Viktor Georgiyevich Pugachev () (born 8 August 1948 in

Taganrog Taganrog (, ) is a port city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, on the north shore of Taganrog Bay in the Sea of Azov, several kilometers west of the mouth of the Don (river), Don River. It is in the Black Sea region. Population: Located at the site of a ...

RSFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...

) is a retired

Russian Air Force The Russian Air Force () is a branch of the Russian Aerospace Forces, the latter being formed on 1 August 2015 with the merging of the Russian Air Force and the Russian Aerospace Defence Forces. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the reb ...

officer and a former Soviet

test pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testin ...

who was the first to demonstrate the so-called

Pugachev's Cobra In aerobatics, the cobra maneuver (or just the ''cobra''), also called ''dynamic deceleration'', among other names , is a dramatic and demanding maneuver in which an airplane flying at a moderate speed abruptly raises its nose momentarily to a v ...

manoeuvre to the general public in 1989, flying an

Su-27 The Sukhoi Su-27 (; NATO reporting name: Flanker) is a Soviet-origin twin-engine supersonic supermaneuverable fighter aircraft designed by Sukhoi. It was intended as a direct competitor for the large US fourth-generation jet fighters suc ...

. The Gold medal of the

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union () was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society. The title was awarded both ...

was awarded to him in the late 1980s. He graduated from the

Yeysk Higher Military Order of Lenin Aviation School Yeysk () is a port and a resort town in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated on the shore of the Taganrog Gulf of the Sea of Azov. The town is built primarily on the Yeysk Spit, which separates the Yeya River from the Sea of Azov. Population: ...

in 1970, test-pilot school in 1978 and the

Moscow Aviation Institute Moscow Aviation Institute () is an engineering research university in Moscow, Russia. It is designated a National Research University. Since its inception the institute has been spearheading advances in aerospace technology both within Russia a ...

in 1980. After two years with

Gromov Flight Research Institute The Gromov Flight Research Institute or GFRI for short (, ) is an important Russian State Research Centre which operates an aircraft test base located in Zhukovsky, 40 km south-east of Moscow. The airfield is also known as Ramenskoye air ...

he joined

OKB Sukhoi The JSC Sukhoi Company (, ) is a Russian aircraft manufacturer headquartered in Begovoy District, Northern Administrative Okrug, Moscow, that designs both civilian and military aircraft. Sukhoi was founded in the Soviet Union by Pavel Sukhoi in ...

where he tested the

Su-9 The Sukhoi Su-9 (Air Standardization Coordinating Committee, ASCC reporting name: Fishpot) is a single-engine, all-weather, missile-armed interceptor aircraft developed by the Soviet Union. Development The Su-9 emerged from aerodynamic studie ...

Su-15 The Sukhoi Su-15 (NATO reporting name: Flagon) is a twinjet supersonic interceptor aircraft developed by the Soviet Union. It entered service in 1965 and remained one of the front-line designs into the 1990s. The Su-15 was designed to replace t ...

Su-24 The Sukhoi Su-24 (NATO reporting name: Fencer) is a supersonic, night fighter, all-weather tactical bomber developed in the Soviet Union. The aircraft has a variable-sweep wing, Twinjet, twin engines and a side-by-side seating arrangement for it ...

Su-25 The Sukhoi Su-25 ''Grach'' ( ('' rook''); NATO reporting name: Frogfoot) is a subsonic, single-seat, twin-engine jet aircraft developed in the Soviet Union by Sukhoi. It was designed to provide close air support for Soviet Ground Forces. The ...

and the

. On 1 November 1989 he landed a Su-27K on an aircraft carrier for the first time in Soviet history. He became famous after his 1989

demonstrations on the Paris Airshow. Pugachev is credited with first ever non-vertical take-off and landing (

VTOL A vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft is one that can takeoff and landing, take off and land vertically without relying on a runway. This classification can include a variety of types of aircraft including helicopters as well as thrust- ...

) from the aircraft carrier ''Admiral Kuznetsov''.''The Illustrated Directory of Fighters''
By Mike Spick He currently lives in Zhukovsky and works as the Chief Pilot Designer at

Sukhoi Design Bureau The JSC Sukhoi Company (, ) is a Russian aircraft manufacturer headquartered in Begovoy District, Northern Administrative Okrug, Moscow, that designs both civilian and military aircraft. Sukhoi was founded in the Soviet Union by Pavel Sukhoi in ...

Record flights

While working as a test pilot at Sukhoi he broke 13 world records in the Sukhoi P-42:

Honours and awards

(1989) – for courage and heroism in the development of the Su-27 *

Order of Merit for the Fatherland Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * ...

, 3rd class (1999) – for services to the state, a large contribution to the development, creation of modern aviation technology and years of diligent work *

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...

(1989) *

Order of the Badge of Honour The Order of the Badge of Honour () was a civilian award of the Soviet Union. It was established on 25 November 1935, and was conferred on citizens of the USSR for outstanding achievements in sports, production, scientific research and socia ...

(1983) * Order for Personal Courage *

Honoured Test Pilot of the USSR The Honorary Title "Honoured Test Pilot of the USSR" () was a state award of the Soviet Union established on August 14, 1958, by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet No. 2523-X to recognise courage and excellence of military and civilian t ...

(1991) * Order of Ivan Kalita (

Moscow Region Moscow Oblast (, , informally known as , ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). With a population of 8,524,665 (Russian Census (2021), 2021 Census) living in an area of , it is one of the most densely populate ...

(2008) * Prize Laureate. Vladimir Vysotsky's "Own Track" *

Jubilee Medal "300 Years of the Russian Navy" The Jubilee Medal "300 Years of the Russian Navy" () was a state commemorative medal of the Russian Federation awarded to deserving citizens to denote the 300th anniversary of the Russian Navy. It was established on February 10, 1996 by Presiden ...

Medal "In Commemoration of the 850th Anniversary of Moscow" The Medal "In Commemoration of the 850th Anniversary of Moscow" () is a commemorative medal of the Russian Federation created to denote the 850th anniversary of the city of Moscow. It was established on 26 February 1997 by Presidential Decree � ...

References

Living people 1948 births Heroes of the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 3rd class Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order "For Personal Courage" Military personnel from Taganrog Russian aviation record holders Soviet test pilots Soviet aviation record holders Recipients of the Order of Courage (Russia) {{Russia-bio-stub