Andrey Borisovich Yumashev was a test pilot, Air Force Major General, Hero of the Soviet Union and an artist by vocation. As a young man he attended courses at the Society for the Encouragement of the Arts in Saint Petersburg and dreamed of becoming an architect. His fate was changed by the revolution: at 16, Andrey joined the army, participated in the Russian Civil War, graduated from two flying schools. At 23, Yumashev designed the Yu-1 glider and soon set two all-Union records.
In July 1937, as part of Mikhail Gromov’s crew, co-pilot Andrey Yumashev made a non-stop flight Moscow — North Pole — San Jacinto. They set a world record for a direct flight range of 10,148km. When the Soviet pilots were introduced to US President Franklin Roosevelt, their conversation lasted for an hour, and the Secretary of State remarked,
In July 1937, as part of Mikhail Gromov’s crew, co-pilot Andrey Yumashev made a non-stop flight Moscow — North Pole — San Jacinto. They set a world record for a direct flight range of 10,148km. When the Soviet pilots were introduced to US President Franklin Roosevelt, their conversation lasted for an hour, and the Secretary of State remarked,