About the book: 1975 / The name of Chkalov forever entered the history of Soviet aviation, the history of our country. Valery Chkalov tested airplanes and gave more than one of them a ticket to a long life. He introduced a lot of new things into air combat tactics, and his maneuvers were used by our pilots on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War. Chkalov was the first to make non-stop flights across the Arctic Ocean to the Far East and North America. The book was written by a friend of Valery Chkalov, a member of his crew during flights to the island of Udd and across the North Pole by Hero of the Soviet Union Georgy Baidukov.