What to watch on the weekend: Ministry of Transport recommends the film "Air" - a film about fearless pilots of Yak-1B aircraft

"Air" is a Russian film by Alexei German Jr. starring Anastasia Talyzina, Aglaya Tarasova, and other famous actors. The film premiered in Tokyo in October 2023 and was released widely in January 2024. The film was nominated for 14 Golden Eagle Awards and received six awards. It was broadcast on Channel One on May 9, 2025.

The action takes place in April 1942, during the difficult time of the Great Patriotic War. A group of young female pilots, who do not yet have combat experience, arrives at an aviation regiment stationed near besieged Leningrad and providing defense for the "Road of Life."

Work on the film "Air" began in 2018. Production, with a budget of 450 million rubles, was carried out by METRAFILMS and Amedia Production with the support of a number of foundations and organizations. Filming began in St. Petersburg in January 2020, but was suspended due to the pandemic. Resuming in the fall of 2021, it was completed in February 2022. Location shooting took place in the Leningrad, Saratov, and Novgorod regions, as well as in Karelia.

During filming, all air combat scenes were completely filmed. For this, large-scale LED screens with an area of 800 sq. m were erected. Also, 12 models of Yak-1B aircraft were created and field airfields of wartime were recreated.

Initially, it was planned to use real war-era aircraft, such as "Yaks" and "Messerschmitts," for filming. Suitable flying examples were found in the Czech Republic and Germany, but the sudden outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the closure of borders thwarted these plans. We had to be inventive and build detailed models of aircraft, striving to avoid the "cardboard" look typical of cinema. Production designer Elena Okopnaya had to painstakingly recreate the "Yak-1B" and "Messerschmitts" from drawings, some of which are now on display in a museum in Kronstadt. A "Yak-52" was used to simulate flights, which was then refined on the computer.

An Izvestia reviewer called the film "Air" one of the most significant and exciting domestic film projects of the 21st century. He described it as "radically harsh cinema," distinguished by unique spectacular air battles and images capable of causing nightmares in impressionable viewers.

The film brought together a star cast, including Sergei Bezrukov, Aglaya Tarasova, Anastasia Talyzina, Anton Shagin, and other famous artists.

"Yak-1B" is a modernized version of the Soviet Yak-1 fighter, "B" is an unofficial designation. Starting in October 1942, all Yak-1s were produced to this standard only at the aviation plant in Saratov.

Changes in the design of the Yak-1B:

• the M-105PA engine was replaced with a more powerful boosted M-105PF engine (1180 hp at an altitude of 3000 m)
• a new canopy with a lowered fairing was installed
• to protect the pilot's head - front bulletproof glass and a visor made of transparent armor
• a new control stick and retractable tail wheel were installed
• 7.62-mm ShKAS machine guns were replaced with 12.7-mm UBS

Technical specifications of the Yak-1B:

• maximum speed - 592 km/h near the ground
• practical range - 700 km
• practical ceiling - 10500 m
• armament - 1 × 20-mm ShVAK cannon and 1 × 12.7-mm machine gun

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