There is an opinion that Russia often loses its talents. This was especially evident during the Civil War when many promising minds left the country. Among them was inventor Ivan Ivanovich Makhonin. In the early 20th century, he graduated from the Polytechnic Institute in St. Petersburg and in 1910 founded his own design bureau, where aviation weapons were developed. After the October Revolution, Makhonin did not leave the country immediately, hoping for cooperation with the Bolsheviks, which was initially successful.

In 1920, Ivan Ivanovich created an electric train using batteries from submarines, which could even be charged from tram substations. However, tests showed that steam locomotives were 1.5 times more economical, and the project was closed. Although history has shown that electric trains had a great future. Another of his projects, a dirigible with a carrying capacity of up to 60 thousand poods and a capacity of up to 1000 passengers, also remained unrealized. The situation in the country worsened, and soon Makhonin left for France.

In Paris, he offered his developments to the local government. The military was interested in his multi-stage rocket projects, while civilians were interested in the production of distilled fuel from coal. This fuel was cheaper than gasoline, had a high efficiency, and was safe. It was planned to use it even for refueling airplanes. However, technological violations led to toxic emissions, and the factory was closed.

Not losing optimism, Ivan Ivanovich switched to aircraft construction. In 1929, he developed a plane with a variable wing span, where the outer parts could retract inward, improving aerodynamics. This plane, named Mak-10, earned him 1 million francs. Until his death in 1973, Makhonin created another 24 inventions for France and became one of its prominent scientists.