VFR Belgium - St Petersburgh

[+200 No Flags]

Some people I know are thinking about doing a VFR trip from Ostend in Belgium to St Petersburgh Russia.
As it's quite uncommon for Europeans to fly to Russia in a PA28, there are a lot of uncertainties and questions to be answered.
Are there any special requirements to be met, do they allow vfr traffic in St Petersburgh, will they need a visa or does the pilot's licence cover this (as it's supposed to do), ...

Any information on Russia or the Baltic States will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks.

[dublinpilot]

I seem to remember someone mentioning here, needing a licence to bring your gps into Russia. That's just hearsay from me, and my memory might be incorrect, but worth bearing in mind when doing their research.

dp

[172driver]

I've heard that you must have a Russian navigator on board. Not sure if that's correct but if so, then you won't fit too many of you in a PA 28 :ugh:

Also, don't forget your conversion charts or learn to convert imperial to metric in your mind really quick - they use km for speed and meters for altitude.

[Bluebeard777]

We considered briefly flying VFR to St Petersburg, my recollection is that the potential costs were large. And you have to take a navigator/translator.

There is no problem flying in the Baltic States, quite straightforward.

[RodgerF]

AFAIR there is no AVGAS available at St Petersburgh.

[Brooklands]

I seem to remember an article in Pilot magazine a few years ago about somebody flying to Russia via Finland. I'll see if I can find it when I get home

Brooklands

[+200 No Flags]

I seem to remember an article in Pilot magazine a few years ago about somebody flying to Russia via Finland. I'll see if I can find it when I get home

Brooklands

Thanks, would be very helpful.

[swedishflyer]

There was an article in the latest issue of the swedish magazine "Pilot Briefing" about VFR-flying to St Petersburg. The magazine is in swedish, despite it's name. In essence, it IS possible to fly VFR to St P. However, you will need to apply for a permit at least 5 days before the flight. You will also need to file the flight plan at least 24 hrs before.
There are two possible points of entry usable for a PA28, RATLA and LIMAK. Lowest altitude at points of entry is 3600 meters. For all other point of entrys, the lowest flight level is FL290. Apparently it is sometimes possible to exit Russia at a lower altitude though.

There is no avgas at Pulkovo, so they advise you fill up on gas in either Finland or Estonia. Also, parking and landing fees are quite expensive. At the time the article was written, it was necessary to get a slot time at St Petersburg, which the authours found out after their applications had been turned down a couple of times with no explanation. You will also need visas, of course.

Apart from these issues, there didn't seem to be any major problems with the flight.

Hope this helps :)

[Brooklands]

+200 No Flags,

I've managed to find the Pilot article, it was in the June 1997 issue! The flight was from Helsinki to St Petersburg, in Robin DR400, but they went IFR and so avoided the requirement for a Russian navigator. As swedishflyer pointed out the Russians want you to be quite high when entering their airspace. In the article they managed to get clearance at FL70. There wasn't any AVGAS, and the charges were high, potentially £300+, although they ended up paying less.

Not impossible, but not easy either.

Check your PMs.

Brooklands

[+200 No Flags]

+200 No Flags,

I've managed to find the Pilot article, it was in the June 1997 issue! The flight was from Helsinki to St Petersburg, in Robin DR400, but they went IFR and so avoided the requirement for a Russian navigator. As swedishflyer pointed out the Russians want you to be quite high when entering their airspace. In the article they managed to get clearance at FL70. There wasn't any AVGAS, and the charges were high, potentially £300+, although they ended up paying less.

Not impossible, but not easy either.

Check your PMs.

Brooklands

Thank you very much. Sorry for the late reply, I was on holiday.