Alexander Markalov and Vyacheslav Markalov are the founders of one of the first aeroclubs in Myachkovo. Many well-known Muscovites learned to fly in our "AIST-M" club. But before the time of its rise they had to make a long and non-standard way to the aircraft with their father.
The foundation of the aeroclub began with the construction of a self-made plane "AIST-123M". The construction took place at the Station of young technicians of Volgogradtskiy district of Moscow city and proceeded eight years. In different years many enthusiasts took part in the creation of the plane but the basic team was Markalov Anatoly Maksimovich and his sons Alexander and Vyacheslav.
Chairman of the "AIST-M" aeroclub board speaks:
- The history of our aeroclub took its start in the times when my brother and I entered the college (I wanted to learn in the flying one but my sight was weak so I didn't want to tempt fate and handed the documents in the Egoryevsk aero-technical college and my brother Slava entered the Sasovo flying college of civil aircraft).
Once after dismissal father carried me to Egoryevsk and we saw guys flying by a self-made plane. That show stir us enthusiasm so we talked about the opportunity to fly in the family circuit after it. As well as I my father couldn't become a pilot but skies called us. Only Slava had a clear prospect to fly. My father and I couldn't fly that time but we wanted to. The wish burned brighter due to the flight of Fadeev' handmade product and we decided to construct our own plane. We started after my college' graduation in 1979 and finished in 1987 only. The process took a long time. There were transformations of the original project - from the single plane into double - we built one thing at first then other, the plan and terms varied.
The initial variant provided the single plane with wooden low-sited free-carrying wing and the engine of "Ural" motorcycle. Subsequently the plane had undergone a number of changes of design and power layout. For example the Czech aircraft engine M-332 with fuel injection was established, the tail plumage of plane "ZLIN-323" was applied, the form of fuselage was altered into two side by side located pilot seats. All of this led to the substantial growth of construction weight and necessity of replacement of the available wooden wing on a wing modified from the "ZLIN-323". It subsequently gave an occasion to all ill wishers to call "AIST" as a "TRAINER" of domestic assembly.
Eventually in 1987 the construction of a double plane "AIST-123M" was finished and it took part in a Moscow review-competition of self-made flying devices (SLA-87) that was held in Tushino. However the haste at the final stage of assembly caused by a willingness to get on that meeting led to the malfunctions of the engine and we had an opportunity to fly by the plane only next year. We were put in a register after SLA-87 and participated in SLA-89 in Yaroslavl and Riga then. We flew to that meeting by our plane.
The plane turned out remarkable with excellent flying qualities, easy in training and piloting. Simultaneously all miscalculations and lacks of design that are inevitable during the project' development turned out. Nevertheless there was nothing else in club that time so the big group of friends gathered to fly by it and the main payment for pleasure was a canister of gasoline.
At first we started to fly by it in Kolomna. All our relatives including me learned to fly by the plane that was constructed with their own hands. It was harder to learn for father. He flew by "Yak-18T" independently and I flew by "AIST-123M" at first and by "YAK-18T" then. These planes appeared by that time but it's gonna be another story.
