Galina Korchuganova

Galina Korchuganova was a Soviet test pilot and aerobatics champion, born on 22 March 1935 in Barnaul and died on 18 January 2004. After graduating in aviation technology from the Moscow Aviation Institute in 1959, she made her name in aerobatics competitions and in 1966 won gold in the women individual event at the World Aerobatic Championship in Moscow, becoming the first women world aerobatics champion. That result opened the way for her to train as a test pilot, and she went on to set 42 world flight records and fly more than 20 types of aircraft, ending her career in 1984 with over 4,000 flight hours. In 1992 she founded Aviatrissa, the first Russian aviation club for women, and was inducted into the Women in Aviation International Pioneer Hall of Fame in 2006.