Svetlana Kapanina

In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Vladimirovna and the family name is Kapanina.

Svetlana Vladimirovna Kapanina
Светлана Владимировна Капанина
Kapanina in 2011 at the Otopeni Airshow
Born	Svetlana Vladimirovna Kapanina (1968-12-28) 28 December 1968 (age 56) Shchuchinsk, Kokchetav Oblast, Kazakh SSR, Soviet Union
Nationality	Russian
Citizenship	Soviet Union  Russia
Education	Pharmaceutical Sciences Tselinograd Medical School, 1987
Awards	Several others (see below)
Website	http://www.kapanina.com/

Svetlana Vladimirovna Kapanina (Russian: Светлана Владимировна Капанина) is a Russian aerobatic pilot.^[1]

Biography

Kapanina was born on 28 December 1968 in Shchuchinsk, Kokchetav Oblast, Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (now Akmola Region, Republic of Kazakhstan). She dedicated herself to several sports modalities at school and always liked motorcycles and other motor vehicles. She enrolled at medical school in Tselinograd (now Astana), where she graduated in pharmaceutical sciences. She started flying at age 19, in 1988, on a Sukhoi Su-26M3, while working as a technician at the Kurgan sports aviation club of DOSAAF. By 1991 she was already an instructor pilot at DOSAAF's Irkutsk club, and then back at Kurgan. Also in 1991, she became a member of the Russian national aerobatic team. In 1995 she graduated from Kaluga aeronautical technical school.^[2]

She lives in Moscow with her husband and two children.^[1]

Achievements in aerobatics

Kapanina was World Aerobatic Champion in the women's category in 1996, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2011^[2] and has won the title more times than any other pilot in the category.^[3] Additionally, she was overall World Air Games Champion in 1997 and 2001.^[2]

Together with Mikhail Mamistov and Oleg Spolyansky, she won the team gold medal in the 16th FAI European Aerobatic Championships 2008 in Hradec Králové (Czech Republic). She placed fourth overall and was best female participant.^[4]

Honours and awards

Putin awarding the Order of Courage

• Order of Courage (August 14, 2014). President Vladimir Putin presented the order on December 22, 2014.^[5]
• Order of Honour (2002)
• Medal of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" 2nd class (1995)
• Honorary citizen of the [ru] Kurgan Oblast (February 2, 2015)

In 1997, she received the Paul Tissandier Diploma by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI).^[2] In 2005 she was awarded the Sabiha Gökçen Medal^[2] and the Centenary Medal by the FAI.^[6]

See also

• Competition aerobatics
• FAI World Aerobatic Championships
• FAI European Aerobatic Championships

References

1. "Pilot profile of Svetlana Kapanina". Haute Voltige. Archived from the original on 16 January 2008.
2. "FAI Awards received by Svetlana Kapanina (Russia)". Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. Archived from the original on 27 February 2008.
3. "Coming soon: 19th FAI World Grand Prix". Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. 1 October 2003. Archived from the original on 22 December 2003.
4. "Combined Results (overall): 16th FAI EAC 2008 at Hradec Kralové, 05.-13. July 2008". Commission Internationale de Voltige Aérienne. July 2008. Archived from the original on 22 July 2008. Retrieved 21 July 2008.
5. "State decorations awarding ceremony". The Kremlin. 22 December 2014. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
6. "FAI Centennial : Carlos Izquierdo, Philippe Broers, Manfred Ruhmer and Gin Song honoured". Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. 22 October 2005. Archived from the original on 27 February 2008.

External links

• (in Russian) Official website