Fulcrum

supersonic: Air speeds above Mach 1.0.

tochka opori: Russian, “fulcrum.'

trans-sonic: Air speeds approaching Mach 1.0.

valuta: Russian, hard currency.

Voyentorg: Soviet acronym, Military Exchange Store.

vozdukh: Russian, air or aerial.

VVS: Soviet acronym, Air Force.

wingroot: The point at which an aircraft’s wing joins the fuselage; wingroots are often extended in high- performance fighters to produce lift at high AOAs.

Yak-28: A Yakovlev Design Bureau Air Defense fighter.

ZAGS: Soviet acronym, State Wedding Palace.

zampolit: Soviet acronym, Political Officer.

Zil: Soviet automobile manufacturer most associated with luxury limousines.

ZU-23: Soviet design 23mm antiaircraft cannon.

zveno: Russian, “link,” a four-aircraft military formation.

Photo Insert

^{Alexander Zuyev, age nine months, with mother, Lydia, Samara.}

^{Alexander Zuyev, age 7; first day of school, Samara, 1968.}

^{Father, Mikhail Zuyev, teaching science class, Samara.}

^{With Soviet Air Force Chief of Staff, Marshall Pavel Kutakhov, Ruslan Air Base, Georgia, 1983.}

^{MiG-23, military display, Red Army Day, Vasiani, 1985.}

^{Discussing MiG-29 with Mikoyan OKB test pilot, Boris Orlov, 1985.}

^{Certificate for flying “4th Generation” aircraft, awarded after first MiG-29 flight, August, 1985.}

^{Ankara, Turkey, May, 1989, after escape flight; note wounded right arm cast.}

^{America: with former Senator Barry Goldwater, 1991.}

^{With American MiG-29 killers after Operation Desert Storm; Left: Lt. Nick “Mongo” Mongillo, USN, of VFA-81; Right: Capt. Chuck “Sly” McGill, USMC, serving as exchange pilot with USAF 33 TFW.}

^{With the Navy’s Blue Angels, Lt. John Foley, USN, San Diego Air Show, 1990.}

^{USS Abraham Lincoln, welcoming ceremony after carrier landing, with F-14 Aardvarks Squadron, VF-114, 1991.}