In the far north, in the middle of the cold waters of the bay, on a small island with the ugly name "Big Dirty", an old soldier keeps his honor watch. Either the guardian of the air, or the guardian of the water, corroded by the disease of corrosion- the Be-6 aircraft.
The legacy of the great and terrible war. Once there were 123 of them, today there are only four left. And he is one of the four, unlike the other survivors, who did not receive care and attention, and respect for his exploits. Left in the open air, rotting under the northern winds surrounded by water, turning into a nest for birds, with the only joy of admiring the northern lights at inaccessible latitudes.
I rarely paid attention to him when driving through the city where he was waiting for his final death. But one day everything changed.
I noticed that one of the elements in the landscape familiar to me changed its appearance, and began to attract attention, and not just be an invisible artifact on the periphery of vision. He was overgrown with scaffolding, help came to him.
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A year ago, one summer day, I decided to find out exactly what was going on. Is this ancient plane, which has been standing on a hard-to-reach piece of land for more than 50 years, really going to be saved, or is this just a prelude to its replacement with something modern and faceless.
But everything turned out to be more excellent than you could imagine. Local residents spared no effort to draw attention to the monument, which they love so much, and still achieved a complete restoration of the object from the Ministry of Culture. What is important is not just a quick fix, but a complete restoration of the true appearance of the Be-6.
Very polite builders, craftsmen and engineers allowed me to go inside and film the process of their noble work. Carefully wrapped in a cocoon of a construction hangar, the aircraft underwent a very careful restoration, literally on every centimeter of the surface.
Before starting work, the restorers examined every inch of the structure to assess what can still be restored, and which parts need to be changed. It would seem that this is a simple task, given the fact that the plane was installed completely hollow inside as a monument. But people didn't want to hack and tried to return the original appearance of every small detail.
I admit that at that moment Be-6 looked like an incurable patient. Huge holes of literally decayed metal, bent fuselage. In some places, the cladding simply crumbled to dust. But somehow, magically, these amazing people were doing their job step by step.
I returned to them a month later to get to know them better. It turned out that they were all from different parts of our country, and some even came from abroad. It was a miracle for them to be able to participate in this project, touch history, and revive it.
They honestly admitted that at first it was hard for them to get used to this climate, but gradually they appreciated the unhurried rhythm of the northern edges. The face of each of them reflects confidence and obvious love for the work they are doing here.
The harsh men treated me to tea and even took me by boat to the shore so that I would not wait for the tide to ebb. In their opinion, the difficult accessibility of the island is what saved this plane from complete destruction. Otherwise, in troubled times, it would have been pulled apart piece by piece for non-ferrous metals.
In winter, I drove past the hangar several times, and experienced incredibly kind and warm feelings, looking at the light in the windows in the middle of the night. Imagining how warm and cozy it is there, not so much because of the heating, but because of the big human hearts. Finally, the old warrior found himself in a circle of friends.
The construction of a colossal shipyard in the background added even more contrast. The project of a huge state corporation, the results of which will be the largest shipyard in the world, for the construction of vessels for processing and transporting liquefied gas. Against the background of this innovative construction site, a small wooden hangar with its inhabitants inside looked comical, but very soulful.
And so I came back here a year later to see how their work is moving again. Someone has already left the project, having done their part and missed out on a place for new specialists. But the atmosphere of a good cause remained inside.
I was just amazed at the results they managed to achieve. There was no trace of the terrible wounds on the body of the war. He is young and fresh again, ready to take off at any moment, as soon as the hangar is removed
So far, only one wing has been released, but even being inside, looking at the fresh paint and smooth shapes, you can easily imagine what he was like at the peak of his fame. Restorers say that they will try to finish all the work by the fall, but they do not give guarantees, first of all they do not want to hurry. For a year of work, this project has become their brainchild, and this is evident from the results they have achieved.
Of course, he will never leave this island again, and will not conquer the cloud expanses. After all, its bottom is filled with concrete and fused together with a pedestal, and there are no working engines under the beautiful metal plates. But still, he will be able to look at the sky, no longer with the gaze of the living dead, but with his head held high.
