To the 100th anniversary of domestic civil aviation

In the year of the 100th anniversary of domestic civil aviation, we are pleased to talk about outstanding air transport workers. Today we will talk about L.A. Panchenko.

From the biography of the ex-head of the Ural Department of Civil Aviation (1982-1988) Leonid Panchenko, an excellent script for a full-length film would turn out. Born in a Ukrainian village. During the war years, together with his family, he was evacuated to Nizhny Tagil. At the age of 14 he entered a vocational school. Not from a great desire - hunger forced (students were given 700 grams of bread each). After that he went as an electrician to one of the workshops of Uralvagonzavod. I did not put up with such a way of life. At the age of 17, he left for Sverdlovsk to enroll in a flight school - a childhood dream.

Eight years later, he is not only the youngest commander of the IL-18 ship in the USSR, but also a 1st class pilot. The Vremya program is filming a story about him. And Yeltsin refuses to fly with anyone but him. Today Leonid Aleksandrovich is 87 years old. He is the only pilot in the country who has the title of Honored Pilot of the USSR and a certificate of merit to the ICAO (UN structure). We met with him and asked him to tell his story.

LEONID PANCHENKO AFTER RETURNING FROM A LONG BUSINESS BUSINESS TO AFGHANISTAN

- Leonid Alexandrovich, in Soviet times you were called Yeltsin's personal pilot. Where did this story begin?

- It was 1976. Then only began to operate the aircraft TU-154. An unpleasant feature of these machines was that when the autopilot was turned on, due to a change in alignment, there was a feeling of an attack on a log. The passengers were scared. But I have learned to avoid it.

And then one day Yeltsin and his wife flew with me from Sverdlovsk to Moscow. He was busy with paperwork the whole flight. And Naina Iosifovna noticed that the flight was unusually calm. As a result, she asked Boris Nikolaevich to take them from the capital to me. He agreed. So we flew 10 years. Even when I became the head of the department, he would not let me go.

- How was the flight prepared for the first secretary of the Sverdlovsk regional committee of the CPSU?

- This flight was assigned the letter "K" (flight of special importance). The plane was necessarily parked next to the deputy's room (in Koltsovo it was parking number 8, and in Domodedovo - number 13).

- Did Yeltsin have any special privileges on board?

- He was a very tall man and his spine hurt. It was not easy for him to huddle in the cabin. Therefore, at some point, our head of department suggested removing the first row of seats from the plane so that Yeltsin could comfortably stretch his legs. This went on for several years. But one day, aircraft technicians at Moscow's Domodedovo airport refused to unscrew the seats. Yeltsin boarded and saw that the first row was in place. He immediately came to my cabin and said: “Leonid Aleksandrovich, I don’t understand…”. I answer: "Boris Nikolaevich, I will explain everything to you in Sverdlovsk." He again: "Leonid Alexandrovich, I don't understand!" It was already necessary to fly out, so our professional flight attendants quickly defused the situation and escorted him to his place. Upon arrival, I realized that I was in disgrace.

- How did the story end?

- Later he moved to work in Moscow and already flew on Moscow planes. Once he flew to Koltsovo, we met him. I was at the very end of the line. He came up to me and did not let go of my hand for a long time. “Leonid Alexandrovich, I understood the real value of your skill only in Spain, where the private pilot who took me from Madrid put the plane in such a way that I broke my spine,” he said. Later he sent me a thank you letter.

- You are one of the first Soviet pilots who was invited to work at the International Civil Aviation Organization (a structure at the UN - ed. note). You were supposed to fly as a flight instructor to London but declined. Why?

- I was already preparing for a business trip, but someone asked: where will I put my son? He just finished 6th grade with me. And in England at the embassy there were only 4 classes. I did not want to leave my wife and child. That's why I wrote a waiver. A big scandal erupted. I almost got fired. Fortunately, good people helped. As a result, my family and I were sent on another business trip - to Afghanistan.

- What did you do there?

- Prepared Afghan Yak-40 crews for independent flights. Under the contract, he was supposed to train one chief pilot, but in the end he trained three more pilots. They looked at me like a god. The fact is that their airline, due to the low level of training of pilots, could only operate domestic flights on Canadian aircraft. We flew only during the day in good weather conditions. The development of the Yak-40 allowed them to fly abroad: to Iran, Pakistan, and so on. And this is a completely different profit.

- What do you remember about the locals?

- They know how to keep military secrets exactly 20 minutes. Then be sure to share with someone.

- What did you buy when you returned?

- Funny story. Three years before the trip, I bought a GAZ-21. Already in Afghanistan, I asked my wife if we would not change the car upon our return. She said she liked our car. As a result, we decided with her that we would live on a business trip on the principle of "do not be stingy." Bought the best delicacies, down to smoked oysters. And when they returned to Koltsovo, gossip began, they say, why am I not buying a new car? I was so tired of them that I sold the GAZ-21, added a little and took the GAZ-24.

- You canceled your business trip ahead of schedule. Why?

- In one of the evening family walks, we suddenly heard the cry of cranes. Just like at home. The wife and child were crying. Then I thought, why torture them? I have exceeded the terms of the contract. As a result, I wrote a report five months earlier.

LEONID ALEKSANDROVICH IN OWN HOUSE

- In 1982 you were appointed head of the Ural Department of Civil Aviation. And in 1988, at the age of 55, they voluntarily retired. Why?

- The reason is the incurable disease of Galina's beloved wife. I decided to accept the doctors' recommendation and take her village away. I bought a small plot in Upper Sysert, built a house in which I have been living for 30 years. The wife is no more. Every day I do 7-kilometer walks. For the locals, I'm sort of a landmark.

- You have a thick beard. And pilots used to have to be always clean-shaven. Have you departed from tradition?

- I lowered my beard at the insistence of my wife after retirement. So that no one will ever accept me for flight work (laughs).