Kapanina Svetlana: biography, achievements, private life

Pilot figures in the sky, which this woman commits, impress world experts with the highest degree of flying art. Svetlana Kapanina is the only female pilot who holds the Grand Prix of the World Cup. Her regalia can not be counted: the instructor pilot, the "Honored Master of Sports" and the coach of Russia, the owner of 39 medals in the world championships and a member of the Russian aerobatics team. And, to all that has been said, Svetlana Vladimirovna is a beautiful woman, a loving wife and mother of two children.

Deposit of the winner

Three days before the New Year in 1968 Svetlana was born in the Kazakh SSR. Mom worked as an accountant, then as an operator of fueling, but my father combined the work of a taxi driver with self-driving on ice. The last occupation brought his father the title of vice-champion of Kazakhstan. Svetlana Kapanina is not the only child in the family. She also has a sister and a brother.

She showed her tenacity and leadership as a schoolgirl. No sporting event took place without her participation: lightning, races and gymnastic performances. Svetlana gave 6 years of gymnastics. And already then she proved that her every hobby is accompanied by achievements. In gymnastics, the girl performed a program corresponding to the candidate for master of sports. Perhaps now Russia did not get the most titled pilot, if not for the devotion of the young Svetlana to her gymnastics coach Larissa Alexandrovna. A promising athlete was invited to the Olympic Reserve school in Tselinograd, but Kapanina refused because she did not have the same offer to her coach. And after the eighth grade, the girl left the sport and decided to master the pharmaceutical disciplines in the Tselinograd school.

Flight homeland

After the end of the medical school in 1987, Kapanina Svetlana went to the Kurgan to raise the chemical industry. It was in this city that the girl decided to realize her old dream - a parachute jump. Fate of fate Kapanina met a man who, seeing the confused look of the girl, asked how he can help her. She asked: "Where do they write for parachute jumps?". - "Why do you need a parachute, sign up for the pilot. With a parachute, we'll drop you on the flight section. "

When Svetlana reached the office, where people are registered for various aviation disciplines, she said: "Aircraft Section". Realizing that she did not say what she came for, the girl did not correct what she had said, so as not to appear insecure in herself to the employees of the air club.

So, future champion, pilot Svetlana Kapanina, whose biography randomly determined her hobby and profession, began to train in the aviation sports club (ASK).

Training

Promising pupil immediately noticed Rukavishnikov Alexander Vasilyevich. An excellent vestibular apparatus, physical preparation, the desire to be the best - all these qualities were possessed by Kapanina Svetlana Vladimirovna. The photos of this refined and charming blonde do not correspond to the classical representation of the appearance of a woman who gave her life to the achievements of aerobatics in flight art.

The first usual flight did not impress Svetlana, and then for the girl they arranged a real run with loops, turns and turns, after which she fell in love with the sky forever. Svetlana Vladimirovna still remembers these sensations: mad speed, inverted earth with the sky, blows head to the lantern, adrenaline and the desire to learn all this.

Designed Kapanin in ASK aviation communications technician. The first coach was AV Rukavishnikov, a year later, LA Solodovnikov began training flight skills. In 1991 Kapanina Svetlana got to the team for aerobatics and was awarded the title of "Master of Sports".

Speeches

By 1992, Svetlana had already become an instructor, and a year later went to her first European championship, where she brought a silver medal. And this achievement was the beginning of her big career path.

In 1995, in South Africa, she took second place in the Absolute standings, leaving no medals to male pilots. A year later, at the World Championships in the United States, after Kapanina won all the gold, her award was the title of "Honorary Citizen of Oklahoma."

In 1998, Svetlana opened an air show in Great Britain in honor of the 80th anniversary of the Royal Air Force. There local journalists dubbed the Russian pilot "Siberian Angel". This became her first professional nickname.

Today Svetlana Kapanina is a first-class instructor pilot and holder of 67 gold, 26 silver and 13 bronze medals.

The best aircraft

For Svetlana, and for world pilots, the Su-class aircraft possess the best performance characteristics. When there were state orders, aviation clubs functioned, they were issued by the design bureau (KB) them. Dry and most of the participants in the international championships performed the program on these aircraft. Today, Su-31, Su-29, Su-26 and the whole series of sports and training aircraft are not produced. They are only resold second-hand and are still in demand.

Aircraft produced at the OKB them. Dry, have good aerodynamics, are resistant to overload and ergonomic. But the lack of funding for this sport affected the stoppage of the production of the best aircraft.

With the collapse of the Soviet Union, flight sections ceased to be supported by the state. This is evidenced by the fact that the average age of the team is 47 years! When Svetlana was a student, the number of hours for classes was set at about 70 a year, and now if you manage to fly off at least 15, it's already good.

Svetlana Kapanina test pilot of the Sukhoi Design Bureau?

In 2000 Svetlana with the other members of the aerobatics team was recruited to Sukhoi. They offered the Queen of Heaven the position of an instructor pilot with the prospect of becoming a tester. Kapanin was at that time a pupil of the school. Fedotova, who was engaged in the training of test pilots. After a theoretical course in practice, she did not have to apply knowledge. According to the plan it was necessary to fly a certain number of hours on different types of aircraft, in total there were 30 people in the group.

For some reason, most likely financial, Svetlana was not allowed to practice. Therefore, she never became a test pilot in the Sukhoi Design Bureau, but she remained to this day to work as an instructor at the plant. By the way, thanks to the Sukhoi Company, the Russian team of aerobatics always has repaired planes.

Dream - its own school

Kapanina Svetlana Vladimirovna over the years has not lost interest in flying. She continues to perform in the airshow and championships. She is invited to foreign representations by foreign organizers, and she is forced to refuse because of the lack of an airplane. For example, each foreign participant of the championship has a personal aircraft, and the Russian team has ten planes for two people. Faced with a lot of problems: the lack of technology, means, air schools, it helps the young generation to learn the delights of flying, training guys.

Svetlana Vladimirovna over the years began to think about working abroad as a way to earn money to organize a flight school and prolong the extinct life of air sports in Russia.

Non-standard situations

Svetlana Kapanina, whose personal life is in constant risk, fell into dangerous situations during the flight. And in an interview when she was asked if there had been engine failures, she answered calmly: "Yes, and that's fine." On the international demonstration flight after the engine failure, Svetlana so skilfully planted the aircraft, that this incident was known only by the flight management.

There was a case, one day before the European Championships, during training, while performing the "corkscrew" figure, the blade of the device fell and plunged into the wing spar, and immediately the screw fell off. The whole team froze in fear of waiting for landing. Svetlana landed the plane on the soil strip and achieved minimal damage to the equipment, even had time to unplug the headphones before leaving the cockpit, because she needed them for tomorrow's championship.

Svetlana Kapanina: biography, private life

In some sources about the biography and personal life of the "Siberian Angel" there is information that her first husband was Solodovnikov Leonid, coach from the Kurgan. In a tragic accident in 1994, he passed away. This painful period in life Svetlana does not like to discuss and give any information.

Now the Stepanov-Kapanin family brings up two children and lives in Moscow. Svetlana's husband is Vladimir, also an athlete, he has the fourth dan in karate. He is engaged in coaching and refereeing. The first child in a sports family is a son, with the ancient Russian name Peresvet, and the youngest is a daughter, with an equally interesting name Yesenia. Children, seeing the achievements of their parents, also dream of conquering the sky and martial arts. Therefore, I would like to wish the Stepanov-Kapanin family successful achievements in all endeavors!