Pyotr Maksimovich Ostapenko (Encyclopedia of Safety)
11 September 1962: Flying the E-152\1, a record-setting prototype Mikoyan Gurevich interceptor, test pilot Pyotr Maksimovich Ostapenko set a new Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Record for Altitude in Horizontal Flight of 22,670 meters (74,377 feet).¹
Profile of Mikoyan-Gurevich E-152\1 (testpilot.ru)
In documents submitted to FAI, the E-152\1 was identified as E-166. Colonel Georgy Konstantinovich Mosolov made the first flight of the E-152\1 on 21 April 1961. The aircraft displayed at The Central Museum of the Air Forces at Monino, Russia as E-166 is actually the E-152\2, sister ship of the record-setting prototype.
This individual airplane set two other FAI world records. Test Pilot Alexander Vasilievich Fedotov flew it to 2,401 kilometers per hour (1,492 miles per hour) over a 100 kilometer course, 10 October 1961,² and on 7 July 1962, Colonel Mosolov set a world record for speed over a straight 15/25 kilometer course of 2,681 kilometers per hour (1,666 miles per hour).³
The Mikoyan-Gurevich E-152\1 shown with air-to-air missiles and a centerline fuel tank.
The Mikoyan Gurevich E-152\1 is a single-place, single-engine delta-winged prototype all-weather interceptor. It is 19.656 meters (64 feet, 5.4 inches) long with a wingspan of 8.793 meters (28 feet, 10.2 inches). The leading edge of the wings are swept back to 53° 47′. The E-152\1 had an empty weight of 10,900 kilograms (24,030 pounds) and gross weight of 14,350 kilograms (31,636 pounds).
The prototype was powered by a Tumansky R-15B-300 axial-flow turbojet engine with a five-stage compressor and single-stage turbine. It produced 22,500 pounds of thrust (100.1 kN) with afterburner. This was the first Soviet jet engine to use electronic engine control.
The E-152\1 had a maximum speed Mach 2.82 (2,995 kilometers per hour, 1,861 miles per hour) at 15,400 meters (50,525 feet).
The interceptor prototype had an internal fuel capacity of 4,960 liters (1,310 gallons), and the E-152\1 could carry a 1,500 liter (396 gallon) external fuel tank, giving a maximum range of 1,470 kilometers (913 miles). The service ceiling was 22,680 meters (74,409 feet).
After a two-year test program, E-152\1 and its sistership, E-152\2 were converted to E-152M\1 and E-152M\2.
Pyotr Maksimovich Ostapenko was born at Cool (or Cold), Kabardino-Balkaria, U.S.S.R, 17 September 1928. His interest in aviation began when, at age 14, he watched an aerial battle between Soviet and German fighters. Ostapenko attended the Armavir Military Aviation School of Pilots at Amravir, Krasnodar Krai, Russia, from 1948 to 1951, and then became an instructor. In 1958 he attended the Ministry of Indutrial Aviation Test Pilot School at Zhukovsky. He was a test pilot for the Mikoyan Design Bureau from 1958 to 1983.
On 26 April 1971, Ostapenko was named Hero of the Soviet Union for his heroism in testing new aviation technology. He was also awarded the Order of Lenin and the FAI’s Henry De La Vaulx Medal.
Pyotr Maksimovich Ostapenko flew more than 5,000 hours as a test pilot in more than 60 aircraft types. He held seven FAI speed, altitude and time to altitude world records. He died 8 April 2012 at the age of 83 years.
28 July 1976: A U.S. Air Force Lockheed SR-71A, serial number 61-7958, flown by Captain Robert C. Helt and Major Larry A. Elliott, USAF, set an Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Record for Altitude in Horizontal Flight, at 85,068 feet (25,929 meters).
FAI Record File Num #3496 [Direct Link]
Status: ratified – retired by changes of the sporting code
Region: World
Class: C (Powered Aeroplanes)
Sub-Class: C-1 (Landplanes)
Category: Not applicable
Group: 3 : turbo-jet
Type of record: Altitude in horizontal flight
Performance: 25 929 m
Date: 1976-07-28
Course/Location: Beale Air Force Base, CA (USA)
Claimant Robert C. Helt (USA)
Aeroplane: Lockheed SR-71 “Blackbird” (USAF)
Engines: 2 Pratt & Whitney J-58/JTD11D-20A
On the same day, Captain Eldon W. Joersz and Major George T. Fuller, Jr., flew 958 to 2,193.17 miles per hour (3,529.56 kilometers per hour) over a 15/25 kilometer course at Beale Air Force Base, California, setting an FAI World Absolute Speed Record.
FAI Record File Num #8865 [Direct Link]
Status: ratified – retired by changes of the sporting code
Region: World
Class: C (Powered Aeroplanes)
Sub-Class: C-1 (Landplanes)
Category: Not applicable
Group: 3 : turbo-jet
Type of record: Speed over a straight 15/25 km course
Performance: 3 529.56 km/h
Date: 1976-07-28
Course/Location: Beale Air Force Base, CA (USA)
Claimant Eldon W. Joersz (USA)
Aeroplane: Lockheed SR-71 “Blackbird”
Engines: 2 Pratt & Whitney J-58/JTD11D-20A
FAI Record File Num #8879 [Direct Link]
Status: ratified – current record
Region: World
Class: C (Powered Aeroplanes)
Sub-Class: C-Absolute (Absolute Record of classes C, H and M)
Category: Not applicable
Group: Not applicable
Type of record: Speed
Performance: 3 529.56 km/h
Date: 1976-07-28
Course/Location: Beale Air Force Base, CA (USA)
Claimant Eldon W. Joersz (USA)
Aeroplane: Lockheed SR-71 “Blackbird”
Engines: 2 Pratt & Whitney J-58/JTD11D-20A
De La Vaulx Medal
The previous day, the same airplane flown by Major Adolphus H. Bledsoe, Jr., pilot, and Major John T. Fuller, RSO , set the World Absolute Speed Record of 2,092.29 miles per hour (3,367.22 kilometers per hour) over a 1,000 kilometer closed circuit. Captain Joersz and Major George Fuller’s record superseded the one set by Bledsoe and John Fuller.
All six airmen were awarded the Henry De La Vaulx Medal by the FAI.
Today, 61-7958 is on display at the Museum of Aviation, Warner-Robins, Georgia. 32 of these long range strategic reconnaissance aircraft were built by the Lockheed Skunk Works.
Lockheed SR-71A 61-7958 at Beale AFB, 28 July 1976. (U.S. Air Force)
Lieutenant Colonel Charles H. Manning, Major Paul M. Schaefer and Technical Sergeant Emund K. Schindler, the record-setting crew of Chuck’s Challenge. (FAI)
4 July 1973: One of the last Grumman Albatross flying boats in service with the United States Air Force, HU-16B 51-5282, set a Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) altitude record for amphibians (Class C-3) when, at 12:33 p.m. EDT, it reached 10,022 meters (32,881 feet).¹ This exceeded the previous record set 37 years earlier by 2,417 meters (7,930 feet).²
Flown by Lieutenant Colonel Charles H. Manning, Major Paul M. Schaeffer and Technical Sergeant Emund K. Schindler, 51-5282 was assigned to the 301st Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron at Homestead AFB, Florida. After the flight, Manning said, “It wasn’t very comfortable. The outside temperature was 25 below zero.” The Air Force Times reported that the cold caused the lens of Sergeant Schindler’s watch to pop out.
Originally built as an SA-16A, 51-5282 was modified to the SA-16B standard, increasing the wingspan to 96 feet, 8 inches (29.464 meters) and altering the leading edges. Larger tail surfaces were added. In 1962 the designation was changed from SA-16B to HU-16B.
The Albatross was operated by a crew of 4 to 6 airmen, and could carry up to 10 passengers. The amphibian was 62 feet, 10 inches (19.152 meters) long and had an overall height of 25 feet, 11 inches (7.899 meters). The airplane’s total wing area was 1,035 square feet (96.15 square meters). The HU-16B had an empty weight of 23,025 pounds (10,444 kilograms), and maximum takeoff weight of 37,500 pounds (17,010 kilograms). For takeoff from water, the airplane’s weight was limited to 34,000 pound (15,422 kilograms), using rocket assist.
The SA-16A was powered by two air-cooled, supercharged, 1,823.129-cubic-inch-displacement (29.876 liter) Wright Aeronautical Division Cyclone 9 826C9HD3 and -D5 (R-1820-76A and -76B) nine-cylinder radial engines with a compression ratio of 6.80:1. 115/145 octane aviation gasoline was required. These engines were rated at 1,275 horsepower at 2,500 r.p.m., and 1,425 horsepower at 2,700 r.p.m for takeoff. The engines drove three-bladed Hamilton Standard Hydromatic full-feathering, reversible-pitch propellers with a diameter of 11 feet, 0 inches (3.353 meters) through a 0.666:1 gear reduction. The R-1820-76A and -76B were 3 feet, 11.69 inches (1.211 meters) long and 4 feet, 6.95 inches (1.396 meters) in diameter, and weighed 1,380 pounds (626 kilograms).
The Albatross could be equipped with two or four Aerojet 14AS1000 RATO units, which produced 1,000 pounds of thrust (4.49 kilonewtons), each, for 15 seconds.
The flying boat had a cruise speed of 134 knots (154 miles per hour/248 kilometers per hour) and a maximum speed of 204 knots (235 miles per hour/379 kilometers per hour) at 3,700 feet (1,128 meters). The service ceiling was 23,800 feet (7,254 meters) and its maximum range was 2,410 nautical miles (2,773 statute miles/4,463 kilometers) with external fuel tanks.
Two weeks after the record-setting flight, 51-5282 was flown to the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, making the very last USAF HU-16 flight.
FAI record-setting Grumman HU-16B Albatross 51-5282 at the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Wright-Patterson AFB, Dayton, Ohio. (U.S. Air Force)
¹ FAI Record File Number 3208
² FAI Record File Number 11649, 11650: 7,605 meters (24,951 feet), 14 April 1936, by Boris Vasilievich Sergievsky, Chief Pilot, Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, flying a Sikorsky S-43, with Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky and Michael Pravikov.
Lockheed YF-12A 60-6936, flies test mission near Edwards Air Force Base, Califrnia. (U.S. Air Force)
1 May 1965: Lockheed YF-12A 60-6936 established five Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Records for Speed: 3,351.507 kilometers per hour (2,070.102 m.p.h.) over a 15/25 Kilometer Straight Course; 2,644.22 kilometers per hour (1,643.04 miles per hour) over a 500 Kilometer Closed Circuit; and 2,718.01 kilometers per hour (1,688.89 miles per hour) over a 1,000 Kilometer Closed Circuit. On the same day, 6936 set an FAI World Record for Altitude in Horizontal Flight of 24,463 meters (80,259 feet).
The World Record-setting flight crews, from left to right, Captain James P. Cooney, Major Walter F. Daniel, Colonel Robert L. Stephens, Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Andre and Major Neil T. Warner. (U.S. Air Force)
The YF-12A interceptor prototype was flown by pilots Major Walter F. Daniel and Colonel Robert L. Stephens, with fire control officers Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Andre, Major Neil T. Warner and Captain James P. Cooney. Colonel Stephens and Lieutenant Colonel Andre were awarded the Thompson Trophy for the “J” Division, 1965. Their trophy is in the collection of the National Museum of the United States Air Force.
Lockheed YF-12A 60-6936 taking off from Edwards Air Force Base during the speed record trials, 1 May 1965. The white cross on the aircraft’s belly was to assist timers and observers. (U.S. Air Force)
FAI Record File Num #3972 [Direct Link]
Status: ratified – retired by changes of the sporting code
Region: World
Class: C (Powered Aeroplanes)
Sub-Class: C-1 (Landplanes)
Category: Not applicable
Group: 3 : turbo-jet
Type of record: Speed over a closed circuit of 1 000 km with 1 000 kg payload
Performance: 2 718.01 km/h
Date: 1965-05-01
Course/Location: Edwards AFB, CA (USA)
Claimant Walter F. Daniel (USA)
Aeroplane: Lockheed YF-12A (06936)
Engines: 2 Pratt & Whitney J-58/JTD11D-20A
FAI Record File Num #3973 [Direct Link]
Status: ratified – retired by changes of the sporting code
Region: World
Class: C (Powered Aeroplanes)
Sub-Class: C-1 (Landplanes)
Category: Not applicable
Group: 3 : turbo-jet
Type of record: Speed over a closed circuit of 1 000 km with 2 000 kg payload
Performance: 2 718.01 km/h
Date: 1965-05-01
Course/Location: Edwards AFB, CA (USA)
Claimant Walter F. Daniel (USA)
Aeroplane: Lockheed YF-12A (06936)
Engines: 2 Pratt & Whitney J-58/JTD11D-20A
FAI Record File Num #8534 [Direct Link]
Status: ratified – retired by changes of the sporting code
Region: World
Class: C (Powered Aeroplanes)
Sub-Class: C-1 (Landplanes)
Category: Not applicable
Group: 3 : turbo-jet
Type of record: Altitude in horizontal flight
Performance: 24 463 m
Date: 1965-05-01
Course/Location: Edwards AFB, CA (USA)
Claimant R.L. Stephens (USA)
Aeroplane: Lockheed YF-12A
Engines: 2 Pratt & Whitney J-58/JTD11D-20A
FAI Record File Num #8855 [Direct Link]
Status: ratified – retired by changes of the sporting code
Region: World
Class: C (Powered Aeroplanes)
Sub-Class: C-1 (Landplanes)
Category: Not applicable
Group: 3 : turbo-jet
Type of record: Speed over a closed circuit of 500 km without payload
Performance: 2 644.22 km/h
Date: 1965-05-01
Course/Location: Edwards AFB, CA (USA)
Claimant Walter F. Daniel (USA)
Aeroplane: Lockheed YF-12A
Engines: 2 Pratt & Whitney J-58/JTD11D-20A
FAI Record File Num #8926 [Direct Link]
Status: ratified – retired by changes of the sporting code
Region: World
Class: C (Powered Aeroplanes)
Sub-Class: C-1 (Landplanes)
Category: Not applicable
Group: 3 : turbo-jet
Type of record: Speed over a closed circuit of 1 000 km without payload
Performance: 2 718.006 km/h
Date: 1965-05-01
Course/Location: Edwards AFB, CA (USA)
Claimant Walter F. Daniel (USA)
Aeroplane: Lockheed YF-12A
Engines: 2 Pratt & Whitney J-58/JTD11D-20A
FAI Record File Num #9059 [Direct Link]
Status: ratified – retired by changes of the sporting code
Region: World
Class: C (Powered Aeroplanes)
Sub-Class: C-1 (Landplanes)
Category: Not applicable
Group: 3 : turbo-jet
Type of record: Speed over a straight 15/25 km course
Performance: 3 331.507 km/h
Date: 1965-05-01
Course/Location: Edwards AFB, CA (USA)
Claimant R.L. Stephens (USA)
Aeroplane: Lockheed YF-12A
Engines: 2 Pratt & Whitney J-58/JTD11D-20A
World Speed Record holders and Thompson Trophy winners, Colonel Robert L. Stephens and Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Andre. (U.S. Air Force)
60-6936 was one of three Mach 3 YF-12A interceptors designed and built by Kelly Johnson’s “Skunk Works”. It was developed from the CIA’s Top Secret A-12 Oxcart reconnaissance airplane. The YF-12A was briefly known as the A-11, which was a cover story to hide the existence of the A-12. Only three were built. The Air Force ordered 93 F-12B interceptors into production as a replacement for the Convair F-106A Delta Dart, but for three straight years Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara refused to release the funds that had been appropriated. In 1968, the F-12B project was cancelled.
On 24 June 1971, 60-6936 suffered an in-flight fire while on approach to Edwards Air Force Base. The crew successfully ejected and the airplane crashed a few miles to the north of EDW. It was totally destroyed.
The only surviving example of a YF-12A, 60-6935, is in the collection of the National Museum of the United States Air Force.
The 1965 Thompson Trophy on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. (U.S. Air Force)
Major General Manucheher Khosrowdad ( منوچهر خسروداد ), Imperial Iranian Army Aviation, in the cockpit of a Bell 214A Isfahan.
29 April 1975: 3 days after delivery of first production Bell 214A “Isfahan,” (IIAF serial number 6-4651, Bell serial number 27004), Major General Manucheher Khorowdad, Imperial Iranian Army Aviation, with Clem A. Bailey, Bell assistant chief production test pilot, as co-pilot, took off from Ahwaz Commercial Airport (AWZ) in southwestern Iran to set five Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) world records. The airport’s elevation is 66 feet (20 meters) above Sea Level. The air temperature at the time was reported to be 35–38 °C. (95–100 °F.).
The Bell 214A climbed to a height of 3,000 meters (9,842.52 feet) in 1 minute, 58 seconds; ¹ 6,000 meters (19,685.04 feet) in 5 minutes, 14 seconds; ² and 9,000 meters (29,527.56 feet) in 15 minutes, 5 seconds; ³ The helicopter reached a peak altitude of 9,071 meters (29,760.5 feet), setting a record for altitude without payload.⁴ It was able to maintain an altitude of 9,010 meters (29,560.4 feet) in horizontal flight.⁵
All five of these records remain current.
Major General Manucheher Khosrowdad was murdered by Islamic revolutionaries at 23:30, 15 February 1979. He and three other Iranian military officers were the first to be killed following the revolution. A “tribunal” found him guilty of “corruption on Earth.” His prized German Shepherd Dogs were also slaughtered. His remains were then displayed in public. Eventually, his body was interred at Behesht-e Zahra Cemetery, Tehran.
The Bell 214A was developed from the prototype Bell 214 Huey Plus (which first flew in October 1970 and was powered by a 1,900-shaft horsepower Lycoming T53-L-702 turboshaft engine) for Imperial Iranian Army Aviation. Bell built three prototype 214As, powered by the Lycoming T55-L7C (2,050 shaft horsepower). One of these was shipped to Iran in August 1972 for evaluation.
The helicopter is flown by a pilot and co-pilot. It can carry 15 combat troops.
The production 214A was powered by the Lycoming LTC4B-8D turboshaft, rated at 2,930 shaft horsepower.
Iran ordered 287 Bell 214As. Iran named the Bell 214, “Isfahan,” after a city in Iran where it was planned to build a Bell helicopter production facility to produce additional 214A/Cs, and as many as 350 of the stretched, twin-engine Bell 214STs.
The first production BH 214A, 6-4561 (Bell serial number 27004), was built in Texas and delivered in Iran on 26 April 1975.
Because of the Iranian revolution of 1978–1979, the Isfahan facility was never built. All of the BH 214A/Cs and BH 214STs for Iran were built in Texas: 287 214As, 39 214C search and rescue variants, and 48 214STs. Sanctions against the Iran regime have prevented any spare parts for these helicopters being delivered to Iran, but it is believed that that country has produced counterfeit parts. It is not known how many of these helicopters remain in service, but a 2018 estimate suggested just 22.
The Bell 214A was built using a strengthened UH-1H airframe. It had a semi-rigid rotor system without the stabilizer bar of previous UH-1 models. The 214A’s rotor system included elastomeric bearings.
The fuselage is 44 feet, 1.09 inches (13.4389 meters) long. The helicopter has a maximum height of 12 feet, 10 inches (3.9116 meters). With blades turning, its maximum length is 60 feet, 2.27 inches (18.3457 meters). The 214A’s main rotor diameter is 50 feet, 0 inches (15.24 meters). The main rotor blades have a chord of approximately 3 feet (0.9 meters). As with all American helicopters, the main rotor turns counter-clockwise when viewed from above. (The advancing blade is on the right.) The tail rotor is mounted on the right side of the vertical pylon, and turns clockwise as viewed from the left side of the helicopter. (The advancing blade is below the axis of rotation.) It has a diameter of 9 feet, 8.00 inches (2.9464 meters). The tail rotor blades have a chord of 12.00 inches (0.3048 meters).
Bell 214 two-view illustration
The Lycoming LTC4B-8D (an uprated version of the T55-L-7) is a turboshaft engine with a 7-stage axial-flow, single-stage centrifugal-flow compressor section, a reverse-flow combustor, two-stage high-pressure gas producer and two-stage free power turbine. It can produce 2,930 shaft horsepower, but is derated to 2,250 shaft horsepower. The engine is 3 feet, 9.5 inches (1.557 meters) long, 2 feet, 1.1 inches (0.63754 meters) in diameter, and weighs 618 pounds (280 kilograms).
The Bell 214A has an empty weight of 7,588 pounds (3,441.9 kilograms) and gross weight of 13,800 pounds (6,259.6 kilograms). It can carry up to 7,500 pounds of cargo suspended from its cargo hook, in which case its maximum gross weight is 16,000 pounds (7,257.5 kilograms).
The Bell 214A has a maximum speed of 140 knots (161.1 miles per hour/259.3 kilometers per hour). Its range is 222 nautical miles (255 statute miles/411 kilometers). Its service ceiling of 16,400 feet (4,998.7 meters).
First flight, Bell 214A, Fort Worth, Texas. (Vertiflite May/June 1974)
Bell went on to produce a commercial variant of the BH 214A, which it designated the Bell 214B BigLifter. This model received a FAA Type Certificate 27 January 1976. On 3 February 1976, a second model, the BH 214B-1, was also certified. The BH 214B-1 has a lower gross weight than the 214B, but the only actual difference between the two models is the aircraft data plate and the flight manual. This was done due to certification standards of various countries which would place the 214B in a “large helicopter” classification. Only 70 of these commercial models were built.
A commercial Bell 214B BigLifter with Canadian registration. (Aircraft.com)
Another commercial BH214 variant was also produced, the 214ST. Initially called the “Stretched Twin,” this helicopter featured two turboshaft engines, a 2 foot, 6 inch (0.762 meters) increase in length, and a larger diameter main rotor system. This helicopter was also intended to serve with Iranian Army Aviation, and 350 were to be built at the Isfahan facility.
A Bell 214ST Super Transport, G-BKFN, of British Caledonian Helicopters, photographed at Aberdeen Airport, 8 September 1982. (Gary Watt via Wikipedia).
Marketed as the 214ST SuperTransport, this helicopter could be ordered with either fixed skids or fixed tricycle landing gear. A total of just 96 were built, with 48 for Iran. The others were for commercial customers, or the militaries of several countries.
Bell Helicopter transferred FAA Type Certificates for the Model 214B, 214B-1, and 214ST helicopters to Erickson Incorporated, Central Point, Oregon, in 2020.
