Aircraft local: history. On the development of regional aviation in Russia

Regional (local) aircraft - a small aircraft that is designed for thirty to one hundred passengers, the routes of its flights are usually within one region or one country. This class of aircraft is most often used by regional divisions. major airlines, as well as for the transportation of military units and local transportation of goods.

Local planes: history

In the early stages of aviation history, most aircraft made short flights, which means that all passenger aircraft were local (regional). With the advent of seaplanes and the increase in flight range, the situation improved somewhat. Many regional airlines have been bought by major national carriers.

In order for aviation companies to operate as efficiently as possible, significant investments are needed in new aviation equipment, because for small aircraft such a situation was impossible. New aircraft were created extremely slowly, so regional airlines for many years were forced to use old equipment, which, after the commissioning of new models, was released. In post-war America, the most common local aircraft was the DC-3; De Havilland Dragon Rapide - in the UK, which remained in service for many years. This process continued later: Vickers Viscount, DC-6 and Convair 440, which were regional aircraft when the first jet airliners were created.

In the mid-1950s, there was an urgent need for more economical models of regional airliners. These were turboprop aircraft, which compared to piston aircraft had lower fuel consumption and significantly lower operating costs. Among the early models of such local aircraft, it is worth highlighting Avro 748, ley Page Dart Herald, Avro 748.

These aircraft models were so successful that for many years there was no need for new models. But be that as it may, several models were created that were designed to solve special problems. The Handley Page Jetstream, for example, was designed for higher speeds and fewer passengers, succeeding in displacing smaller aircraft like the Beechcraft Queen Air.

By the 1970s, the first generation of indigenous aircraft began to fall out of service. At the same time, work was underway to develop new models for this segment of the economy. In 1978, Beechcraft Queen Air began producing the Dash 7, but it was a short landing and take off aircraft rather than a regional aircraft. In 1984, the airline's requirements became even more stringent. The aircraft has become much faster, more economical and quieter than the representatives of the previous generation. There were so many orders for it that the capacity of the plant could not satisfy the demand.

The great success of the Dash 8 stimulated the creation of new models of local aircraft, among which were the Fokker F50, Saab 340, ATR 42. The rapid growth of their production led to the fact that before the end of the 1950s, old aircraft manufactured by Vickers, Vickers and others were taken out of service. . As a result of high competition, the production of many types simply declined. As of 2006, only two models were in production, the Dash 8 and the ATR 42/72. In the post-war period in the USSR, the main regional aircraft was the Il-14, and then the An-24, which was produced from 1962 to 1979. Their a large number of is still used today in Asia, Africa, former USSR. To replace the An-24, the An-140 and Il-114 were created, which are produced in our time, but after the collapse of the USSR, their number has significantly decreased.

The decline in the local turboprop market is largely due to the emergence of local jet aircraft. Despite the fact that most small jets originated in the 1950s and 60s, at that time they could not compete on regional lines with turboprops due to low fuel efficiency and were designed for fewer passengers than for small flights. distances. Thanks to such progress in engine building, operating costs have significantly decreased, and the predominance in cruising speed has led airlines to prefer jets over turboprops.

Features of local aircraft

Salon in regional jets cramped and narrow, so passengers, as a rule, take minimal hand luggage with them, while in large liners it is placed above the seats in special niches. Often, hand luggage is collected during boarding and placed in a special compartment designed for hand luggage, and is issued to passengers only after landing. Since the majority of regional jets are created for medium-range routes, their use allows you to open new routes, while medium haul aircraft having a large capacity are inefficient. Moreover, heavy forms of maintenance for regional jets can only be performed at smaller airports, while big planes must be serviced exclusively at special repair bases.

Regional jets are not more fuel efficient than traditional narrow body jets. The cost of transporting 1 passenger for exactly the same distance will be higher. The main economic effect is achieved due to the fact that when buying a ticket for a flight with a transfer, passengers are forced to pay for the flight between the end points.

Dornier Do 228, Pokhara Airport, Nepal.
The airport in Pokhara is probably the most soulful I've ever seen... mechanical scales, paper boarding passes... and finally a small slow-moving plane flying to Kathmandu right over the Himalayas.
A report about the spiritual province and a little about how the local Nepalese aviation works ..

Going to one of the numerous agencies in Pokhara with the aim of flying to Kathmandu and inquiring about the price, they heard the answer - $ 120, after a little haggling - got 90. We turned around, went out into the street ... the seller catches up with us and offers us for 70, but this is already "final price, my friend" :) Naturally, no electronic booking- a call somewhere and the ticket is issued by hand.

Before the trip, I read a lot about the airport in Lukla, which is very difficult in terms of landing and takeoff, but we did not go to Lukla and had a chance to try local aviation on the Pokhara-Kathmandu flight.
The airport in Pokhara was built in 1958 and serves only local flights, mainly two directions - Kathmandu and Jomson. However, there are plans to open international destinations- the nearest cities of India. Despite the very deplorable state of the Nepalese air fleet, only one fatal accident occurred at this airport - in 2002, in conditions of very poor visibility, a Shangri-La airline plane crashed against the nearby mountains.

The airline we used for this flight is Sita Air:

Sweetest airport!

Coca-Cola is apparently the official sponsor of the local police force:

Summary of the weather service on the electronic scoreboard:

Mechanical scales for luggage modern technology not yet arrived ... Naturally, the airport does not have a website or an online scoreboard.

We arrived 1.5 hours before the flight ... but no check-in had yet begun in principle. After walking around the airport for a bit, I realized that the handwritten departure time on my ticket was very conditional. And that "now the plane has flown to Jomson, that's how it will return, then fly to Kathmandu" - this is the answer of the airport employee :) All the same, how good it is - do not rush anywhere! The land of happiness, however :)

The plane is adorable!
Dornier Do 228 - twin-engine aircraft for local airlines, produced by the German company Dornier GmbH from 1981 to 1998. A total of 270 units were produced.

Of several plane crashes involving this particular model, one occurred in Nepal with an Agni Air aircraft, the plane crashed while landing in Kathmandu in heavy rain on August 24, 2010.

There was no pre-flight briefing, one of the pilots just handed out candies and ear plugs before entering the cockpit. However, in a cozy salon, the atmosphere is also very homely.

View of Pokhara immediately after takeoff. Pay attention to the roofs in the foreground - sheets of slate are simply pressed down by stones to partitions, this is typical for "poor" Asia. I saw this in India.

And the most interesting - the eight-thousanders of the Himalayas on the horizon...
The aircraft flies relatively low and slowly. The distance of 200 km between Pokhara and Kathmandu is overcome in 45 minutes.

And here we are met by hospitable Kathmandu:

Such a bus takes passengers to the terminal for domestic flights. Trailer behind - for luggage.

Filling machine:

Immediately, instead of the unloaded baggage, they start loading some bags:

Well, and absolutely unique luggage trolls on the street! :) Taxi drivers are already waiting behind the net...

Here is a little story about domestic airlines in Nepal...

As an afterword: hospitable East - "welcome on board" from Pakistan Airways.

Alexey Zakharov,
FINAM analyst

Loud statements about the decommissioning of the Tu-134 and An-24 from regular service have left in the shadow of another aircraft, which maintains a much thinned, but still existing Russian network of local airlines (AL). We are talking about the legendary An-2.

First taking off in 1947, the An-2 turned out to be a very successful aircraft. Replicated in more than 15 thousand units, this unpretentious and versatile aircraft could be seen everywhere. He carried passengers from the villages and geologists from the very wild places, performed sanitary flights, pollinated fields, worked in the forest fire department, provided training for paratroopers ... Actually, the An-2 continues to perform all these functions to this day. It's just that the scale of its application has sharply decreased. Last but not least, this is due to a noticeable reduction in the fleet of cars.
Attempts to create a replacement for the An-2 began in Soviet times, continued in the "transitional period" and do not stop now. However, none of them were successful. A surge of interest in the An-2 topic was provoked by the recent speech of the President of Yakutia, Yegor Borisov. He said that in 2014 the mass decommissioning of the An-2 and An-24 aircraft would begin, which could lead the republic to a transport collapse.
According to Yegor Borisov, the Russian Ministry of Transport recommended upgrading small aircraft with L-410 aircraft. Let's consider the advantages and disadvantages of this and other aircraft, which theoretically could become a replacement for the An-2.

L-410
Advantages.
The manufacturer is controlled by Russian business: 51% of Aircraft Industries (formerly Let Kunovice) is owned by the Ural Mining and Metallurgical Company (UMMC). The machine is well developed: more than 1100 L-410 of various modifications have been produced (about 400 aircraft are in flight operation). Increased (compared to An-2) flight safety (due to two engines). There is a version with modern EFIS (Electronic Flight Instrument System) avionics. IAC airworthiness certificate, as well as FAA and EASA.
The aircraft is known in Russia, there are specialists who own the technology of its maintenance. Deliveries to our country continue (albeit 2-4 units per year), and the manufacturer is quite active here. In September last year, a new service center for L-410 aircraft was opened in Yekaterinburg (airport Uktus). It is planned to create a network of similar centers throughout the country.
The management of UMMC intends to invest in this project. It is planned to modernize both the aircraft itself and the production equipment.
Flaws.
Small serial production (2009 - 7 units, 2010 - 6 units, for the current year - 4 units). This leads to the relative high cost of the aircraft (estimated at $3-4 million). Increased (due to two engines) fuel consumption. Outdated design (produced since 1969).
Mismatch between the characteristics of the L-410 and the replaced An-2: the required runway is longer, it is impossible to operate on skis and floats, the requirements for pilot training are higher. On a number of routes, the large capacity of the L-410 (19 and 9-12 seats, respectively) may turn out to be excessive.
The investment and business climate in the Czech Republic is not very favorable for foreigners. The country's government does not promise support in the "special favor" regime for the project.
Perspectives. The program has a chance of success if a pool of customers united by a large leasing company is created.

An-3
Advantages. Production was carried out in Russia. Fully meets or exceeds the characteristics of the An-2, and can be operated on the same sites. Positive operating experience, including in severe climatic conditions. IAC certificate (An-3T).
Flaws. It is a modification, that is, production is possible only if there are maintainable An-2s. The release is discontinued, and the probability of resuming the release of the engine is low. Uncertainty with the production of components.
The need for additional tests to obtain an addition to the IAC certificate (for the transport and passenger version).
Perspectives. close to zero.

T-101 "Rook"
Advantages. Completely Russian project. To a large extent, it corresponds to the characteristics of An-2, and can be operated at the same sites.
The presence of a technological backlog (20 sets, an aircraft factory in Lukhovitsy) and two practically finished aircraft.
Flaws. Lack of serial production of the aircraft and engine, and the likelihood of resuming engine production is low. It is not clear if the possibility of purchasing domestic components.
Lack of IAC certificate - the need for additional tests.
Perspectives. Virtually zero.

"Rysachok"
Advantages. Partly Russian project. To a certain extent, it corresponds to the characteristics of An-2 and can be operated on sites comparable in size.
Increased (compared to An-2) flight safety (due to two engines).
Flaws. It is currently being tested - the characteristics are not confirmed.
In any case, the An-2 will be inferior in terms of economic indicators, since it was designed primarily as a training and special-purpose aircraft. Engines are resized in terms of power.
Perspectives. So far unclear. The possibility of cost-effective operation on local airlines is questionable.

DHC-6 Twin Otter Series 400
Advantages. Licensed production is planned in Russia (Vityaz plant, Ulyanovsk port special economic zone). In terms of its takeoff and landing characteristics, it practically corresponds to the An-2 and can be used from slightly longer runways. Installation on skis or floats is possible. Increased (compared to An-2) flight safety (due to two engines). Well mastered in production: approximately 850 units were built, of which about 600 are in operation.
Flaws. Obsolete design: produced since 1965, production was discontinued in 1988. In size (20 seats) it significantly exceeds the An-2. There is no IAC certificate - additional tests are needed. The resumption of production in the Russian Federation is just a project with unclear chances for implementation.
Perspectives. The likelihood of the project as a whole being feasible is unclear.

To the question of adequacy
Of course, this list does not include all aircraft of this class. For example, the An-28, which currently exists in the form of the Polish M28, is not mentioned. We are talking about either Russian programs or foreign cars that have a chance to enter the domestic market.
It is noteworthy that the weak point of Russian programs is power point. The refusal of piston engines is logical - aviation gasoline is becoming more expensive, in addition, in Russia it is now produced in limited quantities. However, the “neglect” for small-sized theaters, which existed back in Soviet times, did not allow organizing the serial production of new-generation MVL aircraft in the Russian Federation.
An-3 or T-101 could become a full-fledged replacement for An-2. However, this requires the purchase of foreign turboprop engines of suitable power, and the refinement of the design of Russian aircraft for them. Unfortunately, there is hardly a firm or organization that dares to do this.
Recommendations for the transfer of "local" aviation from the An-2 to the Czech L-410, at first glance, does not look quite adequate - these are too different cars. However, it is clear that there is no alternative. Aircraft that surpass the "veteran" in terms of individual indicators exist. However, the versatility and unpretentiousness of the An-2, which makes it close to optimal when operating in the Russian regions, are unattainable for "competitors".

Last week, Rostransnadzor issued an order to ban flights from Uktus airport (the second Ekaterinburg airport after Koltsovo, until the early 90s, local flights were mainly operated from here). The reason is the expiration of the aviation safety certificate of conformity. “Carrying out activities without a certificate is a direct violation of the legislation of the Russian Federation, it endangers the life and health of passengers,” the department notes. When Uktus will be ready for work again, it is difficult to predict. The Second Sverdlovsk Aviation Enterprise (VSAP), the owner of the property complex of the airport and the fleet of equipment (most of it - Mi-2, Mi-8 helicopters, An-2 aircraft), has been at the stage of bankruptcy since 2010, at the moment its assets are being sold.

At the end of 2011 power Sverdlovsk region announced the launch of a project for the revival of local aviation. To do this, they planned to spend 200 million rubles this year on the purchase of liquid equipment that is in bankruptcy production and the purchase of equipment for airfields. The Ural Mining and Metallurgical Company should also take part in the project - it will provide part of the property acquired from VSAP earlier and, probably, will help with the equipment, since it is a shareholder of the Czech plant LET, which produces small aircraft. The purpose of cooperation is to restore air communication between Yekaterinburg and settlements in the north of the region. However, for the first time this idea was voiced back in 2008, but did not give a visible result. Do such projects have a chance of life in principle?

What do we have...

According to the State Research Institute of Civil Aviation, from 1990 to 2010, the passenger turnover of local air transportation decreased by six times: from 6 to 1 billion passenger-kilometers. The aviation market as a whole, after the collapse of the USSR, also found itself in a deep hole (the peak of the fall occurred in 2000 - passenger turnover was only a third of the result of 1990), only in 2011 it managed to return to its previous level. Serious changes have also taken place in the ground infrastructure. The number of large airports with a long runway (from 1800 to 3200 meters) has grown from 98 in 1992 to 119 in 2009. And in the segment of regional and local airports with runways from 500 to 1800 meters, the trend is reversed. Their number decreased by 5.7 times: from 1204 units to 210.

To assess the state of intra-regional lines in the subjects of the Urals and Western Siberia, we requested archival information from the territorial departments of the Federal Air Transport Agency and the relevant regional ministries. To see the scale of losses, we will not generalize the data obtained, but consider each case separately.

In the Sverdlovsk region, the center of local aviation was the Uktus airport (in the late 80s it was moved to its current location, the Botanichesky microdistrict of Yekaterinburg was built on the former one). In the 70s - early 80s, in the summer, up to 50 regular flights on An-2 aircraft were operated from here daily. Yekaterinburg was connected by air with three dozen settlements in the Sverdlovsk region. Daily shipments from Uktus alone reached 550 passengers and 5 tons of mail.

Airports of local airlines (IL) began to close and be transferred to the status of landing sites from the mid-80s. By 2006, there were only 17 airports in the region, which were on the balance sheet of the UAAP. Their maintenance required rather high financial costs. Although the government of the Sverdlovsk region has been subsidizing the transportation of passengers to hard-to-reach areas since 1992, these funds have not been enough. The airline was unable to bring the airports in line with the certification requirements. Since 2006, the remaining airports in the region (except for Uktus) have been closed with the withdrawal of certificates of state registration and fitness for operation, excluded from the state register, the Urals Interregional Territorial Air Transport Administration of the Federal Air Transport Agency reported.

The MVL network in the Chelyabinsk region connected about twenty cities. By 1994, only seven airports remained, today there are three landing sites used for the needs of general aviation and aerial work. In the Orenburg region, from 1960 to 1996, transportation was carried out on 35 intra-regional routes, up to 48 thousand passengers were transported annually. IN Kurgan region by 1994, 23 out of 24 airfields were closed. Local transportation stopped completely in Perm region, Udmurtia and Bashkiria.

From 1985 to the early 1990s aviation local importance occupied a worthy place in the volume of work of the Ufa airport. The flights were carried out with a frequency of 20 - 25 flights per day on An-2, An-24, An-28 aircraft and Mi-8 helicopters. There was a developed network of 31 airports in the republic: five of them with artificial runways and complete infrastructure for passenger service and aircraft, five airfields in regional centers with a hard surface, four helipads, the rest - with an unpaved runway, - the State Committee of Bashkiria for Transport and Road Facilities notes.

The destruction of the system of local air transportation has affected even the Tyumen region, Yugra and YNAO, although here, it would seem, their role is much more important than in other regions.

At the end of the 80s, the number of airports in the Tyumen region, including districts, was 100. The ongoing changes in the political and economic life of the country had a significant impact on the development of the network. In the current situation, airports were forced to increase fees and fuel prices, which led to a decrease in flights, especially on international flights, and a reduction in the number of airfields to 40 by the end of the 90s. Today, the airfield network of the region has only 25 facilities. Of these, 13 - in Yugra, 11 - in the YaNAO, two - in the south of the Tyumen region, - said the Tyumen Interregional Territorial Administration of Air Transport of the Federal Air Transport Agency.

Thus, until the mid-90s, regular local air transportation was carried out in all ten subjects Greater Ural. Today, they remain in much smaller volumes only in the Tyumen region and in the north of the Sverdlovsk region (according to our data, a UTair helicopter is based in Sosva, which performs flights to inspect the gas pipeline, and twice a week - between hard-to-reach settlements). In addition to airfields, these subjects use so-called landing sites - prepared land plots with minimal or no infrastructure, which are not even subject to registration in the state register. How in a few years we were able to destroy the system created half a century?

... We do not store ...

Until 1991, the so-called policy of aerification of the country was implemented in Russia. It led to the fact that during this period even in small settlements there was an airfield. Either by helicopter or An-2, people got to a larger airport, transferred to An-24, Il-18, Tu-104 and other aircraft and flew to anywhere in the country. There was a competent system of air transportation. The state provided such a ticket price that the average monthly salary could buy four air tickets from the regions Far East and Siberia back and forth. Today, in order for a family to fly somewhere from a small city, you need to work for six months, - explains Oleg Smirnov, Honored Pilot of the USSR, from 1983 to 1990 Deputy Minister of Civil Aviation, now president of the Partner of Civil Aviation Foundation (total work experience in the industry is more than 50 years). - The policy of aerification was also carried out by the US authorities (we compare ourselves with this country solely by virtue of large territories). Until the beginning of the 1990s, the traffic volumes in our country and in the USA were comparable. In addition, the countries had the same market structure: 6 - 7% accounted for international lines, the rest - on the internal. But as a result of perestroika, the attention of the Russian authorities to aviation completely disappeared. The result is deplorable. In 2011, we carried 64 million passengers, the Americans, who continued the airification of their country - 700 million. In our country, international lines accounted for 50% of the volume, in the USA the structure remained the same. And this is not because we began to carry out more international flights, but because intraregional and interregional air communications were destroyed.

The cessation of funding led to a sharp rise in ticket prices and a rapid reduction in traffic. And then another process began, not related to aviation. This is how he was described by the head of one of the industry associations, who did not want to advertise his name:

The active plunder of the state began. They dragged and sold everything they could. And the planes, and the equipment that was at the airports. Stone buildings were demolished for bricks, wooden buildings for firewood. It would seem that airfields can be mothballed. But no one wanted to pay the watchmen's wages. In the early 1990s, the state was as poor as a church mouse. This created the conditions for pulling apart everything that was possible. So the local aviation, when it ceased to be needed by the authorities, was simply plundered.

In some regional ministries, the curtailment of MVL was explained by the development of the road network and the reduction of the rural population. In our opinion, these factors could have taken place, but they were definitely not the key ones. Domestic transportation ceased to exist in the first half of the 90s. According to Rosstat, from 1990 to 1995 rural population in the Greater Urals remained unchanged (about 5.8 million people). The length of paved public roads increased by 22%, but for the complete abandonment of air transportation This is not enough.

We are colossally behind the world in terms of attitudes towards small aircraft. In the United States, such an ideology is widespread: even the smallest airfield must function. There are communities of volunteers who look after it. They have ideologues who are usually members of the world's largest Association of Aircraft Owners and Pilots. As soon as a problematic airfield is discovered, the system starts to work: meetings with local authorities, search for sponsors, interaction with aviation clubs, appeals to higher government agencies, etc. People are doing everything to keep the airport alive, - says Valery Shelkovnikov, president of the Flight Safety consulting and analytical agency (in 1984 - 1990 - head of the main department air traffic MGA USSR; in 1993 - 1996 - Chairman of Rosaeronavigatsia; total work experience in civil aviation over 40 years). - What do we have? Let's remember the example of Izhma. On an abandoned airfield, the director of which was still watching the runway, made an emergency landing of the Tu-154. Everyone is alive, the plane continues to fly. Low bow to the head of the local airfield! If you press, you can, after all, sit on a short strip. All local airfields were previously included in the flight instructions of the Air Force formations in case of emergency landing. In my opinion, the system is broken.

…Having lost…

The result is natural. Firstly, the state of the ground infrastructure today is deplorable. According to the State Research Institute of Civil Aviation, the depreciation of fixed assets of the airfield network approached the critical level of 80% in early 2010. The Tyumen Interregional Territorial Administration of Air Transport of the Federal Air Transport Agency confirms: “The network was formed in the 70s and 80s, as a result of which at present most of ground material and technical base needs reconstruction and repair”. All local airports are federal property, and for the last twenty years they have been practically deprived of funding. CEO Association "Airport" (unites 218 organizations representing 21 states) Viktor Gorbachev:

We have irretrievably lost more than a thousand airports, the lion's share of which served local airlines. They cannot be restored, for twenty years the taiga has simply grown there. Unfortunately, this process continues: in 2011, the network was reduced by another 17 airports. I believe that all efforts should be directed to the preservation of what is left. Today there are 315 airports in Russia. Almost half - from a dirt runway. Such an airfield is suitable only for agricultural aviation, and not for passenger transportation. Today is not the middle of the 20th century! Yes, funding is growing. If 10 - 15 years ago it was measured in millions of rubles, then 44 billion were allocated for 2012. But the money will mainly go to airports that can be counted on the fingers: Vnukovo, Domodedovo, Sheremetyevo, Sochi, Vladivostok, etc. The rest will receive, by aviation standards, a penny. Moreover, the program for 2012 lists 40 objects, while we have 315 of them. We need to take a sober look at reality and not build castles in the air.

Theoretically, the authorities of the subjects who decide to develop local aviation can transfer the necessary airports to regional ownership. Such experience already exists in the north. But Viktor Gorbachev believes that it will not be massive:

Who wants to own crappy airports? If they were brought to mind, then the regions could support the work. But today even the federal budget cannot cope with this. You can try to shift responsibility to the localities by force, but for the authorities to do this voluntarily is fantastic. In the north, some airports are assisted by oil and gas companies. But where is the guarantee that they will not stop doing it tomorrow?

Valery Shelkovnikov adds that in the world practice there are a huge number of ways to significantly reduce the cost of transportation, including infrastructure costs:

There are only 600 airfields in the US that have air traffic control. At the remaining airfields and landing sites, which are more than 11 thousand, flights are operated without controls, guided by the US federal aviation regulations "Pilot operation at Nontowered Airports" ("Flights to airports without air traffic control"). They are rich only because they know how to count money. At some airport that receives one or two planes a day, we always have a locator and a dispatcher. It is necessary to introduce generally accepted norms, but some bosses are very afraid of the new. If your mind is not enough - see how the world is doing.

Secondly, we have nothing to fly. In Soviet times, the An-2 was the mainstay of intra-regional transportation (one of the most massive aircraft in the world, still produced in China in a modified form). But there is no point in relying on him. It is far from even the minimum requirements for comfort.

To fly the An-2 even as a passenger requires a certain courage and health. The temperature in the cabin at any time of the year is close to the outside, and in summer, especially when flying to mountainous areas, chatter often happens. The co-pilot usually offered hygiene bags to the passengers. But after a three-hour flight from Sverdlovsk to Ivdel with two intermediate landings in Serov and Ponil, passengers got off the plane staggering, blue and with full liter packages - they give a good example in the Ural Interregional Territorial Air Transport Administration of the Federal Air Transport Agency.

In addition, as Viktor Gorbachev notes, the An-2 flies on aviation gasoline, which Russian fuel companies stopped producing after a sharp reduction in consumption. So far, there is no replacement for the An-2. The production of domestic analogues of the An-3T and M-101T has actually been curtailed, the implementation of the Rysachok project is being delayed. It would be possible to buy equipment abroad, but, apparently, the state is not interested in this either. In 2011, a program was adopted to subsidize leasing rates for the purchase of regional and local aircraft. If when buying new aircraft with a capacity of 51 - 72 people, the authorities are ready to pay 98.5% of the rate, from 41 to 50 - 81.5%, then in the case of small aircraft (4 - 10 people) - only 15.5%. Nor can one count on the surviving fleet of Mi-2 and Mi-8 helicopters - wear and tear is too high, and an hour of their work is estimated by experts at least $2,000-2,500.

Thirdly, the system of financing local aviation has been destroyed. Oleg Smirnov:

In no country in the world has local air travel ever been self-sustaining. Previously, we had one airline - Aeroflot. He made good money on big routes, blocking the losses from local flights. One could go the same way. Aeroflot claims to be the national carrier. In general, I support this. But his policy today is to skim the cream, to take advantage of the profitable airlines. Unprofitable lines are not of interest to him, - Oleg Smirnov notes. - The second option is a multiple increase in government subsidies. But this is not yet to be expected.

…Crying

If we take a balanced look at the situation, then in the medium term, the listed problems look unsolvable. Despite this, there are projects to restore several areas in Sverdlovsk, Chelyabinsk, Orenburg regions and Bashkiria. In Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug and YNAO they are more ambitious - up to 2020 it is planned to reconstruct and build up to three dozen objects.

There is progress, but it is very slow. Back in 2007, at the federal level, they announced the need to develop local airlines. But in addition to declarative statements, real steps are needed. How many years have you been talking about the need to subsidize the Far East, leasing aircraft? Only in last years these tools work. Someday we will get to local transportation, - an anonymous expert believes.

I cannot count on the fact that the current government will be able to solve all the problems of local aviation. A good example, however, from a different plane. 2011 turned out to be one of the most prosperous years for global civil aviation in terms of flight safety. For Russia - the worst. In 2010, Africa was the world champion in air crashes, now we are. And Russia is a member of ICAO - international organization civil aviation. Well, the state would draw conclusions from the deplorable results. But already in the third month current year there was an accident in Tyumen. This speaks of the absolute incapacity, inefficiency, anemic nature of the system of state regulation of civil aviation.

In our opinion, it will not be possible to save all 315 remaining airports. It is most expedient to concentrate efforts to restore local aviation in two directions. First of all, in hard-to-reach areas. As stated in the analytical report of the State Research Institute of Civil Aviation, more than 60% of the territory of Russia belongs to the regions of the Far North, where aviation is often the only means of ensuring transport accessibility. This is the entire area of ​​thirteen and part of eleven constituent entities of the Russian Federation. More than 20 million people lived in these areas at the beginning of 2010. In 19 regions of Russia (mainly the Northwestern, Ural, Siberian and Far Eastern federal districts) local air service is a social mode of transport. In eight of them, aviation is the main way to ensure year-round transport accessibility (Nenets and Chukotka Autonomous Okrugs, KhMAO, YNAO, Krasnoyarsk region, Kamchatka and Magadan region, Sakha). At the same time, over twenty years, the number of airfields and sites in 19 regions has decreased by an average of 55%. Secondly, it is worth thinking about the need to revive the MVL between large settlements located at a distance of more than 400 - 450 km from regional center(more than five hours by car).

In addition, it is reasonable to study international experience and the possibility of interaction with major carriers. But the chances of a full-fledged revival of the local airline system still remain elusive.

Many still remember the time when in the USSR it was possible to get to the most remote regional center by air. Will regional air travel revive and will the inhabitants of a large country start flying again? Will there be an application for the technique that was presented at the recent MAKS-2017 in Zhukovsky?

Small aircraft: ordered to take off

The best years for Russians regional air transportation, alas, are in the past. And specifically - in the USSR.

If North America, Europe, Southeast Asia on air maps cannot be seen behind the icons of aircraft, then there are only a few of them over Russia. About as much as over Africa.

Hard landing

Today, only a few airlines operate from provincial centers, even from million-plus cities. And those, as a rule, lead to the capital. To get by plane to the neighboring region, you have to fly through Moscow. However, this was not always the case. In 1975, it was possible to fly from Voronezh Airport at 65 major cities and 31 points of local importance. The airport sent and received 3.5 thousand passengers daily. Yak-42, Tu-134A, Tu-134SH, An-24 and M-15 landed and took off here. On the "corn" it was easy to get to the Voronezh regional centers - Boguchar, Kalach, Buturlinovka, etc., and they went there no less than today's buses.

The collapse of the USSR changed everything. If in the 80s in the Voronezh region the passenger traffic per year exceeded 1.3 million people, then already in 1994 the volume of traffic decreased fourfold. Intra-regional flights generally ordered to live long. The airport was privatized, and the entire An-2 flotilla became commercial and was used in agriculture.

The destinations currently served by the Voronezh airport can be counted on one hand: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Tashkent, Yerevan, Simferopol, Sochi... Flights to Bishkek and Istanbul have recently been launched. In plans - Dubai, Baku, Dushanbe. But for some reason they are silent about the addition of flights across Russia.

* The image shows the old (1975) and new (2017) schedules of the Voronezh airport.

Cheaper than a bus

The route from Krasnodar to Sochi is the only working air route inside Krasnodar Territory.

Pilot Yuri-Muravyov, who flew 20 thousand hours at the helm, recalls that in the 60s there were 16 ports of local airlines in the region: , Temryuk, Novorossiysk. And even though the An-2 planes looked like an anachronism, there were still a lot of passengers. And the flight sometimes cost less than the bus: to get from Apsheronsk to Krasnodar by plane - 2 rubles, by bus - 2.70 rubles. According to Yuri Muravyov, on the spot runway in Lazarevsky now there are high-rise buildings, in Novorossiysk - garages.

Now there are 4 civil airports in the region - in Sochi, Krasnodar, Anapa and Gelendzhik. Recently, the governor suggested that civil aviation use the military airfield in Yeysk. But in order for it to begin accepting passengers, much more needs to be done. Slowly, business is joining the revival of local aviation. The press service of the group of companies - "Basel-AERO", which owns the airports of the Krasnodar Territory, "AiF" reported that summer schedule Airports of Kuban has more than 150 routes. Among them are dozens of regional ones.

Only for the rich?

Honored Pilot of the USSR Ivan Levandovsky explains: “In Soviet times, the Krasnoyarsk Territory ranked third in the country in terms of traffic, had 600 aircraft. Each settlement had its own airfield or landing site. Planes flew to Kansk 5 times a day, and to Abakan from Krasnoyarsk they made 10-12 flights daily. That was small aircraft!

Now regional aviation is mostly private jets for rich people. But in our region there are territories that can only be reached by sky. But ticket prices have gone up so much that people simply cannot afford to fly.”

In the Sverdlovsk region, passenger small aviation is also going through hard times today. Several companies are engaged in recreational and commercial flights, there are dozens of small private owners who own one or two planes or helicopters. But from that branched and developed system regional civil air transportation, which existed in the Middle Urals in Soviet times, almost nothing is left.

Once the stronghold of small aviation in the Middle Urals was the state-owned "Second Sverdlovsk Aviation Enterprise" (SAP), founded in 1932. Until 2012, the SAP in the Middle Urals had 18 air harbors local importance (in Soviet times - 27). Flights - from the Uktus airport in the region and to neighboring regions - were served by Mi-8 and Mi-2 helicopters, An-2, An-74 and Yak-40 aircraft. From Sosva to Gary (660 km by road) in 2010 it was possible to fly for 444 rubles, and to Puksinka, cut off from the whole world, for 543 rubles.

But seven years ago, dark days came for the enterprise. Take-off platforms, equipment, machinery - everything gradually fell into complete decline, although the company could have been saved.

And in Moscow in the 1960s. at the Central Aerodrome (m. - "Airport") for 10 years a helicopter station worked. It was possible to take off on the Mi-4 on Khodynka and, in a matter of minutes, land at the gangway at Sheremetyevo, Vnukovo, Bykovo or Domodedovo. A ticket cost 2 rubles, while a taxi ride cost 4-5 rubles.

Who will put the country on the wing again?

An extensive network of local airports is one of the indicators of the country's development.

The economy of the USSR was built according to other principles. Then the state could afford the luxury of subsidizing intra-regional communication. In each region, the squadron issued fuel under the state order.

And hundreds of thousands of pilots, the collective image of which was Mimino performed by Vakhtang Kikabidze, were the stitches that sewed the fabric of the country together. Thanks to them, life flickered in the most remote corners.

"And they brought chickens"

Pilot Valery Khairyuzov almost 30 years (from 1964 to 1990) worked in Irkutsk region on local air lines (MVL):

“In the USSR, the An-2 aircraft prevailed on local lines, which entered the Guinness Book of Records. Created in 1946, it flies to this day. The crew of the An-2 is only a commander and an assistant. In the cabin, there are places for 12 passengers, who also took livestock with them: chickens, pigs, rabbits. Once we even brought a horse on board. Because of this feature, the An-2 was called a flying barn. And also a corncob - perhaps because the outlines of the machine resembled an ear of corn. For the landing of this aircraft, a platform with a size of only 500 m was enough.

During the day, we flew around 10-15 villages, got to remote geological exploration camps, and to hunters for zaimka. There was even a route from Irkutsk to Olkhon Island on Baikal - it has not been operating for a long time, alas!

But passenger transportation is only part of the tasks of small aviation. Separately, there were forest aviation work (patrolling forests and dropping paratroopers on fires) and aerial chemical work (fertilizers were poured from airplanes onto fields). The flight technology is as follows: takeoff, 5-6 min. in the air and landing. And so on 50 times a day. Calluses formed on the hands from the steering wheel.

Now it hurts to see how over the past quarter century the network of local airlines has disappeared and because of this, the villages where we flew are gradually dying out.

Get out of the hole

The figures cited by experts show: modern Russia not only to Western countries, but even to the indicators of the USSR, it still grows and grows. So, President MAKS Pilot Magomed Tolboev once noted with bitterness that in our vast country there are only 500 local airfields and 5 thousand aircraft, while in the small Czech Republic there are 10 thousand aircraft. However, in recent years, the situation has gradually begun to change for the better.

“By 1990, there were 1,500 airports and landing sites in Russia,” says Oleg Smirnov, Deputy Minister of Civil Aviation (1983-1991), Honored Pilot of the USSR, President of the Civil Aviation Partner Air Transport Infrastructure Development Fund. - Yes, many of them were very modest - rammed earth and a small house. Today, a quarter of a century later, only 260 airports and landing sites remain in Russia.

The air fleet in the RSFSR consisted of 35 thousand air passenger ships including helicopters. And they were all domestic production. Today there are 2,000 aircraft in Russia, more than half of them are foreign.

By 1990, the volume of passenger traffic on air transport in the RSFSR was 140 million people a year. Today in Russia this figure has dropped to 80 million people, while in America it is 800 million people. At the same time, in the US, more than 90% of passengers use domestic lines. In our case, since the 1990s. and until recently, more than half of the passengers flew abroad. Our lag behind the United States in terms of the country's air supply is huge - there are now several thousand airports and landing sites operating there. We, I repeat, have only 260. And this despite the fact that it is Russia that remains largest country in the world with an area of ​​more than 17 million square meters. km.

A separate issue is ticket prices. During the heyday of civil aviation in the USSR, 120 rubles. (average salary) a family of 4 could travel, for example, from Kamchatka to Kaliningrad. Today you need to spend the average salary for several months on this!

In the 1990s, the degradation of civil aviation began with the decision to replace the domestic fleet with Western ones. Only in recent years, thanks to the efforts of the president, import substitution has begun. In the regions, small airports are now being revived - I am invited for consultations. In Buryatia, residents of the villages around Lake Baikal, where small aircraft used to fly, turned to the governor. In Yamal, people are asking the regional authorities to resume local air routes.

It must be understood that 60% of the territory of Russia has neither railways nor roads. In this sense, aviation in our country is a kind of ring that pulls the country together, keeping it from disintegration.

Over the past 15 years, investments from the federal budget for the development of the airfield network have doubled: from 20 to 40 billion rubles. 7 federal state-owned enterprises have been created, through which the state provides the current maintenance and development of local airports. The country's new air fleet is also being actively formed. We are talking, in particular, about the Il-114 (an alternative to the An-24), to which domestic officials still cannot issue a modern flight certificate, because the aircraft needs to be seriously modernized. The state finances the construction of new small helicopters, which are used on local airlines.

Locals begin to be subsidized from the budget Passenger Transportation. This means prices become more affordable. There are moves. And serious. But taking into account the depth of the hole into which the domestic civil Aviation in 25 years, it will take a long time and roll up your sleeves before the map of the country is again covered with a dense network of airlines.

Why are domestic flight prices so horrible?

Flying in Russia is expensive. For example, to enjoy the beauties of Baikal, Altai or Kamchatka, you will have to pay from 10 to 17 thousand rubles. one way. And this is in October, not in high season. A ticket to Paris or London will cost several times cheaper. Why?

AiF asked this question to the honored pilot of the Russian Federation, member of the Commission under the President of the Russian Federation for the Development of General Aviation Yuri Sytnik:

There are several reasons. Firstly, Russia is one of the few countries that can build its own aircraft of both a regional class and for long-range medium-haul flights. However, for those who lead the industry, it is more profitable to lease aircraft from abroad and receive certain “gifts” from this.

It began under Yeltsin, who promised the Americans not to build our long-haul aircraft of the 204 Il-96 modification. After that, the head enterprise for the production and maintenance of these aircraft in Voronezh collapsed. And we got hooked on the “leasing needle”, through which huge money began to be pumped out of the country.

Following the Il-96, work on the creation of the Tu-334, Tu-204, Il-114 slowed down. They explained that it was allegedly unprofitable, because leasing was inexpensive at that time. Now, due to the growth of the dollar, our carriers have to pay huge sums for the operation of foreign aircraft. Leasing today American Boeing 737 and 757 are more expensive than the cost of their Tu-154 and Il-96. Passengers suffer first of all, from whose pockets money is taken out for foreign aircraft. The operation of Boeing resulted in such amounts that could make our country a leader in the development of aviation.

If today companies were flying on our cars, the price of tickets would be at least 1.5-2 times lower.

The second reason is routes. Now, to fly, for example, from Chelyabinsk to Syktyvkar, you need to make a transfer in Moscow. Why? Because only our An-74, An-72 and An-24 can land at our regional airfields, imported ones cannot (small wheels, low-lying engines, etc. interfere). Our planes felt great on these unpaved runways. But the factories for their assembly in Tashkent, Voronezh and Samara, as I said, are not in the best condition. So it turns out that you have to fly from one region to the next only through Moscow on large liners.

Third: the price of tickets is affected by the cost of jet fuel. It is regulated by monopolists at airports, as is the maintenance of aircraft, the price of which is determined by the airport itself. And he does it, as a rule, in dollars. In addition, we are trying to chase European prices, but they forgot about the salaries of citizens of the Russian Federation. Therefore, it is cheaper to fly to the other end of the globe than to the other end of your own country.