The international aerospace show MAKS is rated on a par with the world’s best and compared to such shows as Farnborough in Great Britain and Le Bourget in France. MAKS was launched to demonstrate Russia’s civilian- and military-aircraft achievements, as well as to show off hardware that cannot be displayed abroad.

The event takes place every two years in the city of Zhukovsky in the Moscow region, and this is the fifth time it has been staged. The town is considered a center of aviation research and technology. and the show will run from Aug. 14 until Aug. 19, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Spectators are invited to attend from Aug. 17 to 19 and other dates are reserved for specialists and traders. Representatives from more than 540 companies from 34 countries are expected to attend.

Russia remains the main participant, with some 412 organizations, but the United States will also be well-represented, with 24 companies, as will Ukraine, with 21. Lockheed Martin will attend for the first time.

The show will take place at the Gromov Aviation Research Institute airfield. The best time to visit is, of course, on the weekend, when the organizers promise fairground attractions, bandstands, brass bands and 4-hour programs of display flights, featuring famous and prize-winning pilots and parachute jumpers.

Get to the show by local train (elektrichka), from Kazansky station, 47 km toward Golutvin and Vinogradovo, getting off at Ramenskoye station. Extra trains will be running and shuttle buses will be arranged from the station to the airfield – up to 100,000 people a day are expected to travel in this way. The alternative is to take a shuttle bus from the Vykhino metro station.

What: Air show
MAKS 2001
Zhukovsky Pos.
Airfield of the Mikhail Gromov Aviation Research Institute
Tel: 556-535; 937-5880
Cover: 75 rubles on trade days (Public not admitted)
100 rubles Sat./Sun., 10 rubles for children