The sky does not let go

“Why are you limping? What about the leg? " - At least once after landing, almost every one of them heard this question. He shrugged, answered: “There is no one” - he collected a parachute in an armful and walked himself, leaving this information to digest stunned witnesses. With a parachute on the prosthesis? Come on!

"Such cases" visited the training teams of athletes-paratroopers with disabilities. They are preparing at the end of summer to set a new record of Russia for group acrobatics. The release is at an altitude of 4500 meters and 30 seconds to collect the figure. At the airfield in Bolshoi Gryzlovo in Pushchin, one of the largest dropson of Russia, such paratroopers were taken for the first time. And the local administration was noticeably nervous. When, after the next jump, a rumor passed that someone had a leg in the air, the people poured to the field to see what happened ...

Clamping parachute after jumping photo: Maria Plotnikova for TD Airfield Big Gryzlovo Photo: Maria Plotnikova for TD

Until 2012, people with disabilities were closed to the sky. Before jumping, all paratroopers were required to undergo a medical and fiber commission. People with hearing impairments, vision, musculoskeletal system were simply not allowed to jump. Without a hand or leg, it was unrealistic to receive an independent jump to independent jumps. But quietly, by acquaintance, at fear and risk in different parts of the country, people jumped. They jumped, because, once being there, in a free fall, it is very difficult to abandon this. He pulls into the sky. At any cost. Most of these special paratroopers received disability, already having more than one hundred jumps behind them. Most often these are former paratroopers, military. The amputation of the leg is the result of mine-explosive wounds in hot spots. But not all.

Restless Petrovich

The young chicken Sasha Skoklakov dreamed of becoming a military man. And certainly a paratrooper to jump with a parachute. Preparing for the army, playing sports. And then in a street fight he stood up for a boy who was beaten by hooligans. A stab with a knife into the thigh damaged the artery. Almost deadly blood loss. He was saved, and his leg was amputated above the knee. At 16, all dreams and plans collapsed. Instead of a blue beret and whistling wind under the parachute dome, a sewing school. And yet he achieved his own. The first jump made at 47 years. And largely due to its stubbornness and restlessness in 2011, a team of parachutists-disabled people appeared in Russia.

Photo of a jump from a TV monitor photo: Maria Plotnikova for TD, thanks to the restlessness of Sasha Zakoklakov, in 2011 in Russia a team of parachutist disabled people appeared in Russia

First, he jumped in a tandem with an instructor, and in the very first jumping with his gust of wind, he took off to the gas substation behind the barbed wire. This did not repel the hunt to "stand on the wing". Sasha went to study at the Kirzhach airfield, persuaded the boss and fell into the hands of the instructor Lydia Ardasenova, the legend of the USSR parachute. Once she was somehow frivolously and casually told him: “To gather you to the team in group acrobatics-this is how you can turn the mountains.” Although he seriously did not think of anything, but Petrovich - so now they call Sasha - clung to the idea and began to shake hard: let's, they say, collect the team. And Ardasenova surrendered. They began to look for those who had already jumped after amputations. In the first year, eight people from different corners of the country came to the training camp: Kursk, Novgorod, Nizhnevartovsk, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Samara, Tver ... Many had hundreds of jumps behind him, but no one was engaged in acrobatics. They put a hat in their own way and gathered for six hours of classes in the aerotherapy. “The sight was still. After the first hour of classes, I grabbed my head, I thought that everything was useless, ”recalls Lidia Ardasenova, now the head coach of this team.
But in 2011, they still jumped and gathered a formation of eight people. This was the first recorded record of Russia for parachute acrobatics of people with disabilities.

Preparation for the next jump (Lidia Ardasenova in the center) Photo: Maria Plotnikova for TD Preparation for jumping photo: Maria Plotnikova for TD

“They studied so quickly. Healthy people always think that they have another wagon ahead. And here everything is limited. These were all happy jumping. And when they made a record, there were tears in their eyes. It’s so hard to part with the sky when you jumped and suddenly, for some reason, you can no longer do it, ”Lidia Ardasenova tells, and her tears are full of her herself.

“They studied so quickly. Healthy people always think that they have time ahead of the car. And here everything is limited "

Lydia began to jump at 16 years old. USSR master of sports, champion in various types of parachute disciplines. The last time she rose in the sky with a parachute in 1998. The Russian team was preparing for the World Cup in parachute sports. It was her 5100th jump. In the air, due to the mistake of a paratrooper colleague, they collided. The landing did not work. Broke. Serious injuries. Fractures.
We are sitting on a bench by the landing field. The team along with other paratroopers is already on the plane. About twenty minutes later, bright multi -colored parachute wings will open above our head. Nature, finally, took pity, cleared the sky, released the sun and made it possible to jump parachutists.

Photo jump from TV monitor photo: Maria Plotnikova for TD

“For the first five years, I thought I would go crazy without jumping. I fly in a pipe. This is my outlet. I can’t leave, ”says Lydia, looking like her tears. And then he laughs, telling how she fought with her veterans athletes, demanded a soft landing. All in their previous life before disability jumped on an accurate landing. And then, out of habit, they also began to stick into the ground. “I yelled at them like that, like never for anyone,” she laughs, recalling how, after one of these jumps, a bursting prosthesis was sealed with reinforced tape. They began to jump half -legally. Any accident, and on "legless" jumps would put a cross.
She lifts her head up and observes through the dazzling sun the landing. Is everything here, did everyone carefully sat down.

Our leg

When the rumor runs around with the rustle that someone had “a leg”, we immediately understand-our leg. Everyone landed safely. Whole. “Well, our prostheses have never flew off,” Ardasenova grunts. Let's go watch the video. Each jump is then watched and disassembled errors on the video. Operators always jump with the team. In the air at an altitude of four thousand meters when leaving from the aircraft you can see how two hooked with “legs”. Glory jerked several times, unhoating, and the “leg”, twisting the stump, flew to the ground on its own.

Landing Vyacheslav after loss of prosthesis photo: Maria Plotnikova for TD Vyacheslav has a patch of the Kirzhach airborne club - it was there that the photo team originated: Maria Plotnikova for TD

On the eve of Vyacheslav, a new overalls were picked up. The correct overalls in parachute acrobatics is a whole thing. Tight or free, made of smooth material or rough. The speed of free fall depends on all these nuances. The athlete will have time to fly to the group or fly below with a whistle, or, conversely, will not be able to catch up with them, so it will soar in a few meters. In general, after the previous jump, Vyacheslav decided to choose a more “slow” overalls. On his glory, there was a safety cuff on the leg, and the club overalls did not have such insurance. In a cheerful, bright yellow with multi -colored inserts of overalls, he sits on a bench like a sad clown that took off the makeup after the performance. All are a little confused. The terrible nothing happened. He landed normally. There are no injuries. But you just have to go home for a spare prosthesis 300 kilometers from the airfield. The people are trying to go to look for a prosthesis in the fields, calculating about a square where they could fly away.

The people are trying to go to look for a prosthesis in the fields, calculating about a square where they could fly away

The adventures of the prosthesis of the charming, good-natured Vyacheslav, a military judge from Solnechnogorsk, who lost his leg in the 90s during the service in the special forces of the Airborne Forces, set up everyone to poison funny stories.

Photo from the TV monitor at the time of loss of prosthesis photo: Maria Plotnikova for TD

After jumping, parachutes were laid. And next to Yura, a fussy guy who constantly pushed him in the leg lay down. One, second. He unfastened his leg to the third Yura and put it next to him. When the neighbor once again made a sharp movement and got into the void instead of his leg, he turned and with horror saw his leg separately.
Someone recalls how, on an airplane, some paratrooper not from the team rested on the “leg”, not knowing that it was a prosthesis, and was scared, hearing a crunch. And already in a voice they laugh, recalling how Lesha produced a medical examination and weighing planted in a priestly, and the doctor did not notice that the cheerful paratrooper in shorts instead of the leg of the prosthesis.

Stay yourself

In 2016, 14 paratroopers already participated in the record team jumping. This year they hope that there will be 16 of them. The figure may seem insignificant. But it is close to world records for people with disabilities. “The amputants collected figures of 14 people. Hearinglessness - out of 16. Blind deuce. Can you imagine this? - says Alexei Alekhin, the team paratrooper and the head of the Dropson of the Vatulino airfield. - The guys in the United States jumped before they lost their eyesight. And then they decided to jump the deuce. Each through the headphone was led by the instructor. On both there were special helmets with open ears. They simultaneously jumped out and shouted loudly “Aaaa” converged in the sound. And then the instructors were planted. Ten years ago, I was in the USA on the jumping of the amputant team. It is called Pieces of Eight. "

The Russian team is mixed. Now the national team has 20 people from different cities of Russia. But besides people who have lost the limbs under different circumstances, there are two hearing impaired paratroopers in the team - Sasha and Katya. Sasha does not speak and writes questions after the analysis, and the coaches separately also make all the jumps with him in writing. Katya is a little easier, she can speak and reads on her lips.

Landing after jumping photo: Maria Plotnikova for TD Alexey explains the mistakes of the hearing impaired Catherine after she has not opened the spare parachute photo: Maria Plotnikova for TD

Alekhin has no hand. At the age of 12, it was torn off homemade pyrotechnics. At Moscow State University, all friends went to jump, but he was not allowed. “I decided that I also want. All my life I have been around some obstacles and here I will find a loophole. ” And he found an airfield where he was allowed to jump. For several years he jumped just like a passenger tandem. In the mid-90s, it cost the fabulous $ 100 per jump. I saved up for months. And then familiar instructors decided to teach him how to jump on his own. A few years later, when they decided to open their Aeroquelassic club at Vatulino airfield, Alekhin went to the partners. After all, no one can forbid him to jump in his club. The jumping prosthesis - two metal hooks - came up with and made with his brother in the garage. Once he almost flew in the air in the air. I managed to catch with a healthy hand.

In order to bring a person from scratch to the level of independent jumps, you need 150 thousand rubles

“After each of our records, the calls“ Take me to you ”begin. But no one finances us. In order to bring a person from scratch to the level of independent jumps, you need 150 thousand rubles. And he will have neither his parachute nor overalls. Just minimal initial training, ”says Lidia Ardasenova. - Each time we drop off, we are looking for sponsors, let's let the cry according to friends. We do not know in advance how it will turn out. But we know for sure that we will jump anyway. ”

Landing photo: Maria Plotnikova for TD Extreme Sports