There was a festive atmosphere at the MAKS-2017 air show in Zhukovsky, Moscow region.

In Zhukovsky, near Moscow, the weather today only emphasized the festive atmosphere. Today is the second day, but the first day off, when everyone can attend the MAKS air show.

Climbing through the fence, running up, touching is every boy's dream. However, the former boys seem to be watching with envy.

A dizzying beauty. People put down their cameras, look up at the sky, and applaud. A heavy fighter, and the Russian Knights aerobatic team is spinning like a feather. They line up in a rhombus, then in a pyramid - and the legendary "Swifts" fly away. The Mi-28N helicopter, a night hunter, hovered in the air. Due to night vision devices, it finds and hits any targets in the dark. The only one, unique - for the Russian military aviation, the epithets are unchanged.

Well, where, if not at the international aerospace salon, you can sit in the cockpit of a fighter jet or climb onto the wing of a Soviet Il-2. For this, people travel from different cities to Zhukovsky near Moscow, some by car, some by train. Free buses take everyone from the station to the airfield. The ticket price for the air show is 900 rubles. Preferential - 400. Large families, children under 14 years old are free of charge.

The higher the level, the clearer it is – MAKS has long been a favorite event not only for Muscovites, but for the whole country. And how can you not perform all aerobatics perfectly when there is such support at the bottom?

The audience spends the whole day here. They are prepared in advance: sandwiches, blankets, camping chairs. Many admit that getting ready for MAX is a ritual. The raincoat tent, for example, was at all the air shows.

It's not just where deals are made and contracts are signed. There are people here. After years of visits, appointments and work meetings are scheduled.

MAX takes place every two years. This is the thirteenth air forum. More than 600 Russian and foreign companies from 36 countries are represented here. The Arctic helicopter was much anticipated at the parade on May 9th. The audience didn't see him because of the weather. But anyone can take a picture with a new military aircraft on the MAX. Next to the machine is the Mi-26, wide and spacious. They call him a "flying cow." There are no competitors in terms of load capacity.

"We are very happy for our aviation, that it is developing further and improving further. And I think that it will continue to improve," says a visitor to the air show.

Better equipment, better pilot skills. Svetlana Kapanina is a master of aerobatics in every sense. Seven-time absolute world champion in the women's competition. And her style is unusual: not figures, but an endless flight of fancy.

"Basically, these figures are all called by the same name abracadabra. That is, it is an uncontrolled rotation combined with classics," explains the pilot, seven-time absolute world champion in the women's aerobatics competition Svetlana Kapanina.

The last day of the air show is Sunday. Visitors will not only look at the sky with delight, but also with longing. The pilots of the Rus aerobatic team traditionally draw a heart from those in the sky to those on the Ground.

Olga Knyazeva

Photo by A.Volodin, Mikhail Syrits, Svetlana Kapanina