Ilya Shevchenko, just like Oleg, has dreamt of airplanes for as long as he can remember. That however conflicted with his early career as a child prodigy violinist. He seemed to be all set to continue playing violin for the rest of his life; however an accident at the age of 18 left him unable to play. He then followed in his mother’s footsteps and turned to computers.



Starting his first business soon after, Ilya suddenly found that he finally had enough spare time and money to pursue his dreams of flight. He moved right next to a general aviation airfield, and for the next two and a half years of his life he religiously flew every single day, flying cross-country every weekend just to log more hours. However as his business grew he found himself unable to dedicate much time to flying, and would go weeks and then months without flying. Just as his passion for flying looked for an exit early previews for Il-2 began to appear on the Internet. After a few emails between him and Oleg the friendship started, and Ilya quickly became one of the most enthusiastic fans and supporters of the sim at that early stage.



With time Ilya’s role in the project grew, and he became a dedicated member of the development team, working on the project in his spare time. With his intimate knowledge of aviation as well as computing he fit right in with the rest of the Il-2 gang. His contributions varied from building 3d models of aircraft and cockpits, to creating the in-game training, to spearheading the beta testing of the products.



Finally by late 2002 Ilya grew tired of his old boring business, and was ready to move on to more exciting things. His first venture into game development was an add-on for Forgotten Battles that added new aircraft, maps and campaigns focusing on the American and German forces over 1944-45 Europe. During its development the idea for Pacific Fighters was born. Pacific Fighters became a unique venture between Oleg and Ilya, with Ilya managing all the artists and most other aspects of development, while Oleg’s original team put finishing touches on everything, and programmed in all objects as well as adding new features to the game.



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