Boeing

Day one at the Moscow Air Show couldn't have been more exciting, especially at the Boeing exhibits. While Russian fighter jets screamed overhead performing feats of death-defying acrobatics, Russian President Vladimir Putin paid a surprise visit to the Turkmenistan Airlines 717 on display on the tarmac and then the Boeing exhibit in Pavilion B.

Accompanied by Sergey Kravchenko, Boeing vice president for cooperative programs and business development in Moscow, and Craig Jones, Boeing Commercial Airplanes vice president of Sales for Russia and the Confederation of Independent States, Putin toured the 717 while the Turkmenistan Airlines and Boeing crews proudly stood by. He then headed for the Boeing exhibit, where he lingered for almost 10 minutes, asking questions about the sonic cruiser, the 777, Boeing's space programs in Russia and Boeing's future cooperative plans with Russian aviation industries.

Viewing the Sonic Cruiser: (from left to the right): Craig Jones, Sergey Kravchenko, Yuri Koptev, head of Russia's Aerospace agency, Vladimir Putin, President of Russian Federation, and. last on the right Ilya Klebanov, deputy prime minister of Russian Federation. The air show runs through Sunday.