The history of creating a special air squad, whose task is to deliver the first persons of the state to where they order, began back in 1956. The technical fleet of this organizational structure was then the best passenger aircraft in Russia, or rather, the Soviet Union - IL-12.
Aviation developed rapidly, and all the new products tested for some time at Aeroflot arrived at Vnukovo, where government winged vehicles were based. Not only equipment, but also pilots were selected here the best, because the responsibility is great. If a flight accident happened, the whole world would immediately begin to talk about the technical backwardness of "these Russians who cannot even deliver the head of state normally." But, fortunately, there was no reason for such gossip. State of emergency arose, only not through the fault of our technology or pilots. For example, in 1961, a plane with the then Soviet Prime Minister L.I. Brezhnev was shot at by the French interceptor, and only thanks to the skill of the crew did everything work out well.
Today, the plane of the president of Russia is not just a vehicle. On board there is everything in order to govern the country and work efficiently, which is unthinkable and without the ability to fully relax. There are bedrooms, showers, and a conference room .
Neither have the food needs been forgotten, since flights operated by board No. 1 are lengthy. Therefore, the liner’s galley is equipped with a cooker, fridge, freezer, dishwasher, in general, all that is in a good kitchen.
The plane of the President of Russia is perfectly decorated inside. The representative function of this machine is very important, it is a miniature Kremlin, just like every aircraft with a three-color flag on the steering wheel and the inscription RA on the fuselage. Not a single world leader who has been on board will be able to say that the interior authors did not have enough taste, and the performers did not have enough money. The upholstery is made by the same company that deals with Austin Martin car dealerships. All plumbing equipment and most parts of metal fittings trim are gold plated. In general, the cost of advanced equipment exceeded the equivalent of $ 19 million.
Of course, the president’s aircraft was built in Russia, a country that has long and glorious traditions of the aviation industry. This is the IL-96-300 - a very decent wide-body machine with four engines, very reliable, high-speed and comfortable.
The incident in August 2005, when technical problems led to the Russian President’s plane not being lifted into the air, caused 42-day trouble not only to the ground services of the special squadron, but also to the many operators of this aircraft who were forbidden to fly to Il- 96. However, it soon became clear that the problems were minor, and the flights continued.
Of course, the plane of the President of Russia is not a single concept, there are several main winged vehicles that perform this function, in particular, there are only six Ilovs of the 96s . Not all of them have such a luxurious finish as the main side, but the flight conditions on them are quite comfortable. In the technical fleet of the squadron, there are other types of airliners - these are the Il-62, and Tu-214, and other reliable aircraft, and besides them there are also rotorcraft to get even where there are no runways.