Falcon to Russia

[lelac]

Hi guys, I am quite new to this part of PPRuNe. Think of another airline pilot that just started in the world of corporate flying. I am flying a Falcon 2000 to St. petersburg and Moscow in a couple of days. We have the support from ARINC and Universal. Other than visas and lots of money for the fees, do you guys have any tips and/or suggestions?

[lear60fellow]

stay calm, is russia, things are different but easy going, don´t desperate.
On arrival don´t open the door until customs gets to the aircraft, have all passport ready to deliver to them.
On requesting start up it takes a while, just call once.
They fly on meters and QFE
ILS intercepts are 90º not 45º so be ready for final turn
On final tell them gear down and locked, if not you don´t get your landing clearance
always wait for Marshaller for taxi, land and take off.

Russia is great

[Flintstone]

Without wishing to appear pissy how did you find yourself in this position? Surely someone in your organisation has a clue?

Seriously. If neither of the two of you up front has any experience of this I'd be getting in an experienced old hand. Will it sost money? Yes. Will it be worth it? You have no idea.

[galaxy flyer]

Get a thorough briefing on QFE operations. The DA 2000 should be able to select meters and accommodate a QFE setting so that you can just operate in QFE, which is way simpler than doing all the conversions.

Yes, have visas, gen decs and passports ready and expect to loose sight of them for awhile, as you will at your hotel while they register you with the local authorities. ULLI is easy, but you review all of the various STARs and transitions, as you might get anyone of them, maybe two or three if you are having a bad day. UUWW is very busy, expect things to take twice as long as in Europe. You will have a "follow me" car as you vacate the runway to take you to your stand. You should not need lots of cash, if Universal is doing your handling, it should all be invoiced to UV. A carton of Marlboros will help things along, tho.

You will get only a squawk code and SID when you call for clearance outbound, not the Western style of "Cleared via FPR, Maintain 4000", expect FLxxx, Squawk ssss, Departure Freq is sssss", just :Squawk YYYY, climb 600m", you are expected to fill in the blanks based on your flight plan. Goes back to the military days.

If you need to de-icing, have Marlboros and a shedload of patience.

The Imperial Hotel and Spa (Moscow, UUWW) is 15 minutes away, has a good dining room and reasonable rooms, but if staying for several days, go downtown to the Marriotts, the Swisshotel, the Ritz. All right near the Kremlin. Enjoy. The only place I've stayed in ULLI is the Marriott, nice, near things, but restaurant is so-so. Beautiful city, tho.

GF

[doubleu-anker]

Yes some good advise in some of the above posts. You will be ok.

In fact the spoken ATC English is a damned sight better in Eastern Europe, than in parts of Western Europe. Good advise on the QFE. You can request QNH as stated on some charts but stick to QFE and brief it well. They are geared for QFE so best if you stick to it. Keep an eye out for any relevant info on the jeperson nav chart. If your aircraft doesn't convert feet to meters, then there is a table on the back of said chart and if you are going to refer have 2 copies to cross check.

I have been there before the "curtain" came back up and their radar talk downs are second to none and worth remembering, should the need arise.

[projectman]

At UUWW dont take in too much cash. I believe anything over $10,000 is worth jail time. Anything over $3000 needs to be declared. If you dont declare it they will delay your flight until you pay a bribe. They make ask to check your bags to search for money even if you dont have much. (If the Commander has more than $3000 then divide it amongst the crew until passing customs.)

If they ask just say you will pay for everything by credit card.
Good luck.

[Opsbeatch]

You'll need lots of cash when you get back then as they will then add loads of extras to that invoice. Be warned !!!! :hmm:

Naughty Naughty DC9...Naughty Naughty...:=

OB:p

[dc9-32]

nothing naughty about that, it's a fact :ugh:

[lelac]

Thanks for all the info guys. Dont be shy, keep posting...:ok:

[Taxi2parking]

...a very wise Finnish friend once told me not to taxy through puddles in Russia....never no how deep they are...:ok:

[Lazy Bird]

I agree with lear60fellow
stay cool, flying in russia is easy and people are wonderful.

concerning flying technique all of the above!

concerning ULLI, easy but expensive!

concerning Moskow:
did you ever thought about UUMO (Moskow-Ostafjewo)?
Just 12 KM from City Centre.
Small Business Airport.
1/2 Costs.
Short Ways.
No Slot or Start-Up blocking by Airliners.
Easy Handling.

We`ve been there with F2Th and F900 several times and experienced best service and easy ops.

Might be that UV can`t get you through, as they are not experienced there? We work a lot with ARI, initially they didn`t know the airport.
So we ordered ATSD (Germany) and got happy.

[MOCKBA]

I highly recommend avoiding UUMO at all costs. Attached pic was taken after one landing (7th landing on that tire)
http://bestpics.ru/full/uumo6.JPG

The ONLY good thing about UUMO is costs which are 30% less than UUWW/UUDD.

Lazy Bird : Gimme the name of the guy who told you they're not familiar with UUMO. Thanks a lot !!

[Lazy Bird]

Hi Mockba
there is no single name, as ARI is an Agency.
(Air Routing Intl.)
Just call them and ask for the operations department.
They might know UUMO in the meantime,
as I do not assume us to be the only company
asking them to schedule UUMO ?!?
Last year they didn`t but times may have changed.

[tarnish26]

Oh boy your in for some fun if my last trip to Kiev was anything to go by.......refueling rigs like something out of Thunderbirds...hotel rooms without lampshades....I could go on but dont want to scare you!! ...enjoy.

[rightbank]

Oh boy your in for some fun if my last trip to Kiev was anything to go by

I think you will find Kiev is in the Ukraine not Russia, and much easier to fly in ( FLs in feet, QNH etc.)

[Aviaservice]

The flights in feets and QNH isn't problem for Russians and why flights in QFE and meters calls debates?

[PicMas]

probably because we are not as sharp and willing to adapt and accomodate as the russians?!?;)

[Lazy Bird]

Hi again Mockba
I am right back of UUMO.
My tires are looking better after 50 landings than your`s after 7 ;)
Any troubles on your anti skid?????

I can`t understand the discussion on QFE either.
It is as simple and so realistic. Nice to know, that you`re on real zero
after LDG. (good to know the real ALT during approach, see the threads about EGPWS)

Keep on going there, I LIKE TO FLY IN RUSSIA!:ok:

[Lazy Bird]

by the way, lelac:
as you started this thread, I am curious now,
how was your flight into ULLI or UUWW or whatever?
I hope, you had save landings!

[lelac]

Hey guys, thanks for all the info posted here.
We ended up going to ULLI only.
Beautiful city. The Marriott is quite ok, but charges for breakfast and internet (reservations made through Universal). With the help of the dispatchers the bureaucracy was almost reduced to zero. And operationally the only difference was the QFE/Meters approach. As long as you prepare yourself a little bit for that there is absolutely no big deal. Again, thanks and have safe flights.

[lear60fellow]

thanks to you, ULLI is beautiful city to stay. In Russia all is paid extra, breakfast, internet....