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Experiences with Russia

JeppFD covers Russia for IFR and has controlled airspace.

Have you investigated Garmin Pilot? I would expect it to cover Russia, as it uses Jepp Data.

EGKB Biggin Hill

Is it even possible to fly VFR in Russia? Will you have a russian citizen/navigator onboard?

I have flown very little in Russia but at least I have done it, IFR and with a capable aircraft. Make sure that everything is legit, use an agent to get all the permits and so on. I would not want to know what happens if you land somewhere without the correct documents. I also suggest that you contact AOPA in Russia it that has not already been done.

“Documentas, documentas…”
You will see many airport officers in big hats. Make sure that you have several copies of the GENDEC so everyone can get a copy.

ESSZ, Sweden

My experience of flying around Russia and the ex Soviet Union States has been really positive, with very welcoming officials genuinely interested in you being there and wanting to help. YRMV of course.

EGKB Biggin Hill

Contact Russian AOPA – https://aopa.ru/index.php?id=184 ,
they will help you to arrange your trip.

As for VFR maps, there are only three current Russian airspace data providers: “SZ RCAI”, “CAIGA” and “AviaComInfo”. Neither of them publicly offer any products in English. I hardly doubt that anyone would buy their data and translate it for English-speaking customers, because it’s a lot of work with dubious outcome. Again, maybe somebody from Russian AOPA has self-made private stuff, so don’t hesitate to contact them.

Last Edited by igor at 04 Mar 11:37
Czech Republic

I got no luck in contacting Russian AOPA. No answer by email or phone.

Anyway, just to update this post, the trip is on its way. We are leaving next week, on June 7th, starting from Colmar in France (LFGA). The journey is a bit different from what I listed in my first post, as the organisers of the trip had to get the right contacts and it was apparently a bit difficult.
We are going as far as Ekaterinburg, the theme of the trip is “From the Atlantic to Ural” and this is exactly what we are doing (the official start is near Nantes, on the Atlantic shore).

If you want to follow us, you can check my blog : https://www.fredvoyage.fr/russie2019.php
I have listed the stops and on the day I fly, you can see where I am, live !
I will try to make a post every evening, when possible.

I would also like to meet pilots on the journey, so if any of you live and fly in Dresden, Kaunas or Tallin, or in Samsun, Istambul or Ioanina, or even in Corsica, let me know. It’s always nice to meet other fellow pilots anywhere in the world.

LFOZ Orleans, France, France

Wow, enjoy. I would try to also fit in Helsinki-Malmi, as it will likely close at the end of this year..

Mainz (EDFZ) & Egelsbach (EDFE), Germany

Interesting video from one of the more well-known aviation channels on YouTube. Can’t lose many words on it, but it seems typical American drama on Russia. Their comparison between Russia and North Korea somewhere in the video says enough. I guess, they came very politely away with their illegal entry into the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. I even wondered why they weren’t refused at the airport itself. For someone like Matt Guthmiller, how flew around the world alone, I was quite disappointed in his preparations. But the video will be a success for his American viewers: Russia is again the bad and evil country, where you shouldn’t fly in to as a (private) pilot.

The video reveals nothing about the airport fees though… I wonder if Anadyr has the same very high prices as other Russian airports, as reported here on EuroGA, plus the en-route fees.



Last Edited by Frans at 10 Jan 00:56
Switzerland

Well, the Russian bureaucracy is not making it easier to fly there. It is a shame that they want to be accepted by others but still create a lot of hassle for people coming there to visit.

This is my own experience after having flown there twice, this video does not make that view better.

ESSZ, Sweden

Can you share details of your two experiences?

Mainz (EDFZ) & Egelsbach (EDFE), Germany

This month’s Info-Pilote had a writeup of a trip to Russia as far as the Urals, although disappointingly it had almost no information on how to do it. 18 aircraft went VFR, but it must have been planned on a governmental level because it mentions red carpets, medal ceremonies, ambassadors, tv crews, cultural/religious/military visits etc.

All airports and routes had to be pre-approved, and the resources provided were IFR only. Air traffic were very good with radar information and vectors. All the airports visited were busy, and a lot of time was spent doing 360s. They had to buy 20,000 litres of avgas and send it ahead to the various airports. Each person had to bring a lot of paperwork with them, so much it had to be counted in the mass and balance, and there was a 4 hour delay at the border to check all the paperwork.

There was another trip in Info-Pilote years ago by a German pilot with a turbine float C210 who went to a fly-in in Sebastopol. They got intercepted by Russian fighters and ordered to pay a massive fine at gunpoint, which was considerably reduced (but still maybe $10,000) by paying the air force general personally in cash.

Thank you for your original post Bosco

EGHO-LFQF-KCLW, United Kingdom
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