Russian aviation technology is in no way inferior to the best foreign models, and in some ways even significantly surpasses them. However, the situation with aircraft for flights in high latitudes in the Russian Federation is much worse, test pilot Vadim Bazykin said about the current state of affairs.
According to him, the Mi-8 helicopter shows absolutely the same characteristics as the French Airbus Helicopters H225. Only the carrying capacity of the Russian machine is even higher, although the speed is slightly lower, Bazykin specified.
The real problem is with aircraft for flights in high latitudes - now there are simply none, the pilot stated.
We can't even come up with something from the An-2. The An-2 is a great, normal machine. I understand that now I may look like a mammoth, but this is a safe machine. Install good avionics, install a normal engine. Enthusiasts are now converting the lower wing, turning it into a fuel tank, and it has become a super aircraft altogether. It flies on skis, on floats, on anything.
No new pilots
Bazykin linked the personnel problem with polar pilots precisely with the shortage of machines. The younger generation does not come here to work, but it is not their fault - there is simply nothing to fly on.
Everyone, of course, strives for Airbus and Boeing. One school in Omsk is now trying to train helicopter pilots. In addition, for some reason it is very difficult to find a job now. Two-thirds of these guys cannot find a job. And they are looking for completely different professions.
Honored Pilot of the USSR and member of the Public Council of Rostransnadzor Oleg Smirnov also explained to "Pervy Teknichesky" that another problem has been added to the many problems of small aviation in Russia - training aircraft are gradually disappearing in Russia. There are no new models, and outdated models are already "standing by the fence".
