Director of the Kazan Aircraft Production Association (1950-1967), USSR State Prize Laureate (1949; 1971 – posthumously), TASSR Honored Worker of Science and Technology (1947).
Nikolai I. Maksimov was born in the Samara Governorate in a working class family. At the age of 16, he began to work. Despite the fact that the aviation attracted him from childhood, he entered the Power Engineering Institute. As a student, he worked part-time jobs, getting around to study and attend classes in the flying club.
In 1941, Nikolai I. Maksimov became the head of the shop inspection of flight-test center at the Kazan Aircraft Plant No. 124. The plant organized large-scale production of the PE-2, the dive-bomber, used during the Great Patriotic War, and in 1943, N. Maksimov became the chief controller of the plant. At the end of the war, the production of PE-2 dive-bombers was discontinued, and the plant mainly focused on the construction of the TU-4 bomber, a carrier of nuclear weapons.
In 1946, N.I. Maksimov was appointed deputy director for production, and 3 years later – chief engineer of the plant. In 1947, the mass production of the TU-4, and later the TU-16 and TU-104 began. In 1961, N.I.Maksimov was appointed director of the factory No. 22. His team managed not only to mature the TU-22 supersonic aircraft, but also to launch the IL-62, the flagship of Aeroflot. This airplane became Nikolai Ivanovich's greatest achievement.
Many advanced technologies were developed and implemented at the plant with the involvement of N.I. Maksimov, these factors significantly increased the quality and reliability of the machines produced. N. Maksimov was also known for his wide vision and knowledge.
Nikolai I. Maksimov:
- Hero of Socialist Labor,
- State Prize Laureate,
- TASSR Honored Worker of Science and Technology,
- Deputy of the Supreme Council,
- Recipient of Orders of Lenin, of the Red Banner of Labor, the Red Star and the Order of the Badge of Honor.
Moreover, Nikolai I. Maksimov was involved in the residential construction for workers of the plant, hospital, and in the organization of the recreation center “Berezhok”, a sanatorium in Crimea. One of streets in Kazan was named after him.