It sttarted when I was a teenage schoolboy in March 1956 and saw the prototype Tupolev Tu-104 land at London Airport with General Serov, head of the KGB on board. I raced home on my bicycle and told my father of my sighting... he suggested we both go back to London Airport, 10 miles north of our family home at Weybridge, to take a closer look. My ‘ father drove me in his 1948 Morris 10 to the central area and asked a few questions that revealed that at least another one was coming the next month. Sure enough, about 24th April 1956, three Tu-104s were parked by the side of the control tower which as most readers will know is still the original tower being used in 1992, My father then introduced me to the fascinating world of Soviet-built transport aircraft. During the next four years sightings were few and far between. However, that situation changed when I started work and was able to commence my travels in search of these unusual aircraft, which was an adventure not for the fainthearted. During the 1960s tension between east and west rose alarmingly and of course it became extremely difficult to gain access to the “Iron Curtain” countries especially whilst the world was witnessing the attrocities centred around Hungary, the Berlin Wall, Cuba, Czechoslovakia and Poland. At the time I tried to ignore these events and concentrate on photographing Sovietbuilt aircraft.

Each time I was granted a visa to visit a certain country I actually felt hatred towards the authorities knowing that Radial piston power ... the 1000hp Shvetsov nine cylinder engine. This reliable engine has powered over 20,000 An-2s spanning 45 years and runs like a Swiss watch.