Translated material
Air show: rain does not wash off problems
The first loud news about the Max-2013 air show sounded before the start of the show-President Putin refused to visit the air show, which happened for the first time. The aerospace industry is traditionally considered the subject of national pride, and therefore has a "presidential status." Russian leaders have long made a rule to emphasize their special interest in domestic aircraft and missiles. This tradition has been over 15 years-at the opening of Max-97, then Russian President Boris Yeltsin flew by helicopter and said, looking at the winged cars exhibited in a row: “We have something to be proud of!”
After Yeltsin to “burn” by aviation, the main Russian air show definitely arrived, and more often flew, and Putin, and Medvedev (when he was in presidential status). The visit of the "most important guest" has always remained one of the main events of any Max. The author of the article once witnessed Putin’s arrival at Max several years ago: a group of journalists, among whom was, only approached the framework of metal detectors, like a helicopter with the president, and quite far from the incoming audience-exactly at least a kilometer. It was necessary to see what began here: some people rushed at us as an advancing enemy army and began to scream so that everyone would stop immediately. The passage to the field was immediately closed, and some particularly zealous type in shape shouted everything: “Drive the crowd back!”. We were driven away by fifty meters, I don’t know how this strengthened security and so the former is inaccessible to the distant “main guest”, but the journalists, I remember, had fun then from the bottom of my heart. I believe that such scenes also became part of the mandatory Max program.
This time, the country's main airlines was given to Medvedev as a prime minister. According to the presidential press service, Putin did not arrive at the air show, as he went to the Far East that suffered from the elements. However, Putin arrived in the Far East on Wednesday August 29, while Max opened on the 27th. Another version appeared: the president decided not to attend an exhibition at which it was not planned to demonstrate anything new. Like, he already saw everything. But, firstly, the country's leaders visit such expositions not in order to just stare, but to demonstrate official support for the industry and domestic firms and, of course, emphasize the level of the airier. And secondly, aviation is not a fashion industry, where each season fashion designers give out a new collection to the public: planes and helicopters are born for a long time, not in one year. You won’t attack each max of domestic new products. And everyone also knows this.
I would venture to make an assumption that a certain role in the fact that the current air show was left without a “main guest” was played by scandals surrounding the aerospace industry recently. Since the time that passed after the previous show, several high -profile stories have occurred - from the disaster and failures of Superjet to the falls of space missiles with satellites on board.
Air battle without aerobatics
A scandalous halo of the air -cosmic show was added to the exposure publications in the media. Including signed by the famous test pilot Magomed Tolboev. They started talking about the industry as about the arena of intrigues, scandals, and ineffective management.
I immediately want to say that in Soviet times, intrigues in the domestic aviation industry were no less. Any veteran of the Soviet MAP (Ministry of Aviation Industry) will easily tell more than one story how the heads of the design bureau intrigued, pushed their elbows, fought hard (sometimes not too gentlemanly) for state attention and means. However, the industry was not in such a deplorable state then.
“Historically, in Soviet aviation, the main designer, engineer, specialist was always the main thing - the one who makes the planes. Unlike other defense departments, the director in aviation was the second person after the designer. But now the director has become the main one. The “depositors”, managers won! ”Won, said the“ hedgehog ”representative of one large company.
As you can see, the industry covered a deep internal conflict. Managers and engineers. This is Rome and Carthage, red and white. This is the intra -ads of the Cold War.
“Loaders”, as in this environment, they call employees held under the article “Falled costs” - management, accountants, etc. “All these random aunts, where young people came from on a huge salary, who believe that they can pronounce a mentor tone of an honored engineer!”
At the same time, there is no doubt in the need for high -quality management. The author of the article himself knows the case when in the early 90s a large company from the aviation industry missed a profitable foreign order due to ugly negotiations. The authorities of the Soviet still did not know how to conduct a dialogue with a partner and how to present their products at all.
“I don’t know why they hate us so much. We taught them how to work, ”once a representative of“ another camp ”complained to me.
In some ways she is right. The decision to transfer the management of airfields to the hands of management, I am sure that it was true-in the 90s, only thoughtful and decisive organizational reforms could save the air-cosmic industry of the Soviet model from final dying. Only now the industry could not get rid of old problems and acquired new ones. Aviation and space remained "under -reformed", and the generals from the aircraft industry well learned to survive in the new environment.
“At our company, the designer was outstanding ... (I will not give my last name). Everyone knew him. But the power has changed, only successes are not yet visible. The main result: “Loofers” occupy almost 80% of the staff at the company. Eighty! Foreign partners come and are surprised. ”
As the hedgehog interlocutor complained, engineers and experts receive money under a specific topic, which needs to be invented and “breaking through”, but management and other “deposits” do not depend on orders - they will always receive their salary, and, as a rule, high. And actually the creators of technology are forced to live from the topic to the topic. At the same time, management perceives firms in which it works as a private shop, appoints to key posts of relatives and “faithful” people. Who are by no means poor.
“After all, not managers came to power, but“ sawmills, ”the interlocutor brings sadly.
Airplanes are out of competition
Against this background, messages about the poor organization of the public passage to Max do not seem amazing. This has long been a common place - Max traditionally cannot cope with the flow of spectators on the days when the interior is open to visit an ordinary public. This time the weather disappeared-the rain, because of which the flight program was cut. In the crowd, standing on Saturday in the rain (and many came with children), people were not shy in expressions at the organizers. It got to the point that the acting Governor Vorobyov, Moscow Region, apologized to the visitors to the air show for inconvenience, promising to organize everything differently next time.
Just what to apologize as if all this mess was a surprise? This was not the first Max for a long time, and each time promises to improve the organization of spectators' delivery to the airier and from it are heard. And each time the organizers refer to the increased flow of visitors. In Zhukovsky back in the 1990s, the air show turned into the most popular technical exhibition in Russia, the stream of spectators for which is constantly growing. It is strange that the organizers have not yet noticed this. Yes, and you should not blame the rain - the weather forecast was not a secret a few days before the weekend.
Under the jets of rain, many other questions remained unanswered. For example, is the cross on the Tu-334, which at one time, even tried even possible launch into the series, was finally put? Will domestic civil aviation remain with only two new products: with Superjet and MS-21? When will military aviation be able to count on new combat aircraft that Russia has been supplied for foreign customers for a long time? But the main thing is when and how the aircraft industry will get rid of the systemic problems that have been drawn from the Soviet age (which leads to the notorious war of engineers-engineers)? Recently, they say that Russian aviation is finally getting out of a protracted peak. But this is explained, alas, rather an increased financial flow from the state, and not the successes of the industry itself ...
But the main thing at any air show is still planes. And now they, as always, did not disappoint. Despite the abbreviated program and low cloudiness to admire the highest pilot from the-AS pilots is a real pleasure. And, of course, no TV conveys the beauty of this spectacle when the plane performs high complexity figures to the accompaniment of rumbling engines - this must be watched not on the screen, but standing at the flight field. At such moments, all problems and even rain back back to the background.
Only now they don't go anywhere ...