University. The champion briefly told the students about her sports career, which began at school, with sports gymnastics classes.
“I was very fond of this sport, and I had a cool coach – Larisa Aleksandrovna Eremushkina-Ruppel. I still in contact with her, we write each other almost every day. She fostered in us love for sports, friendship in the team, respect for the competitor, and the ability to achieve goals. Everything in life, in sports, in a child, in a person to be good from a mentor, I’ve got, first of all, from her”, told us Svetlana Kapanina.
At that time, her favorite books were adventure classics, although there was very little time to read. And among books about aviation, Svetlana Vladimirovna distinguishes “Right to the Steering Wheel” by Igor Egorov, the absolute world champion in aeronautical sports in 1970, the winner of the Aresti Cup – the most prestigious award in aviation sports, a test pilot and a graduate of Kuibyshev Aviation Institute (now Samara University).
Kapanina says that she tries to follow the rule from Egorov’s book for all her flying life, according to which “Beautiful aerobatics is aerobatics without a single unnecessary movement”. And the result is impressive: seven absolute victories and forty-one medals in individual exercises at the world championships. But what exactly motivated her to prove yourself in aerobatics – flying and winning?
"Everything related to aviation was Leonid Arkadievich Solodovnikov (instructor pilot-navigator of the Kurgan Aviation Sports Club, died in 1994 – ed.). This was the man who first “gave me a ride” on aerobatics. He shaped my flying style, gave me a love for flying and a desire to be the first in aviation”, said the champion.
There are only 3 years between Svetlana Kapanina’s arrival at the Kurgan Aviation Sports Club in 1988 and her inclusion in the Russian national team. And already in 1993, she competed for the first time at the European Championships in the small Italian town of Grosseto. Who could have known the Russian athlete in Italy then? However, there were banners all over the town: “Benvenuti a Capannina!”
“I thought then, “Welcome”? Wow, how they’re meeting me! Though, they wrote an extra letter “n” in my surname. And “Capannina” turned out to be the name of a local disco club to have just opened. But then the whole town knew!” smiles Svetlana Kapanina.
She returned from Grosseto with a silver medal and received the title of Master of Sports, and Leonid Solodovnikov, her coach, received the title of Honored Coach of Russia.
Svetlana Kapanina told how two years later, at the World Championships in South Africa, 44 male pilots, as one, would be standing at the draw, chanting to her, the only girl, “First! First! First! First!” Was it gallantry or subtlety? Who knows… However, it is well known that the athlete, who is the first to perform, rarely is given high marks. The judges leave a kind of reserve: after all, it is unknown how the others will perform. Moreover, in 1995, in Cape Town, the main teams were of the highest level Unlimited.
In one of the exercises, Kapanina really had to fly first, and she showed the third result. But the “gold” and “silver” in other exercises brought her to the second place in the overall standings. Winning the second place among 44 male pilots was just the beginning. Then there was the 1996 World Championship in Oklahoma and the first triumph, the first absolute victory and all “gold” of the championship.
“We often heard: well, America... they are always only for their own, they don’t need anyone else. And then we arrived, humble Russians, took all the medals... and went home”, recalls Svetlana Kapanina. “But we were very well hosted there. They gave us the key to the city of Oklahoma, I keep it at home”.
At Samara University, a man to be well known both in our country and abroad worked for 60 years. Professor Yury Tarasov was the head of the Department of Aircraft Strength, Vice Rector for Research, as well as a master of sports, a judge of the international category in aeronautical sports, the author of the original methodology for assessing results of judging. By the way, the methodology was recognized and supported by foreign colleagues.
Svetlana Kapanina also remembers Yury Leonidovich. A non-accidental question to the champion: what is her opinion on quality of judging at today’s championships? The answer was harsh.
“It’s not for nothing to be said, “And who are the judges?” Countries represented by one or two athletes send to judge at the championships people who themselves have not flown aerobatics. How can they assess objectively? There were times when in our own team, our referees tried to “drown” some team-members, in order to promote others, although this reduced the team’s overall result. It shouldn’t be like this. There should be pride for the country. Currently, at the Russian championships, there are various training programs for referees, purposed at seeking more competent refereeing”, says Svetlana Kapanina.
I involuntarily remember how in 1999, in the finale of the Russian Aeronautical Sports Championship, Yury Tarasov was one of the initiators of a friendly competition among the referees for the most “beautiful” Nesterov loop. Referees fly, athletes judge. And he performed the maneuver himself, on a very strict Su-29 sports aircraft.
Student aviators could not help but ask: which of sports aircrafts mastered by Svetlana Kapanina is her most favorite one?
“I really love the Su-26. I started to fly the Yak-52, then there were Yak-55, Yak-50, but my main aircraft is the Su–26”, answered the champion. “Now they are no longer produced, but I am true to myself. I work for the Sukhoi company, fly the Su-26, and live in Aviakonstruktor Sukhoi Street. It’s my fate”.
By the way, Svetlana Vladimirovna is a current pilot and continues to train for participating in competitions, although not so intensively as before. At present, she flies the German “Extra”, but, according to her, four Su-26s are already being restored for the Russian national team.
The champion corrected the question about her most favorite aerobatic maneuver. She did not disclose her aerobatic preferences, but told us about the element to be the most difficult to perform.
“The most difficult maneuver is the bell. It is very important here to maintain a very clean vertical and at the end, just as accurately, perform safe – to deviate 3 degrees towards you are going to do the go-off”, explained Svetlana Kapanina, showing with her palm the aircraft position at the top point of the maneuver when it freezes motionless. “If the pilot even slightly deviates from the vertical, when the aircraft goes off, it will go where it shouldn’t, for example, on the wing, which means that you have zero scores for the high-difficulty maneuver”.
During training and performances, athletes exercise maneuvers with very high overloads. Nothing short of miraculous, otherwise you can’t win. And engineering does not always withstand extreme loads. Svetlana Kapanina answered the question about emergency situations and technical troubles with a smile, but this is now, when the situation is over.
“There were, of course, troubles. The engine failed, once it happened at the MAKS, the International Aviation and Space Salon in Zhukovsky. Fortunately, the spectators didn’t notice anything there. I landed and was even able to taxi off the runway, for the purpose of making room for the next participant of the program”, recalls Svetlana Vladimirovna.
During her aviation career, her aircraft canopy was torn off twice; somehow the propeller blade came off during aerobatics, pierced the plane, and immediately cut off the output shaft, with remnants of the propeller to simply fly away. Brakes failed more than once. One day, due to a ridiculous mistake made by the technicians, I had to land on the short runway “with no brakes”, and even downhill and with a tailwind… There are no trifles in aviation, and the path to victory in aeronautical sports is always risky.
Speaking of Svetlana Kapanina’s children, they have not yet followed in their mother’s footsteps, although from time to time, her daughter has mentioned that she will fly. But the sport they chose is no less risky and also related to speed. It is snowboarding.
The final question was asked by Colonel Ivan Khablo, especially for the guys who participated in the meeting: what quality does Svetlana Kapanina value most in men?
“For me, it’s strength. Inner strength, I can feel it. Guys, be strong, but at the same time gentle with your girls. You needn’t do chin-ups, to show your strength, but you should always have it inside yourself. Go boldly to your goal, but with love for people. And you will succeed!” concluded the dialogue Svetlana Kapanina.
For reference:
Svetlana Vladimirovna Kapanina (born on December 28, 1968) is a Russian pilot, seven-time absolute world champion in the women’s competition in aeronautics (1996, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2011). She has become the world champion in certain types of women’s program forty-one times (1996, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013).
She is the Honored Coach of Russia (2002), Honored Master of Sports of Russia in Aerobatics (1995), Candidate for Master of Sports in gymnastics, instructor pilot of the 1st class of the flight test and finishing base of PJSC Sukhoi Company “Sukhoi Design Bureau”.
In 1995, she graduated from Kaluga Aviation Flight Technical School, and in 2016 – from Saint Petersburg State University of Civil Aviation.
She has been involved in aviation sports since 1988. She mastered the Yak-52, Yak-50, Yak-55, Su-26, Su-29, Su-31 aircraft and their modifications, Extra 300, Extra 330 [de], as well as the LET L-13 Blanik glider.
In 1991, Svetlana Kapanina was included in the Russian national aerobatics team. In 1993, taking part in international competitions for the first time, she won a silver medal of the European Championship.
In 1998, in the UK, Svetlana Kapanina opened the airshow dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the Royal Air Force. In 2003, she was listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the most decorated pilot in the world of sports aviation.
She’s recognized the best pilot of the century (according to the World Air Sports Federation – FAI). In 2005, she was awarded the FAI Gold Air Medal as the only five-time absolute world champion in aerobatics at that time (2005).
Photo: Daria Sheshunova
