On February 14, 1955, Colonel Georgy Mosolov made the first flight of the storied MiG-21 fighter prototype
Soviet test pilot Georgy Mosolov passed away in Moscow on March 19 at the age of 91, according to MiG Corporation.
“The legend of jet aviation has passed away,” MIG’s Director General Ilya Tarasenko said. “He was a merited test pilot who made a huge contribution to the development of combat aviation in this country.”
The Flight Research Institute outside Moscow is where Colonel Georgy Mosolov, who was born on May 3, 1926, completed the test pilot school before joining the MIG Corporation staff in 1953.
TASS claims that Mosolov was not only a pioneer of supersonic and high-altitude flight but also one of the first Soviet pilots to break world records. He holds six records, three of which are absolute and the other three are in Soviet aviation.
On February 14, 1955, Colonel Mosolov made the first flight of the famed MiG-21 (NATO reporting name Fishbed) fighter prototype.
He also achieved various records when piloting MiG-21 prototypes. Additionally, he had a reputation for being close with Yuri Gagarin, the first person to journey to space.
He examined fighter aircraft engines, performed intricate tests on the aerodynamics, stability, and controllability of the aircraft, and flew more than 50 different types of aircraft while on active duty.
Georgy Mosolov, who was flying a prototype of the MiG-23 on September 7, 1962, was severely hurt when he ejected from the aircraft after it suffered an engine failure. He survived two seeming deaths while receiving treatment at the Sergei Botkin General Hospital in Moscow, forcing him to give up his test pilot career.
From 1978 through 1992, he served as Aeroflot’s general representative in a number of nations.
In October 1960, Mosolov received the Gold Star of Hero of the Soviet Union from the Soviet authorities.
Photo by Markkonen Own work and Mihenator Own work via Wikipedia
