Experienced aerobatic pilots, airplanes with embroidered shirts and their new aicraft GenPro are in Odessa to train for an international competition.
The suburban sports airfield hydroport, in Odessa Mezhliman'e, became the training base for the Ukrainian national aerobatics team for several days. In few days, from July 29 to August 7, the world championship in aerobatics will be held in the Polish town of Torun.
The Ukrainian national team will be represented by five athletes: Valery Nalyvaiko, Viktor Gorbachenko, Vladimir Prisyazhnyuk, Dmitry Pogrebitsky and Timur Fatkulin.
The team is a fusion of experience and fresh young forces. Odessa members, Nalivaiko and Gorbachenko, are multiple winners and prize-winners not only of Ukrainian championships, but also of Europe and the world. Prysyazhnyuk is also a multiple winner and participant of various championships, one of the most experienced Ukrainian aerobatic pilots.
Young Kievites Fatkulin and Pogrebitsky not only managed to appear at the last European Championship in 2019, but even became champions in their category.
I believe that we have all the chances to compete for a prize in the team competition, and in some exercises, I think, we will be able to take the gold. The team is well balanced, we trained a lot and productively, in general, there is every chance of success.
Valeriy Nalyvayko, Chairman of the Federation of Airplane Sports of Ukraine
The team will perform in Poland in four planes: a pair of Extra EA300/SC aircraft and a pair of GenPro. "Extra" among professionals is considered the recognised leader in aerobatics, but aircraft such as GenPro have only recently entered the market. Their first big show on the "world" will be a good design test.
New aircraft are being tested by several national teams, in particular, the UK team will also compete at GenPro. According to athletes, these planes have a great future, but they have not yet passed the period of so-called childhood illnesses.
Historically, Odessa was the first city in the Russian Empire, where the first aircraft took off in front of a public (1910).
