Originally Posted by
Hueyman
I'd like to get UP TO DATE infos/tips/contacts on how to get a feet into this very unknown world of Russian Aircrafts.
Have you tried contacting operators in Central and South America? Back in the late 90s there were several civilian MI-8 ops in Peru plus a few more in a couple other countries. I believe they are still operating the MI series today. In some cases the national military operates(ed) as a commercial operation which keeps the pure civilian ops supplied with pilots and mechanics. I also believe they opened a factory maintenance facility in Lima to support various Russian models operating in the lower Americas.
Regardless what other people might think, it's a heck of a machine. They were used in support of our seismic ops and I flew in them often. The company I worked for bought a couple for an Asian contract and I almost had the chance to go as a mechanic, but it didn't work out. I always got a kick out of the 4 man crew to operate one. Good luck.