Central Aviation Club of the USSR

(full name, V. P. Chkalov Central Aviation Club of the USSR), a training and sports organization of the All-Union Voluntary Society for Cooperation With the Army, Air Force, and Navy and an all-Union instructional center for aviation sports.

The Central Aviation Club of the USSR was founded in Moscow in 1935 and, in the same year, became a member of the International Aeronautical Federation (Féderation Aéronautique Internationale, FAI). In 1936, a decree of the Council of People’s Commissars of the USSR made the club responsible for keeping national aviation records. The club represented the USSR in the FAI until 1962, when the Federation of Aviation Sports of the USSR replaced it as the representative.

Together with the Federation of Aviation Sports, the Central Aviation Club directs training, organization, and activities in sports aircraft modeling, helicopter sports, gliding, sport parachuting, and aviation sports. The club helps organize zonal, all-Union, and international competitions. It also keeps records and issues regulations on standards and requirements, as listed in the Uniform All-Union Sports Classification, for receiving honors and ratings in all types of aviation sports.

People who have been trained by the Central Aviation Club include the multiple world champions and record holders S. N. Anokhin, V. B. Gurnyi, V. M. Seliverstova, A. V. Fedotov, and Ia. D. Forostenko.

In 1938, the Central Aviation Club was named after V. P. Chkalov.