| Viktor Pugachev | |
| Native Name: | Ви́ктор Гео́ргиевич Пугачёв |
| Native Name Lang: | RU |
| Birth Date: | 8 August 1948 |
| Birth Place: | Taganrog, Rostov Oblast, Russian SSR, USSR |
| Nationality: | Soviet Union, Russia |
| Education: | Moscow Aviation Institute (1980), Gromov Flight Research Institute |
| Years Active: | 1970-present |
| Employer: | Sukhoi Sukhoi Design Bureau |
| Known For: | test pilot, Pugachev's Cobra maneuver |
| Signature: | Sign of Viktor Pugachev test pilot.png |
| Flight career | |
| First Flight Date: | 1970 |
| License Date: | 1970 |
| License Place: | Yeysk Military Institute |
| Air Force: | Soviet |
| Battles: | none |
| Awards: | Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" Hero of the Soviet Union Honoured Test Pilot of the USSR Hero of the Soviet Union Order of Lenin Honoured Test Pilot of the USSR Order of the Badge of Honour |
Viktor Georgiyevich Pugachev (Russian: Ви́ктор Гео́ргиевич Пугачёв) (born 8 August 1948 in Taganrog, RSFSR) is[1] a retired Russian Air Force officer and a former Soviet test pilot who was the first to demonstrate the so-called Pugachev's Cobra manoeuvre to the general public in 1989, flying an Su-27. The Gold medal of the Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded to him in the late 1980s. He graduated from the Yeysk Higher Military Order of Lenin Aviation School in 1970, test-pilot school in 1978 and the Moscow Aviation Institute in 1980. After two years with Gromov Flight Research Institute he joined OKB Sukhoi where he tested the Su-9, Su-15, Su-24, Su-25 and the Su-27. On 1 November 1989 he landed a Su-27K on an aircraft carrier for the first time in Soviet history. 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 (VTOL) from the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov.[2]
He currently lives in Zhukovsky and works as the Chief Pilot Designer at Sukhoi Design Bureau.
While working as a test pilot at Sukhoi he broke 13 world records in the Sukhoi P-42:
| 1986-11-15 | C-1 (3) | Time to climb to 3,000 m | 25.37 s | Record | |
| 1986-11-15 | C-1h (3) | Time to climb to 3,000 m | 25.37 s | Record | |
| 1986-11-15 | C-1 (3) | Time to climb to 6,000 m | 37.05 s | Record | |
| 1986-11-15 | C-1h (3) | Time to climb to 6,000 m | 37.05 s | Record | |
| 1986-11-15 | C-1 (3) | Time to climb to 9,000 m | 47.03 s | Improved to 44.18 s by same aircraft | |
| 1986-11-15 | C-1h (3) | Time to climb to 9,000 m | 47.03 s | Improved to 44.18 s by same aircraft | |
| 1986-11-15 | C-1 (3) | Time to climb to 12,000 m | 58.10 s | Improved to 55.54 s by same aircraft | |
| 1986-11-15 | C-1h (3) | Time to climb to 12,000 m | 58.10 s | Improved to 55.54 s by same aircraft | |
| 1990-03-29 | C-1h (3) | Time to climb to 15,000 m with 1,000 kg payload | 1 m 21.71 s | Record | |
| 1993-05-20 | C-1i (3) | Time to climb to 15,000 m | 2 m 6 s | Record | |
| 1993-05-20 | C-1i (3) | Time to climb to 15,000 m with 1,000 kg payload | 2 m 6 s | Record | |
| 1993-05-20 | C-1i (3) | Maximum payload to 15,000 m | 1,015 kg | Record | |
| 1993-05-20 | C-1i (3) | Maximum altitude with 1,000 kg payload | 22,250 m | Record |