Bluegrass Airlines

September 2005

 

 

Flying the Trans-Siberian Express by John Lawler

 

Although the modern Trans-Siberian Express runs from Moscow to Vladivostok, this set of flights does the thing properly by starting at St Petersburg and following (more-or-less) the course of the railway to “the Lord of the East”. Please fly the Ilyushin IL-14. The total distance involved is over 4500nm (flying time about 27-28 hours).

 

All the airfields and navigation beacons used are in the default FS9, which, however omitted many of the ILS approaches – download cisils04.zip or cis_ils04.zip for them. If you want to do more Russian flightsimming I can also recommend:- rusnew.zip (added some missing airports to FS2002), and rap2004u-1.zip & ra2004u2.zip makes “rusnew” useable in FS9. All these addons are small, freeware, and can be found on www.avsim.com and/or www.flightsim.com .

 

CIS countries (and China) use a metric system of  flight levels. A sample is quoted below for anyone who would like to use them:-

Eastbound: 900m  - 1500m – 2100m – 2700m – 3300m – 3900m

                  (3000’     4900’      6900’      8900’      10800’    12800’)    

Westbound: 1200m – 1800m – 2400m – 3000m – 3600m – 4200m

                     (3900’    5900’      7900’      9800’      11800’    13800’)

Russia is largely flat  - using the FS9 default mesh you are unlikely to see any hills before Krasnoyarsk,  or collide with any hills anywhere on the route at  4900’ (6900’ is definitely safe).   

 

Before starting, please take some time to visit the beautiful city of St Petersburg (called (1) Petrograd (2) Leningrad in Soviet times), which was founded in 1703 by Peter the Great as his “Window on the West” after Russia acquired a Baltic coastline.  There are many fine buildings, including the Hermitage Museum. Take a walk along the Nevsky Prospekt to admire the sights, and if you’ve only got time to visit one museum, perhaps it should be the Railway Museum, which was established  in 1809,  28 years before Russia had it’s first working train!

 

1st leg: St Petersburg – Moscow (342.8nm)

 

Dep     Pulkovo (ULLI)                                                                                   79’ asl

                        Rwy 10L  10842’x230’ concrete     ILS/GC  110.50

Rwy 28R  10842’x230’ concrete     ILS/GS  111.30        

Rwy 10R  12486’x197’ concrete     ILS/GS  111.90

Rwy  28L  12486’x197’ concrete    ILS/GS  108.90

Chudovo (UD) ndb  940.0                            126deg   58.8nm

Pochinok (DB) ndb  375.0                           119deg 133.8nm

Tver (KU) ndb  449.0                                    143deg   59.9nm

Buzharovo (AR) ndb 1080.0                        139deg   60.2nm

Vnukovo(Moscow) (G)   ndb 595.0 140deg   28.0nm

Arr       Vnukovo (UUWW)                                         051deg     1.8nm       685’asl

                        Rwy    2  9705’x197’ concrete         ILS/GC  111.50

Rwy  20  9705’x197’ concrete         ILS/GS  111.70        

Rwy    6  9444’x197’ concrete         ILS/GS  108.90

Rwy  24  9444’x197’ concrete         ILS/GS  111.10

 

 

Moscow’s too big a city to explore on this trip but don’t miss out on visiting Comrade Lenin at Red Square, and take 2-3 hours out for a banya at the extremely elegant Sandunovskiye Baths. 

 

2nd leg: Moscow – Nizhny-Novgorod (228.2nm)

 

Dep     Vnukovo (UUWW)                                                                             685’ asl

                        Rwy    2  9705’x197’ concrete         ILS/GC  111.50

Rwy  20  9705’x197’ concrete         ILS/GS  111.70        

Rwy    6  9444’x197’ concrete         ILS/GS  108.90

Rwy  24  9444’x197’ concrete         ILS/GS  111.10

Maryino (RW) ndb  493.0                             070deg   32.4nm

Larionovo (DB) ndb  478.0                          058deg   51.7nm

Krasnaya Gorbatka (CW) ndb  485.0         087deg   72.4nm

Strigino (N) ndb 1030.0                                139deg   70.4nm

Arr       Strigino (UWGG)                                           002deg     1.3nm       255’ asl

Rwy  18R  9270’x148’ concrete      ILS/GS  109.90

Rwy  36L  9270’x148’ concrete       ILS/GS  109.50

 

 

Nizhny-Novgorod, on the River Volga, is Russia’s third largest city. It has always been a major trade town, but it is also heavily industrialized. In the 19th century, it was said that “St Petersburg is Russia’s head, Moscow’s it’s heart, but Nizhny-Novgood is it’s wallet”. Under the Soviets, it was called Gorky, after one of it’s greatest sons, and was for a long time closed to foreigners. The dissident writer Andrei Sakharov was exiled here and his flat is now a museum. For a fine view of the City visit the Cathedral of the Archangel Michael.

 

3nd leg: Nizhny-Novgorod – Perm (423.7nm)

 

Dep     Strigino (UWGG)                                                                               255’ asl

Rwy  18R  9270’x148’ concrete      ILS/GS  109.90

Rwy  36L  9270’x148’ concrete       ILS/GS  109.50

            Nizhny Novgorod (UV) ndb 676.0               001deg      2.8nm

Sharanga (RZ) ndb  643.0                           046deg  104.6nm

Mendeleyevo (MN) ndb  940.0                    061deg  277.6nm (some DR required)

Perm (BK) ndb 705.0                                   105deg    35.5nm

Arr       Bolshoye Savino (USPP)                             033deg     3.0nm       403’ asl

Rwy    3  8413’x164’ asphalt            ILS/BC  109.90

Rwy  21  8413’x164’ asphalt           ILS/GS  109.90

 

Perm (Soviet name Molotov, after the politician and/or the cocktail) is another industrial city, and is best thought of as the inspiration for the city that Chekhov’s “Three Sisters” wanted to leave. Pasternak wrote “Doctor Zhivago” here, and there is a good art gallery and the Sergei Diagilev Musuem (for ballet fans). It is said to be possible to get a good pizza.

 

 

4th leg: Perm – Yekaterinburg (175.6nm)

 

Arr       Bolshoye Savino (USPP)                                                                 403’ asl

Rwy    3  8413’x164’ asphalt            ILS/BC  109.90

Rwy  21  8413’x164’ asphalt           ILS/GS  109.90

            Kukushtan (KT) ndb 672.0                           122deg    22.2nm

Bisert (BI) ndb  435.0                                   106deg    95.9nm

Yekaterinburg (EL) ndb  786.0                    083deg    54.6nm

To        Koltsovo (USSS)                                           079deg     2.9nm       764’ asl

Rwy    8L  8010’x148’ asphalt         ILS/BC  110.50

Rwy  26R  8010’x148’ asphalt         ILS/GS  110.50

Rwy    8R  9877’x174’ concrete      ILS/GS  109.90

Rwy   26L  9877’x174’ concrete      ILS/GS  109.50

 

Congratulations – we are now in Asia, having crossed the Ural Mountains (or to be precise, flown through a very large gap in them). Yekaterinburg was founded in 1702 as a mining settlement, and became a major industrial city which expanded greatly during WWII. It is better known as the place where the Russian Royal family were slaughtered in July 1918 (between 1924 and 1991 the city was named Sverdlovsk, after one of the killers). There are a number of good museums – Case 13 in the Miltaary History Museum contains fragment’s of Gary Power’s U2 spy plane.

 

 

5th leg: Yekaterinburg – Omsk (455.7nm)

 

Dep     Koltsovo (USSS)                                                                               764’ asl

Rwy    8L  8010’x148’ asphalt         ILS/BC  110.50

Rwy  26R  8010’x148’ asphalt         ILS/GS  110.50

Rwy    8R  9877’x174’ concrete      ILS/GS  109.90

Rwy   26L  9877’x174’ concrete      ILS/GS  109.50

Yekaterinburg (KU) ndb 370.0                     077deg      2.9nm

Tyumen (QF) ndb  315.0                              064deg  149.0nm

Ishim (OL) ndb  615.0                                   102deg  148.3nm

Omsk (TK) ndb 332.0                                   104deg  152.0nm

Arr       Tsentralny (UNOO)                                        247deg      3.4nm      311’ asl

Rwy    7  8240’x148’ asphalt            ILS/GS  108.30

Rwy  25  8240’x148’ asphalt           ILS/GS  110.10

 

Somewhere between Yekaterinburg and here we crossed into Siberia. Omsk was founded as a Cossack outpost and progressed to being a dumping ground for exiles. There are some nice parks and Dostoeyevsky wrote “Buried Alive in Siberia” here.  Enough said.

 

 

6th leg: Omsk – Novosibirsk (323.4nm)

 

Dep     Tsentralny (UNOO)                                                                            311’ asl

Rwy    7  8240’x148’ asphalt            ILS/GS  108.30

Rwy  25  8240’x148’ asphalt           ILS/GS  110.10

            Omsk (TK) ndb 332.0                                   067deg      3.4nm

Barrabinsk (QF) ndb  965.0             070deg  169.9nm

Novosibirsk (NSK) vor/dme  113.30           088deg  205.3nm

Arr       Tolmachevo (UNNT)                         060deg      0.5nm      364’ asl

Rwy    7  11661’x197’ asphalt         ILS/GS  110.10

Rwy  25  11661’x197’ asphalt         ILS/GS  108.50

 

Founded in 1893 as a railway station, Novonikolaevsk (renamed Novosibirsk in 1925) prospered from being between the coal fields of eastern Siberia and the mineral mines of the Urals. There is a fine Opera House and Ballet Theatre, and some beautiful churches. It’s also said to be the best place in Siberia for eating out – try Planet Sushi, Fei Lun, the Balkan Grill or the Mexico Kafe.

 

7th leg: Novosibirsk – Krasnoyarsk (362.4nm)

 

Dep     Tolmachevo (UNNT)                                                             364’ asl

Rwy    7  11661’x197’ asphalt         ILS/GS  110.10

Rwy  25  11661’x197’ asphalt         ILS/GS  108.50

            Zaeltsovsky (PG) ndb 860.0                        054deg      9.6nm

Tomsk (TX) ndb  380.0                                036deg  107.5nm

Achinsk (CZ) ndb  420.0                              083deg  181.4nm (some DR required)

Krasnoyarsk (AJ) ndb 113.20                     088deg    60.0nm  

Arr       Krasnoyarsk (UNKL)                                    103deg      3.9nm      942’ asl

Rwy  11L    6214’x105’ asphalt       ILS/BC  110.30

Rwy  29R    6214’x105’ asphalt       ILS/GS  110.30

Rwy  11R  12193’x197’ asphalt      ILS/GS  110.50

Rwy  29L   12193’x197’ asphalt      ILS/GS  111.70

 

Another Cossack settlement, which became a gold “boomtown” in the 19th century, and a major industrial centre in WWII. The painter Vasily Surikov lived here, and his home is now the Surikov Museum-Estate. The Kranoyarsk Regional Museum is easy to find – it’s probably the only building in Siberia which looks like an ancient Egyptian Temple.

 

8th leg: Krasnoyarsk – Irkutsk (481.7nm)

 

So far, it’s been flat all the way, but you should see some hills on this leg although the highest obstacle is only about 3000’ asl.

 

Dep     Krasnoyarsk (UNKL)                                                                        942’ asl

Rwy  11L    6214’x105’ asphalt       ILS/BC  110.30

Rwy  29R    6214’x105’ asphalt       ILS/GS  110.30

Rwy  11R  12193’x197’ asphalt      ILS/GS  110.50

Rwy  29L   12193’x197’ asphalt      ILS/GS  111.70

            Uyar (RR) ndb 300.0                         105deg    63.5nm

Nizhneudinsk (NVD) vor  112.70                 106deg  172.0nm

Irkutsk (IRK) vor/dme  112.30                      130deg  245.9nm

Arr       Irkutsk (UIII)                                                     132deg      0.3nm      1673’ asl

Rwy 12  8969’x148’ concrete          ILS/BC  111.30

Rwy 26  8969’x148’ concrete          ILS/GS  110.30

 

Another former Cossack settlement, which acquired aristocratic exiles (the Decembrists) in 1844, and hit gold in 1880, Irkutsk became known as “The Paris of Siberia”. Although a modern technology-based city, Irkutsk has many cultural reminders of it’s past and it’s Chinese and Mongolian neighbours.

 

To the east is Lake Baikal, the world’s deepest lake (1637m) which 1/5th of the worlds fresh water (more than all of the North American “Great Lakes”).

 

 

9th leg: Irkutsk – Ulan-Ude (246.3nm)

 

This is quite a scenic run, so pick a good day for it! The original railway line ran along the South bank of the Angara River to Port Baikal on Lake Baikal, where trains was loaded onto a ferry boat for Mysovaya, where they were unloaded and continued via the Selenga valley to Ulan-Ude, but winter ice and summer storms made the lake crossing impractical. During the Russo-Japanese War they even built a line aross the lake on the ice (the first train is probably still on the bottom of Lake Baikal).  A new line, the Circumbaikal, known as “the Tsar’s Silver Necklace” was eventually made around the south end of the lake – feat of engineering involving over 200 bridges and several dozen tunnels. In the 1950’s the Angara was dammed near the lake - the line to Port Baikal was destroyed and a new line was built direct from Irkutsk to connect with the Circumbaikal line at the southwest end of Lake Baikal.

 

Our route follows the full Circumbaikal line. The fixes are quoted for convenience – just fly down the Angara River to Lake Baikal, then turn right and follow the coastline  around the southern edge of the lake to the mouth of the Selenga River , then fly upstream to UIUU.

 

Dep     Irkutsk (UIII)                                                                                         1673’ asl

Rwy 12  8969’x148’ concrete          ILS/BC  111.30

Rwy 26  8969’x148’ concrete          ILS/GS  110.30

            Fix01  N51*52.73’, E104*44.53’                 154deg    26.5nm (Port Baikal)      

Fix02  N51*43.95’, E103*40.46’                 260deg    50.6nm (the south-west end of the lake)

Fix03  N51*38.60’, E103*42.51’                 169deg      5.5nm

Fix04  N51*30.54’, E104*09.90’                 118deg    18.3nm

Fix05  N51*27.27’, E104*28.64’                 107deg    12.7nm

Fix06  N51*26.99’, E105*50.43’                 094deg    13.6nm (somewhere near Mysovaya)

Fix07  N51*42.81’, E106*57.40’                 072deg    44.5nm

Fix08  N52*02.02’, E106*23.86’                 044deg    25.2nm (approaching the delta of the Selenga River)

Fix09  N52*00.47’, E106*47.17’                 100deg    14.4nm

Fix10  N52*05.70’, E107*06.68’                 070deg    13.1nm

Fix11  N52*06.20’  E107*25.06’                 091deg    11.3nm

Ulan-Ude (ZD) ndb  349.0                            172deg    17.4nm

Arr       Mukhino (UIUU)                                             261deg      3.1nm      1689’ asl

                        Rwy   8  9849’x148’ concrete          ILS/BC  110.30

Rwy 26  9849’x148’ concrete          ILS/GS  110.30

 

* Alternative for ferryboat enthusiasts:- Follow the River from UIII to the lake (145deg 29.8nm) and then fly 107deg 40.7nm to join the route at Fix 06.

 

 

Yet another 17th-century Cossack fort, it was chartered in 1775 as Verkhne-Udinsk, a trading town on the tea-caravan route. The indigenous people are Buryats (Mongols), and have largely clung to their culture, language, and religion (Tibetan Buddhism). The city it’s present name (Buryat for “Red Uda” (the Uda is a local river)) in 1934. Ulan-Ude is also the terminus for the Trans-Mongolian Raiway, which runs to Beijing (maybe another time, Bill). 30km west of the city is the monastery of Ivolginsk Datsan, centre of Russian Buddhism.

 

 

10th leg: Ulan-Ude – Chita (219.3nm)

 

Dep     Mukhino (UIUU)                                                                                 1689’ asl

                        Rwy   8  9849’x148’ concrete          ILS/BC  110.30

Rwy 26  9849’x148’ concrete          ILS/GS  110.30

            Khorinsk (GR) ndb 320.0                             081deg    89.1nm

Chita (ZM) ndb 518.0                                   099deg 125.6nm

Arr       Kadala (UIAA)                                               107deg     4.4nm       2270’ asl

Rwy 11  9170’x197’ concrete          ILS/BC  110.30

Rwy 29  9170’x197’ concrete          ILS/GS  110.30

 

More Cossacks, more Decembrist exiles, light engineering. Also the terminus of the East Chinese Railway which also goes to Beijing (hmmm…).

 

 

11th leg: Chita – Blagoveschensk (689.8nm)

 

The original trans-Siberian railway ran directly east from Chita through Manchuria, but we avoid Chinese territory by following the present-day Amur railway across the taiga (Siberian forest). This is the longest leg – make sure the comrade stewardess has filled the samovar properly.

 

Dep     Kadala (UIAA)                                                                                   2270’ asl

Rwy 11  9170’x197’ concrete          ILS/BC  110.30

Rwy 29  9170’x197’ concrete          ILS/GS  110.30

Chita (ZM) ndb 518.0                                   287deg      4.4nm

Mogocha (KU) ndb 450.0                            075deg  258.8nm  (some DR required)

Tachtamygda (ZM) ndb 315.0                     091deg  136.8nm

Magdagachi (GU) ndb 344.0                       127deg    88.0nm

Fix01  N52*27.42’, E127*01.55’                 156deg    75.0nm (GU ndb signal lost)  

Blagoveschensk (BLG) vor/dme 113.60    184deg  151.6nm (This track will keep you east of the River Amur)

Arr       Ignatyevo (UHBB)                                         355deg      2.0nm      639’ asl

Rwy 18  9318’x148’ concrete          ILS/BC  108.70

Rwy 36  9318’x148’ concrete          ILS/GS  108.70

                        NB: Keep all circuits to the east of UHBB.

 

Blagoveschensk isn’t actually on the Trans-Siberian main line, which passes a few miles to the north, but the IL-14 is (a) a gas-guzzler (b) lacking in fuel capacity, so we’ll land here for fuel. It’s a border town, and the administrative capital of Amur Oblast – apart from that I know knowt about it.

 

12th leg: Blagoveschensk – Khabarovsk (332.9nm)

 

Dep     Ignatyevo (UHBB)                                                                             639’ asl

Rwy 18  9318’x148’ concrete          ILS/BC  108.70

Rwy 36  9318’x148’ concrete          ILS/GS  108.70

Blagovschensk (BLG) vor/dme 113.60      174deg       2.0nm

Kukan (FE) ndb 942.0                                  116deg   245.6nm

Fix01  N48*39.98’, E134*10.55’                 150deg     43.9nm (river crossing) 

Volochayevka (MR) ndb 305.0                    122deg     17.0nm

            Khabarovsk (G) ndb 258.0                          104deg     24.9nm

Arr       Novy (UHHH)                                     229deg       1.5nm     246’ asl

Rwy    5R  13614’x197’ concrete    ILS/GS  110.90

Rwy  23L  13614’x197’ concrete    ILS/GS  108.70

 

Another modern city (founded 1858 as a garrison, fur-trading oupost and river crossing). Fighting broke out here between the Russians and the Chinese as recently as 1969, but things have calmed down to the stage where there is considerable cross-border trade. It has something of the air of a coastal resort, and there are also lots of Japanese tourists.  Don’t miss the Museum of History of the Far Eastern Railway, or the other museums.

 

 

13th leg: Khabarovsk – Vladivostok (350.2nm)

 

Dep     Novy (UHHH)                                                                         246’ asl

Rwy    5R  13614’x197’ concrete    ILS/GS  110.90

Rwy  23L  13614’x197’ concrete    ILS/GS  108.70

Krasitsky (PS) ndb 457.0                             204deg     54.9nm

Roschino (TD) ndb 325.0                             191deg   105.1nm

Chernyschevka (BL) ndb 605.0                   227deg   125.6nm

            Vladivostok (Knevichi) (KW) ndb 400.0     228deg     55.7nm

Arr       Knevichi (UHWW)                                         250deg       8.8nm     43’ asl

Rwy    7L  11548’x197’ concrete     ILS/BC  109.70

Rwy  25R  11548’x197’ concrete    ILS/GS  109.70

 

Vladivostok (Lord of the East) was founded in 1860, and became a naval base in 1872. The city is built on an assortment of hills, peninsulas, and Islands, and the harbour, which resembles that of Istanbul, is called Golden Horn Bay (Bukhta Zolotoy Rog). In the early 20th century it was a flourishing merchant port with a polyglot population, much resembling Hong Kong. After the fall of Port Arthur, Vladivostok’s naval importance increased. After the revolution, most of the foreign inhabitants were deported or shot. Security was progressively tightened until between 1958-1992 the city was closed to all foreigners (and most Russians). It is now rapidly regaining it’s old flavour. If you were too busy during the approach to have a good look at Golden Horn Bay, take the funicular railway to the top of ulitsa Sukhanova. Don’t miss the Vladivostok Fortress Museum, where they fire a noonday gun (sorry I forgot to tell you they do the same thing at St Petersburg and Moscow).  There are also harbour tours, and museums, and…

 

Thankyou for flying with Bluegrass Airlines. We hope you have enjoyed this flight. If so, reverse all the bearings, and you should be able to fly back to St Petersburg. Alternatively, why not take the train – it only takes eight days!  <g>  Da svidanya!

John Lawler (bgad017) 18Aug05

Acknowledgement:- Travelogue info taken from Lonely Planet’s “Trans-Siberian Railway” (ISBN 1 86450 335 1)