Ukrainian Flying Club promotes Ukrainian aircraft technology (01/31/99)

Ukrainian Flying Club promotes Ukrainian aircraft technology

by Olena Welhasch

MISSISSAUGA, Ontario - The promotion of Ukrainian aircraft technology in North America has been made possible in part through the efforts of the Ukrainian Flying Club (LUK - Letunskyi Ukrainskyi Kliub) of Mississauga, Ontario.

The club was established in 1977 and was accepted as an affiliated flying member of the Royal Canadan Flying Clubs Association (later known as the Aero Club of Canada).

In 1988 LUK contacted the Ukrainian members of the USSR Space Modeling Team who were participating in the USA/USSR Meet at NASA's Wallops Island Research Facility in the U.S., establishing a close network of contacts and information.

In August 1991, LUK members attended the All Soviet Rocketry Championships held in Ukraine, where Taras Tataryn of Canada was the first (and last) Westerner to serve as a judge since the championships were interrupted by the coup in Moscow. This course of events marked the beginning of the independent Ukrainian Rocket Modeling Federation, plans for which were finalized in September 1991; the organization subsequently gained international recognition.

LUK members Michajlo Bien and Mr. Tataryn helped organize the first Ukrainian Air Force (UkrAF) MiG-29 Demonstration Team, the Tridents, and flew with them during their 17-city tour of North America in 1992. That September the Ukrainian Space Modeling Team competed at the World Space Modeling Championships in Florida, where it won a first place and placed an overall fourth as the first team of sovereign Ukraine to compete in a world championship.

LUK sponsored a display booth at the International Conference of Air Shows in Las Vegas with representatives from Ukraine in 1995. That year, LUK also became a co-founder of Nebo Ukrainy in Kharkiv, the first non-profit sport aviation club incorporated following Ukraine's independence.

A six-plane UkrAF MiG-29 Demonstration Team, the Ukrainian Falcons, was formed in 1996 for the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Air Force the following year. A U.S. sponsor covered all of the team's costs. The club was the first to initiate new crests for the Ukrainian Air Force, "which became the foundation for the design of a system of crests for the entire Air Force," according to the Vice Minister of Defense V. Antonets.

LUK is currently trying to bring the Ukrainian Falcons for an appearance in North America, marking a record flight for distance and the fact that no UkrAF aircraft have ever attempted to fly over the Atlantic. The plan was approved by the Ukrainian government two years ago, but the task has been arduous because the cost is high and the amount of commitment required on the part of the Falcons is great. A projected American air show for the year 2000, featuring the Falcons in California, Texas, New York and possibly Chicago has a 60 percent confirmation from North American sponsors.

A special aircraft, the "Everest D-3M", was being designed in a joint project with micro-light designers from Kharkiv to fly up Mount Everest to recover 160 bodies of mountain climbers who perished in attempts to reach its peak. The Ukrainian Flying Club donated $7,000 (U.S.) to the cause. According to Mr. Tataryn, "The plans were approved by the Nepal government, but unfortunately the plane's designers from Kharkiv disappeared along with LUK's contribution. The last LUK heard of them, they were making plans with a Russian company."

Because LUK's roots were in general aviation and flight training, the club purchased two ultra-light planes from Ukraine for use by members and to give Ukrainian aircraft exposure in air shows.

In May 1998, Mr. Tataryn, the general manager of Uk-Air Inc., a Canadian company, and Oleksander Dashyvets, the chief designer of the Ukrainian company General Aviation Design Bureau, signed an agreement for the promotion and sales of GADB aircraft and aircraft related products in North America. GABD has been selling its planes to German and British companies, and since the agreement 5 T-2M Maverick Ultra-lights have been sold in Canada and the U.S.

The Ukrainian Flying Club is planning to publish a book on the history of North American aviation and is searching for any information on Ukrainian North American pilots and former flying schools or clubs of the 1930s and 1940s (for example, such as the aviation school established in 1934 in New York by the Organization for the Rebirth of Ukraine). LUK publishes a journal, Orel Syzyi, and a collection of aviation-related materials from Ukraine are on exhibit at their headquarters. LUK's address is: 4196 Dixie Road, Second Floor, Mississauga, Ontario L4W 1M6.

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