Originally Posted by
boaccomet4
Getting a clearance through Russian Airspace can be very tricky. A lot of military airspace. In my case my crew and I were ferrying a turboprop airliner from the USA to Japan and needed to stop in Russia for fuel. We had planned to fly the aircraft from Los Angeles via Anchorage and then directly west but due to airspace restrictions had to head up to Nome Alaska and then south west to Magadan for fuel before continuing onto Japan. Minimum flight level was above 20,000ft. You will definitely need special visa's to fly into Russian Airspace. We also discovered that they used a lot of metric figures for weather, altitude etc. This was nearly 20 years ago. We were in Russian controlled airspace all the way and all the Russian aircraft at our level and above were talking in their own language. Yet the controller we had enjoyed practicing his English when communicating to us. It took me several weeks before we departed for me to study the jep charts and possible alternates. My suggestion is that you carry at least two GPS systems because if you go off track then there is a chance of military interception. Good luck but be very careful and do study the airspace and checkout the price of fuel well in advance.
Thanks a lot for this experience "report", much appreciated. The redundant GPS /Glonass nav aid systems sounds like a very good idea. In any case, it seems like things can get way more complicated and expensive than anticipated based on your story. For us, Russia would be the only way to go. A more southerly route would imply flying through conflict zones which is out of the question.
Got a recommendation for these guys though:
makgas.com
For a fee they pretty much make the trip through Russia painless and fun, judging by the stories on their website.
They provide a quote based on your needs so that you've got a rough idea of what to expect, cost and time wise.
Their services cover Mongolia as well, so for us the only obstacle (apart from Covid) is figuring out how, if possible at all, to fly through China.