Viktor Pugachyov

Who is Viktor Pugachyov?

Viktor Georgiyevich Pugachyov is a Russian test pilot who was the first to show the so-called Pugachev's Cobra maneuver of Su-27 to the general public. He was named Hero of the Soviet Union in the late 1980s. He graduated from Yeysk military aviation school in 1970. Test-pilot school and MAI. After two years with LII joined OKB Sukhoi where he tested the Su-9, Su-15, Su-24, Su-25 and the Su-27. He became famous after his 1989 Su-27 demonstrations on the Paris Airshow. Pugachev is credited with first ever non-vertical take-off and landing from the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov.

Currently he lives in Zhukovsky and works as the Chief Pilot Designer at Sukhoi Design Bureau.