A M O S

(Baranenko's family stage-name)

Baranenko Alexey Mikhaylovich (02.25.1907- 03.14.1945) is a pioneer of the Soviet air gymnastics with the use of rotating mechanical modules. He began to work at a circus in 1928 as a catcher in the number "Trampoline flight". In 1931 he made his own number "The Amos flight". His partners: L. Triypitsin, R. Shirman.

In 1937 "...the circus world has started to talk about a new apparatus designed by Aleksey Baranenko. The aeroplan was cabled to a circus dome and rotated above the audience. In the aeroplan was Elena Baranenko and under it A.Baranenko and L.Triypitsin performed their exercises using special pieces..." ("A glorious art of a circus" by U.Dmitriev, Moscow, "Art" publishing house, 1996). Baranenko's apparatus was made in cooperation with Tupolev (later he became a known Soviet aircraft engineer). The plane was like a real one - with an airscrew noise and a smell of a fuel.

In 1943 Baranenko has prepared another variant of this number by Russian fairytale "Fire-bird". The plane had an electromotor.

Later Baranenko designed lots of other apparatuses rotating under a dome, for example - trapeze looking like an anchor. Gradually an apparatus was brought to an end which you can see today.