Vladimir Sergeyevich Ilyushin (; 31 March 1927 – 1 March 2010) was a Soviet general and test pilot, and the son of aerospace engineer Sergey Ilyushin. He spent most of his career as a test pilot for the Sukhoi OKB (a rival of Ilyushin OKB). Ilyushin was also a rugby union administrator who was inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame (then known as the IRB Hall of Fame) in 2013. In 1961, Ilyushin was the subject of a conspiracy theory that he, rather than Yuri Gagarin, was the first cosmonaut in space. There is no evidence and no support to the theory. Career as test pilot Ilyushin was a test pilot and lieutenant general in the Soviet Air Forces. He piloted the maiden flights of the Sukhoi's Su-11 (1958), Т-5 (1958), Su-15 (1962), Su-17 (1966), Su-24 (1967), Т-4 (1972), Su-25 (1975) and the Su-27 (1977). Ilyushin demonstrated his outstanding piloting skills as a test pilot of the Sukhoi Su-24. He flew a course so precisely that he caused a software crash in the aircraft instrumentation. That is, the software initially used in the nav/attack system of the Su-24 lacked a null function, and failed to proceed after it hit the so-called "machine zero", i.e. Ilyushin's actual geographical position became identical to the mission target input into the software. There had been no expectation that this objective would be achieved and there was no provision for it, in the software used during his test flight. Rugby union Ilyushin was first exposed to rugby while studying at the Moscow Aviation Institute in the 1940s; according to World Rugby (formerly the International Rugby Board, or IRB), "His love of the sport was immediate and stayed with him for the rest of his life." He went on to a career as a rugby administrator that made him, according to then-IRB president Bernard Lapasset, "a true pioneer of Rugby in Russia". On 31 March 1967 (his 40th birthday), he founded the Soviet Rugby Federation, and was named its first president. By 1975, he had fully integrated the Soviet Union into the European international structure, and the following year played a significant role in the creation of a Soviet club championship. Ilyushin's career as an administrator continued into the post-communist era. He died two days after Russia secured its place in the 2011 Rugby World Cup, the country's first appearance ever in that competition.