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Here’s a map of Arctic. The one in which you could literally see ‘both sides of it’, as if you ’soar over the top of world’. I’ve got this picture by scanning a page in an old Soviet atlas, published in 1985. By the way, this year bears some significance in respect (how it would turn out later) - to the fates of the world’: ‘Perestroika’ was officially ’spinned-off” then, and in the following years this same world has changed unprecedentedly. Read the rest of this entry »

That’s it. I’ve had enough. I got tired of pointless waiting. I grew worn of futile dreams in which I’d all but crave, hopelessly, for ’some time’, in ’some indefinite future’..  Nah, forget it, - I want it now!  So, I’ve decided to get my own An-2 on floats!

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Valentin, a friend of mine, an ex-helicoter pilot from Siberia, and a former flight college mate, has just granted an access to his photo-archive. I almost have no words to express how much I appreciate such a deed on his part, and - how excited I am.. He has accomplished an effort of epic proportion, having scanned old negatives. And then he, driven by his good faith, uploaded them on the Internet. Read the rest of this entry »

Perhaps, last two posts have carried us away from realities of current season in regions of our prevalent residence. Matter of fact, the season (called winter, by the way) keeps maintaining its ‘primary feature properties’ - simply, it’s cold, and there’s sufficient amount of snow still covering most of the country. Read the rest of this entry »

The Caribbean. Enthralling beauty of turquoise waters. Divine islands contoured with miles of sandy beaches exposed to effects of elements, - such as balmy breezes - that gently caress pale-skinned bodies of temporary visitors fetched over here, across the spaces from their habitats normally found in much higher latitudes.. An enticing concept of living ‘with no time’. An ultimate getaway, a magnet paradise for escapist-type characters populating some of John Grisham’s books. Warning: “Do not get overly enchanted!” Read the rest of this entry »

Before this one I never had even a close look inside a Dash-8 in my entire life! Who knew the first ever ride would be going to happen in the Caribbean! Instead of Canada, not to mention Russia. And to add more peculiarity to a set of circumstances surrounding this ride, - it was ’strictly business’; however, not without a touch of pleasure Read the rest of this entry »

  Again, another ’sporadic photo-session’ happened, as I drove to work. Impossible to miss such an ‘eye catching look’ Wondering, where did this plane come from, what skies, over what ‘uncharted’ lands it was flying.. Read the rest of this entry »

Just got a permission from an author of this picture to post it here. What a beauty! Such a nice visual compliment to a topic risen in the previous post. A shot of this departing An-2 was taken in Nar’yan-Mar, Arctic Russia. Read the rest of this entry »

Of course, one of the important subjects, - if you talk about operating aircraft in remote, and sparsely settled areas, i.e., in the ‘bush’, - should be a topic of the aircraft itself. As I keep writing this collective notes, which, I hope, one day will make up a core to the ‘Comparative analysis of bush operation on both sides of Arctic’, I feel a need to talk in more detail about the planes employed for this kind of job, on both - North American, and Russian side, respectively. Read the rest of this entry »

Interesting, what’s going on with this Beaver? Been noticed recently in Kelowna, in such a ‘humble’ condition. Hope it’s destined for better. Say, it’s ‘waiting for a major overhaul’, maybe, ‘rebuild’, expecting a new - of course, turbine! - engine to be put on..  And it’ll see more sky one day.

Wonder, are the ‘Viking’ guys, along with a ‘go-ahead’ of their DHC-6 Series 400 program, also exploring a prospect to put a ‘renewed’ DHC-2 in production at some point down the road?