Igor Volk

Military and test pilot

Igor Volk became a pilot in the Soviet Air Force in 1956. After graduation from the test pilot school in 1965, he joined the Gromov Flight Research Institute. He logged over 7000 flight hours in over 80 different aircraft types. Over the years, he flew on all types of Soviet fighters, bombers, and transport aircraft. He showed outstanding abilities in complex tests of various airplanes at critical angles of attack, stall, and spin. He was the first who tested aircraft behavior at high super-critical angles of attack (around 90°) and performed aerobatics such as the "cobra" maneuver.

Space program

Igor Volk was selected as a cosmonaut on 12 July 1977 and flew as Research Cosmonaut on Soyuz T-12, the 7th expedition to Salyut 7. One goal of the mission was to test the effects of long-duration spaceflight on Volk's return flight piloting as a precursor to piloting the Space Shuttle Buran. He served as the head of cosmonaut training for the Buran program and after the project's cancellation, as a Flight Tests Deputy at the Gromov Flight Research Institute in 1995 before retiring in 1996. He previously served as President of the National Aero Club of Russia and Vice President of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. As recognition for his contributions as a test pilot and cosmonaut he was awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union on 29 July 1984.

Other accomplishments

Volk was also an inventor and was planning a new four-person concept flying car, called the Lark-4 which takes off and lands at 45 km/h (28 mph) using a 27-meter (89 ft) runway. It consumes 11 litres (3 gallons) of fuel for every 100 km (62 mi) traveled and cruises at around 637 km/h (396 mph).

Personal life

Volk was married and had two children. He died on 3 January 2017 while on holiday in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. He was 79.

Honours and awards