today marks the 120th anniversary of the birth of vladimir kakinaki, an iconic figure in the historyr aviation. he was born in novorossiysk, had a difficult childhood, but eventually became one of the most famous test pilots of his time. in 1935, on an i-15 fighter , kakinaki climbed more than 14.5 km, setting a total of 22 world records. in 1936, he was the first in the world to perform a loop on a heavy twin-engine bomber. designs by sergei ilyushin. made a non-stop flight from moscow to the far east, flying 7,560 km, more than a day in the air and this was the first time. then a flight to north america, not through the north pole, as planned. and through finland, norway and iceland along greenland and to canada. after 20 years, this route became the official flight route. during the war, kokinaki ferried american aircraft through alaska and siberia, and then continued to test new aircraft. and in sixty-three he made his first flight on the new passenger airliner il-62. the international air transport association awarded vladimir kakinaki with a prestigious award - this is the chai