The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-09-20
"Grandf ather The First
and Oldest Soviet Altman
By N. IZGOER

GRANDFATHER" they call him,
U though he has not a single gray
hair, and has not yet celebrated his
50th birthday. One of the pioneers
of flying in Russia, he performed
what was then considered a daring
feat in flying across the Klyazma,
narrow river near Moscow, remain
ing three minutes in the air. That
was in August, 1908. From that time
has borne the title of the grand
father Of Russian aviation"
Tall, strapping and good natured
Grandfather" few days ago set off
from the Moscow airdrome for Khar-
kov, accompanied by M M. Gromov,
the best pilot in the U.S.S.R. From
Kharkov he flew back to the Mos
COW airdrome, with Gromov as pas
senger, reaching it just before the
opening of the parade on Aug 13.
That Day Rossinski celebrated the
18th anniversary of his work as an
aviator
Rossinski's interest for us lies not
merely in the fact that he is the
first and the oldest Soviet airman
and that he was the first airplane
| constructor. Rossinski is the living
embodiment of the history of aviation
in old Russia and of the fighting
path of the revolutionary air1nan.
AS child, he took an interest in
physics, and made model of an
airplane. His one dream was to fly.
Later he met Professor Zhukovski,
the first Russian scientist to make
study of aviation.
Sent Abroad
Professor zhukovski sent the young
Rossinski abroad, where he studied
in French Neurological Institute
and worked in the Bleriot Plant.
Rossinski was so eager to fly that he
flew distance of 10 KIN. without
| permission. The school management
took exception to this and Rossinski
| returned to Moscow.
In 1910, he built a hangar and
made regular flights over Khodinskoe
Pole. Such was the beginning of
the Khodinsk Airdrome.
Rossinski was not allowed to fly
beyond the bounds of the airdrome.
In 1912 however, Rossinski broke
the bounds with the daring object
of flying around Moscow. He landed
on the present sight of Electro
zavod. The flight created sensa-
ton. IL an interview with cor
respondent Of the "Trudovaya Ko-
peik," Rossinski said:
81 think that 1t is about time we
airmen stopped flying over airdromcs.
Aviation should be adapted to the
needs of everyday life. Flights over
the city and other centers of popu-
lation should be quite common &C.
currences. Yesterday there was a
veritable pilgrimage to my plane. 1t
was all very touching"
Rossinski was fined because of this
flight and threatened with the loss
of the right to fly. He left Moscow
for tour of the provinces to propo-
gate. aviation.
With Soviets from the First.
Rossinski sided with the Soviets
from the very first days of the Octo-
Der Revolution. He was appointed
chairman of the Revolutionary Mill
tary Council of Red Aviation, in
which capacity he fought energetic
cally for the building of a Red air
fleet. He invented special fuel
mixture in the days when the Soviet
Union was without gasoline. Flights
on this fuel were successful, helping
rout the white guards and the armies
| Of intervention.
RossinSki has tried out more than
a thousand new planes. He has flown
in many foreign machines and in
planes constructed in the Soviet