wetbehindear @326
"Dear Alice is there a handle in Polish and Russian blogs about this coordination meeting.
I came to believe that advance party did not accomplished a very good job."
Co-ordination meeting not mentioned anywhere in 2 months' time :o)
Only rare squeaks re what Diplomatic Corps of one country sent to another and the other way around. It looks (to me) they were arranging it by diplomatic channels.
And it looks to me both sides got relaxed in years, after all every spring Poles come to mourn. Ordinary ones by train, official events as I understood it are arranged by plane. Not the first Kachinsky flight there either, what's new. In fact, ordinary Polish people come all year round, to the graves of their relatives. Poland must have thought the route is well trampled what's new; Russia must have thought what's new an unavoidable how to say, reminder of dismal past, every spring Poles come.
Now, one short business trip to Northern for 2 days for reps from 36 Regiment - not for Diplomats - one familiarisation trip for pilots. To walk the place, see the "control tower" (btw they could very well have been thinking all the way it's not there. there is a quite high thing nearby that does look like a perfect control tower. part of the factory nearby), get acquainted with the controllers - how many of them are there! after all! not many. 2 shifts max. To see what they see in their screens. to trot down to the far beacon may be.
- and we'd have nothing to write about.
They might have mentioned what they expect by their rules, like that they give them height, come fog. etc.
While controller asks the captain "Have you flown to a military aerodrome before". They aren't acquainted. Which means even on the 7th, 3 days earlier, Polish pilots didn't trot down to the control shed to check things out or say hello. Otherwise if not Plusnin - then the other one - would have surely said - Oh, that's Protasiuk. He's been here on the 7th.
Impossible that Russians would speak to an acquainted person like to an un-acquainted one - even in control-board short exchange.
I am not saying that private acquaintances is the only sure way around a Russian aerodrome :o)
But there is a feeling more familiarisation is in want, re the "arrangements" made.
It's 2 months after nobody knows by what rules they should have spoken, or not spoken, could the controller prohibit, was it a must for the pilot to oblige. Kind of late all began thinking about it.