Flight change in the 299 Tactical Aviation Brigade (Ukraine)
Thanks to the kind invitation of the press service of the air command, I managed to visit the 299th Tactical Brigade aviation at the airport Kulbakino in Nikolaev.
Our landing force consisted of two people - photojournalist David Cherkasov and your humble servant. To be honest, I have long wanted to get into this famous garrison and shoot the flight work of Ukrainian aviators. Famous because it is one of the most combat-ready parts of aviation in our fatherland. And now the press service provided such an opportunity.
Weather, frankly, let down. Strong wind, low clouds, the lower edge of the clouds 200 meters, the temperature around 0 degrees did not bode well for the sense of photo-video filming, but didn’t bother the famous division - the flights took place in full ...
Arriving at the checkpoint, we immediately got into a warm atmosphere and the attentive attitude of the brigade command, which we appreciated. We were accompanied everywhere by the political officer of the brigade, for which many thanks to him, his answers to questions and full-fledged objective information helped us a lot to understand the mechanisms of the unit. Understanding that nothing can replace our personal perception of combat work, we immediately asked to take pictures near the runway and received a “GOOD” from the chief of staff.
The Su-25М1, Su-25, Su-25UB and L-39 aircraft took part in the summer shift. Particularly impressed was the landing of the Rooks with a braking parachute, when a powerful attack aircraft rushes 50 meters away from you and when the parachute opens, it (the parachute) flutters in the wind, making a sound very similar to the fluttering of sails on the mast of a large sailboat. Drying has worked several exercises, including a simulated landing with a touch strip and go-around, the so-called “touch and go”. The unforgettable smell of kerosene and the whistle of the engines were long remembered.
An amazing thing - after a couple of hours of standing in the wind it was lunch time - just a “window” formed in the flight and the political officer offered to have dinner at the flight canteen. In the dining room warm and clean, welcoming atmosphere favored the adoption of food. On our stomachs we felt what a summer ration is ... A pair of salads, fish, meat, mashed potatoes, soups - to choose from, and of course compote with fresh pastries. After such a dinner, I didn’t want to go anywhere, but I had to shoot the planes in the parking lot and the work of the technical services of the unit.
It is nice that the Afghan sides are still in service, and they are in excellent combat condition. Aircraft know their stuff.
It was getting dark ... By this time we were a little tired, but I wanted to look at the Albatross night landings in the spotlight. Today we were allowed everything ... True, the good staff did not work, after all, a completely different technique is needed for this, but the impressions remained unforgettable ...
At this point our visit was over - we said goodbye to excellent pilots and beautiful people, commanders and brigade officers, and we left for our native Odessa ...
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