It is considered that the profession of test pilot is exclusively male. However, at the beginning of aviation development, women also successfully handled this task. One of the first women test pilots in the world was Lyubov Alexandrovna Golanchikova, our compatriot.

Interestingly, Golanchikova was originally a professional singer and did not plan to connect her life with aviation. However, in the autumn of 1910, she took to the skies with aviator Mikhail Efimov and was so impressed by the flight that she left the stage and enrolled in the flight school 'Gamayun'. At that time, she was only 23 years old.

After graduating from school, she was invited to the Riga Aero Club as a promising pilot. Unfortunately, her first public flight in 1912 ended in failure. According to press reports, spectators began throwing various objects at the descending plane, and one stick hit the propeller. Golanchikova lost control, and the plane crashed. Fortunately, she escaped with minor bruises.

Despite this setback, Golanchikova was not going to abandon her career. She continued to test various types of aircraft and by the beginning of World War I had become a recognized aviator. Her moment of glory came on November 22, 1912, near Berlin, when she, testing a 'Fokker' plane, ascended to a height of 2200 meters, setting a world record among women. After that, Golanchikova became well-known. In an interview with German journalists, she noted: 'Flying is not difficult, but attention and the ability to remain calm are necessary.'

Six months later, she set another record by making a non-stop flight from Berlin to Paris. During World War I, Golanchikova tested new fighters in Ukraine. In Soviet times, she trained Red Army pilots, but later became disillusioned with the Bolsheviks and emigrated to the USA, where she worked as a taxi driver. She passed away in 1961.