Valeriy Pavlovich was born in 1904 in Vasilyovo, Nizhny Novgorod province. The town was later renamed Chkalovsk in his honour and holds that name still.

During his service as a test pilot, Chkalov has tested I-15 and I-16 interceptors, TB-1and TB-3 heavy bombers, as well as numerous experimental designs from Polikarpov. He had invented new aerial maneuvers - ascending corkscrew and slowed down barrel roll.

In 1936, Chkalov headed a team that commenced a record flight - from Moscow to island Udd in the Far East, with no intermediate landings.

In 1937, Chkalov headed the crew that commenced an even longer record flight - from Moscow to Vancouver, USA (Washington state), across the north pole and with no intermediate landings. The flight took two days and utilised ANT-125 airplane. The original plane has been restored and can be found in Chkalov museum, in Chkalovsk, Russia.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4a/ANT-25_in_Chkalov_museum.jpg

Valeriy Chkalov has tragically perished on December 15th,1938, during the test flight of the new I-180 fighter plane. During the landing descent, the engine suddenly stalled, sending the plane into uncontrolled twist. Chkalov was thrown out of the cabin and hit his head on debris. He was rushed to the hospital, but unfortunately it was too late. He has passed away without returning to consciousness.

In conclusion, I would like to offer this little tidbit. Years later, Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space and test pilot of renown himself, placed Chkalov as an inspiration, and perhaps even the reason he went into aviation. Thus a true people’s hero blazes a trail, even if he cannot follow it himself.