 He was the son of a legendary aircraft designer, Sergei Ilyushin, and a decorated test pilot in his own right. The family also had impeccable links to the Soviet establishment. His whereabouts around the time of Yuri Gagarin's flight were shrouded in mystery. In all the fanfare and pomp surrounding the Gagarin triumph, Ilyushin, one of the country's great heroes, was nowhere to be seen. The official story had it that his absence was because