Russian Knights of Sevastopol 2015

"Russian Vityazi" is an aerobatics group of the Russian Air Force. Winner of a number of world records. It was formed on April 5, 1991 on the basis of the 1st aviation squadron of the 234th Guards Proskurovsky mixed aviation regiment of the 16th Air Army, based at the Kubinka airfield near Moscow. It performs group and single aerobatics on multi-purpose highly maneuverable Su-27P and Su-27UB fighters. In 2016, the group began operating new Su-30SM aircraft.

The uniqueness of the group is that it is the only aerobatic team in the world performing group aerobatic aerobatic flight on aircraft of the "heavy fighter" class, as well as the fact that fighters are serial samples (in 2012, the Barsy Zhetysu aerobatic air group was formed in Kazakhstan, performing flights on similar Su-27 fighters). The Group is a constant participant of all Russian and many foreign air shows. Kubinka Air Force Base, located 60 km west of Moscow, is known both in Russia and abroad. For many years, pilots from the Kubinka air base participated in numerous parades of combat aviation. Technical personnel and pilots of the air base were among the first to master new types of jet aircraft. Currently, Kubinka airbase is known as the best aerobatics school in Russia. Here are based aerobatics groups "Russian Knights" and "Swifts". Today Kubinka is one of the largest air bases of the Air Force in the Moscow region.

Su-27UB at low altitude

Since 1938 - 11th and 24th Air Regiments. From the airport Kubinka pilots of the Red Army defended the sky of Moscow during the Great Patriotic War. After the war, the 324th Svir Red Banner Fighter Air Division was stationed here. In November 1950, the division in full strength was transferred to Korea, and its place was taken by the 9th Fighter Air Division. Since 1952, the 234th Fighter Aviation Regiment has been based in Kubinka, the predecessor of the current 237th Aircraft Show Center.

In the postwar years, Kubinka pilots flew on Mikoyan OKB fighters - MiG-15, MiG-17, MiG-19, MiG-21, MiG-23 and MiG-29 aircraft. In May 1989, Su-27 fighters entered service with the 1st Aviation Squadron of the 234th Guards Proskurovsky Fighter Aviation Regiment. Soon, the first training flights were performed as part of a pair, three, and then four aircraft. The new aircraft were more complex in group piloting due to the large size, mass, inertia.
In early 1991, the composition of the aerobatic team of six aircraft was finally formed, and on April 5 of the same year, an aerobatic team, called the Russian Knights, was officially founded. Su-27 aircraft are painted in the colors of the national flag of Russia.

In September 1991, the group visited the UK, where the Russian Knights were guests of the Red Arrows aerobatic squadron from the Royal Air Force Central Flight School in Scampton, participated in the air show in Lucars. The group marched over the Queen's residence in Scotland. It was followed by shows in other countries, on different continents. There were two visits to the United States. There were also performances in Canada in France, Holland, Slovakia, Norway, Belgium and Luxembourg.

After returning from the air show in Malaysia, held in December 1995, on December 12, when landing for refueling at the Vietnamese airfield Cam Ranh, due to the unsatisfactory organization of flights in difficult weather conditions, three Russian Knights fighters collided with the mountain. This tragedy led to the death of four pilots of the aerobatic group. Their names and titles:
Guards Colonel Boris Grigoriev, Guards Lieutenant Colonel Nikolai Grechanov, Guards Lieutenant Colonel Nikolai Kordyukov, Guards Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Syrovoy. The dead were buried in the cemetery of the village of Nikolskoe, near Kubinka. In October 1996, a monument was opened on the grave of the dead “Russian Knights”.

The first city visited by the aerobatic team "Russian Knights" was the Austrian Celtveg, then the squadron performed in the capital of Slovakia - Bratislava. In September 1997, the group paid a friendly visit to France, where it took part in the celebration of the 55th anniversary of the Normandy-Neman regiment. During the celebration of the 850th anniversary of Moscow "Russian Knights" in the night sky of the capital opened a laser show Jean-Michel Jarre.
In November 1998, the group took part in the Zhuhai-98 air show in China. "Vityazi" acted as part of five aircraft, which were piloted by Alexander Lichkun, Vladimir Kowalsky, Sergey Klimov, Igor Tkachenko and Ivan Kirsanov. Navigation tasks when flying on international air routes were solved by senior navigator 237 TsPAT Colonel Sergey Fomin. In 1999-2000, numerous shows were performed in Russian cities, and in late 2000, a second visit to China took place. Flighting during this period was performed as part of six Su-27 aircraft. With the complex of single aerobatics were Igor Tkachenko and Eduard Zhukovets. In early 2001, the group was headed by Sergey Klimov. The five of them performed at various air shows, including MAKS-2001. In May 2002 Sergey Klimov died of a serious illness and the group was headed by Igor Tkachenko.

By the end of 2002, the group was replenished with new pilots and began to fly "updated" rhombus, which included Igor Shpak and Oleg Ryapolov. On December 10, the Russian Knights performed the first demonstration flight in the new composition at the air base in Kubinka in front of a delegation from the United States. In the same year, the group managed to fly on the Gelendzhik-2002 hydroaviasalon as a pair with a complex of synchronous and oncoming aerobatics. This aerobatics was performed by the most trained pilots Igor Tkachenko and Dmitry Khachkovsky.

At the end of July 2003, five Su-27M aircraft in ceremonial painting were transferred to the Russian Knights AGVP. Back in April 2003, pilots performed practical retraining for this aircraft. However, the group does not perform at public events. Unofficial sources say that the pilots fly conventional Su-27, as they are more familiar, safer and more convenient in terms of group aerobatics. One way or another, all Su-27M aircraft of the Russian Air Force are currently part of the Russian Knights aviation group.
To the 65th anniversary of the formation of the 237th Guards Center for the Display of Aviation Equipment in March 2003, the four "Russian Knights" together with the aerobatic group "Swifts" performed a flight in a single formation consisting of ten aircraft. June 12, 2003 on the day of Russia "ten" passed over Red Square. After that, the four "Vityazey" successfully performed at the first international naval salon in St. Petersburg.

In 2004, the complex of demonstrations included a joint flight of aerobatic teams "Russian Knights" and "Swifts" consisting of nine aircraft (5 Su-27 and 4 MiG-29) in the "rhombus" with a full range of aerobatics. This is a world record in aviation history. This was followed by performances at various air shows, including the Festival of Aerobatic Groups in Zhukovsky, the Aces of the Second World War in Monino, the Hydroaviasalon in Gelendzhik. In January 2005, the group made its first visit to the Arabian Peninsula in the UAE at the Al Ein 2005 air show.

In 2005, a grand performance was to take place, for which the group was preparing for almost a year. On May 9, 2005, to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War, the Russian Knights together with the Strizhs made a historic flight over Red Square. Then, within a week, the group moved beyond the Arctic Circle to the city of Dudinka and performed a successful air show. Also, within three months, Russian Knights performed demonstrations in St. Petersburg, Kazan, in the cities of Cherepovets and Vologda. The group took part in the MAKS-2005 air show. In autumn, the path of the group again lay in the Arctic on the Yamal Peninsula to the city of Salekhard, then to the city of Akhtubinsk.

In early 2006, a second visit to the UAE took place, where in the sky of the Arabian desert, the group, demonstrating aerobatics and showing high flight capabilities of the Su-27 aircraft, took first place in the class of group aerobatics on jet aircraft. “Russian Knights” made a new program, which included group rotations around the longitudinal axis in the aerobatic order “Wedge”, such as a double combat turn, “ear” and “barrel”.
In the same year, in March and November, visits to China took place, where the Russian Knights opened the year of Russia in China and participated in the international aerospace salon Zhuhai-2006. On April 5, 2006, the aerobatic team celebrated its 15th anniversary with an air show at its home airfield in Kubinka.

Two years later, on May 9, 2007, a similar flight was performed in joint formation with the aerobatic group "Swifts" consisting of nine aircraft. At the end of April, the Russian Knights flew to Belarus for the anniversary of the airbase in the city of Baranovichi. Also this year, air shows were performed in the city of Khabarovsk and at the hydroaviasalon in Gelendzhik, where at the opening of the salon the group flew in the composition of 6 aircraft. Demonstration flights took place throughout Russia, including such cities as Rostov-on-Don, Pushkin, St. Petersburg, Monino, Khanty-Mansiysk and Surgut.
In the summer, Russian Knights successfully performed at the MAKS-2007 air show. At this show, for the first time in the history of world aviation, a horizontal “barrel” consisting of 9 combat aircraft was performed.

In the spring of 2008, joint and solo performances of “Russian Knights” and “Swifts” were performed at the airbase in Kubinka, the flight of nine aircraft together with “Swifts” during the air part of the Victory Parade over Red Square, a non-stop performance of five aircraft in Saransk and Penza, as well as the first performance in Novosibirsk at the closing of the World Aerobatic Championship on the Yak-52. The program of foreign shows of the group included a performance in the Finnish city of Kauhava.

According to tradition, on May 9, a flight was made together with the "Swifts" over Red Square during the air part of the Victory Parade, as well as the performance of the "Russian Knights" at the Invasion 2009 festival.When performing a general rehearsal for the MAKS-2009 air show on August 16, 2009, two Su-27 aircraft from the air group collided near the Ramenskoye airfield. Killed one of the three pilots – the commander of the aerobatic team “Russian Knights” Igor Valentinovich Tkachenko.

Two Su-27 aircraft collided during a maneuver after the disbandment of the group and fell to the ground. Two pilots managed to eject, Igor Tkachenko died, as his catapult chair did not open a parachute. In addition, one of the planes fell on a country village and buried three houses in the fire; later one of the villagers died of burns. Igor Tkachenko for courage and heroism shown in the performance of military duty, received posthumously the highest state award - to which he was presented during his lifetime. The performance of the aerobatic team at the air show was limited to a short passage in front of the audience as part of a diamond; thus, the pilots honored the memory of their commander. Despite the tragedy, all other demonstration flights (including the first public flight of the new Sukhoi Superjet-100) took place as planned. On May 9, the group flew over Red Square together with the “Swifts” during the air part of the Victory Parade. Also, the group took part in a speech in honor of the 90th anniversary of I. N. Kozhedub at the Kubinka airbase, performed at the Invasion-2010 festival in the Tver region. On September 4, the Russian Knights demonstrated aerobatics in the sky over Volgograd, at an air show in honor of the 100th anniversary of the Kachin Higher Military Aviation School. In early June 2011, it was reported that the aerobatic team will be disbanded.

On June 10, 2011, the Minister of Defense of Russia officially stated that no one was going to disband the aerobatic teams “Swifts” and “Russian Knights”. On August 5, 2011, the modernized Su-27UB "spark" was transferred to the aerobatic team temporarily for the period of the MAKS-2011 air show. On August 9, 2011, Air Force Commander-in-Chief Alexander Zelin also officially stated that the aerobatic group "Russian Knights" "no one is trying and has not tried to abolish" From January 21 to 24, the group participated in the international air show in Bahrain as part of 4 fighters.

In early may, the group together with the “Swifts” was to take part in the exhibition KADEX-2012 in Astana. The visit, however, was disrupted for unknown reasons, despite existing international agreements and lengthy preparations. In the planned days, the pilots did not receive a command to fly. On June 2, the "Russian Knights" as part of a diamond in difficult weather conditions held a show at the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the 1st Leningrad Red Banner Command of the Air Force and Air Defense over the Pushkin airfield of the Leningrad region. The group is scheduled to participate in the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Russian Air Force in August 2012.[11] On August 5, the group performed the show with five aircraft in Belgorod. Also in the village of Borisovka (40 km from Belgorod) in honor of the 100th anniversary of the Russian Air Force and in memory of the pilots of the group Klimov and Syrov (both originally from Borisov district) was installed Su-27 in the color "Russian Knights". In July, the Russian Knights were scheduled to perform at the Farnborough air show. However, due to the lack of the necessary permits of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation for the export of aircraft, the group was unable to leave the territory of Russia. September 2: Show at the bottom of the city of November. September 6 and 9: a demonstration speech at the opening and closing of Hydroaviasalon 2012 in Gelendzhik. September 15: Demonstrative performance in Volgograd in honor of the 100th anniversary of the Russian Air Force On April 19, joint demonstrations of the "Russian Knights" and "Swifts" took place at the air base in Kubinka in honor of the 75th anniversary of the Center for Aircraft Show.

On July 4 and 7, joint demonstrations of the Russian Knights and Swifts took place at the opening and closing of the VI International Maritime Salon in St. Petersburg. From August 27 to September 1, the group performed at the MAKS-2013 air show. On September 25, the Rus aerobatic team performed over Smolensk in honor of the celebration of the 1150th anniversary and the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Smolensk. On October 25, a speech took place at the Kant airbase on May 9: Aerobatics groups “Strizhia” (four MiG-29) and “Russian Knights” (five Su-27) demonstrated an evening flight program over the Sevastopol Bay.

July 6: demonstration performances of the Russian Knights in the framework of the international festival “Student Spring of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization” took place over the Kashtak airfield in Chita. [15] On July 27, four Russian Knights performed at an air show near Novosibirsk. On August 9, demonstration performances of the aerobatic team took place as part of the celebration of the 75th anniversary of U-UAZ. Scheduled for August 30-31 and September 6-7 performances of the "Russian Knights" at the air show in honor of the 100th anniversary of Swiss aviation in Payerne were canceled. March 14, 2015 – Russian Knights performance in Kaluga in honor of the 70th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War.

March 21 – the performance of “Russian Knights” in Rostov-on-Don for the action “Military service under the contract – Your choice!” On April 25, the group took part in the action “Contractual Military Service – Your Choice!” in St. Petersburg.[19] May 9 – flight over Red Square as part of the aviation part of the Victory Parade. Performance of the figure "Cuban Diamond" together with the aerobatic group "Swifts". June 12 – the performance of the “Russian Knights” in Arkhangelsk, timed to the celebration of the Day of Russia. On July 2 and 5, demonstrations of aerobatic teams “Russian Knights”, “Swifts” and “Rus” took place at the opening and closing of the VII International Maritime Salon in St. Petersburg. August 22 – the performance of “Russian Knights” in Samara at the action “Military service under the contract – Your choice!”, coinciding with the holiday of the Russian flag.19 March performance in Omsk on the action “Military service under the contract – Your choice!” gathered more than 100 thousand spectators.

June 5, 2016 performance in Sevastopol at the competition of combat pilots "Aviadarts-2016" June 9, 2016 Su-27 aircraft from the "Russian Knights" crashed two kilometers from the suburban village of Muranovo, pilot Sergei Eremenko died. There are no casualties or destruction on earth. On September 6-10, 2016, the group held a series of speeches at the Army-2016 International Military-Technical Forum. On October 14, 2016, the Russian Knights aerobatic team received four super-maneuverable Su-30SM fighters from the Irkut Corporation. November 30, 2016 aerobatic group "Russian Knights" received the second batch of four Su-30SM fighters.On March 21, 2017, the aerobatic group "Russian Knights" performed at the 14th International Exhibition of Aerospace and Naval Equipment LIMA'2017 (Malaysia). The first performance of the group was held on Su-30SM fighters