This is a book of memoirs by an aircraft designer and professor at the Moscow Aviation Institute about the working conditions of a young engineer in one of the most secret Sukhoi Design Bureaus during the development of the first Soviet supersonic fighters, about his colleagues and the most striking historical events. The author analyzes the causes of the pre-war tragedy of Soviet aircraft designers, the disaster of V. P. Chkalov, the execution of aviation commanders and for the first time talks about the true history of the formation of new design teams. A significant part of the book is occupied by memories of the direct activities of the brilliant aircraft designer Sukhoi. Forty years of experience within the aviation industry allowed the author to figuratively talk about the everyday work of ordinary aircraft designers, give a deep professional and realistic analysis of past and present design decisions when creating combat aircraft, show the reader the fascinating design process, the struggle of ideas and the clash of personalities. The book talks about the problems of development, testing, mass production at factories in Novosibirsk, Komsomolsk-on-Amur and Tbilisi, as well as the operation in military units of such combat vehicles as the Su-7B, Su-9, Su- 11, Su-15, Su-17, Su-24, Su-25 and Su-27.