Mikhail Gromov Institute for Flight Research
The Mikhail Gromov Institute for Flight Research ( Russian Л етно- и сследовательский и нститут , ЛИИ ) is one of the central research facilities of the former Soviet and now Russian aerospace industry, based in Zhukovsky .
history
The research facility was established shortly before the start of the Great Patriotic War and still exists today. The official foundation day is March 8, 1941.
Mikhail Mikhailovich Gromov was the boss . Immediately afterwards, the experiments with aircraft, their components and equipment were started. The development results of the LII were one of the keys to the development of the Soviet Union into a world power. A special feature of the facility is the Zhukovsky airfield with a 5.4 km long runway, the longest in Europe.
Between 1980 and 1987 ten test pilots of the LII were trained as cosmonauts , but only two of them made a space flight: Igor Wolk in July 1984 with Soyuz T-12 and Anatoly Levchenko in December 1987 with Soyuz TM-4 .
Public jet fighter flights in Zhukovsky
Until June 2006, public flights were also possible for foreign customers in Russian and Czechoslovak jet trainers and fighter aircraft. Due to a lack of funds, such flights became possible in the 1990s, which attracted enormous international attention, because shortly before these aircraft were still subject to the strictest secrecy. It was astonishing that western business people could even control these types themselves. The Department of Defense tried to control this by subjecting potential customers to a security check. However, this was comparable to applying for a Russian visa and was therefore easy to go through. The offer included the Czechoslovak jet trainer Aero L-39 Albatros , the Russian Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 , MiG-23 and MiG-25 for stratospheric flights as well as the MiG-29 and Sukhoi Su-27 . Public flights have been suspended since June 2006.
Current activities
Today they are engaged in the implementation of test flights and have modern equipment and highly qualified personnel.
Current focal points of the work are:
- Aerodynamic studies in the wind tunnel and in flight
- Aero engine tests
- Avionics
- Safety and reliability of aircraft and their components
- Development of expert systems for the aerospace industry
- Flying power curves
- Support in prototype development
- Air accident investigation
- Construction of prototypes.
Web links
- Homepage (Russian)