Flying to Russia. . .

"Geoffrey Barnes" wrote:
I have read a few accounts where people did. I don't really see why you
would bother. Here is why I think that. What maybe those who would
don't know, is there are 2 small inhabited (by a hundred of so Eskimos)
islands at about the mid way point.

Fine, but you also have to get out to the tip of the Aleutians to begin
with. Anyway you look at it, you are going to flying over some decent
stretches of water to pull off this trip. The water survival gear could

Try looking at a map! The Diomede Islands are a *long* ways
from the Aleutians, and no over water flight is necessary until
one is within 50 miles of Russia.

very well come in handy Of course, given the water temps in that part of
the world, you would have to fly wearing the survival suit, and you would
need to get that raft deployed pretty darn fast after you hit the water.
But that's another conversation entirely.

Depends on what time of year. From January through March, the
Bering Straits is more ice than not, though landing on it might
not be something an inexperienced pilot would want to try.

If you fly at 12,000 feet or higher you should easily
be able to glide that far shouldn't you?

Of course, at that altitude you have other things to worry about, too.

People have been flying Super Cubs back and forth between Russia
and the US for decades! It took a little brass to do it while
the Cold War was on, but some people did in fact have the brass.

There has been a US radar station right on the tip of the Bering
Straits since the mid-1950's, and there has been a Russian
fighter base just across the Straits and a little farther south
since WWII. In the 1950's and 60's (before the 1972 Marine
Mammal Protection Act) it was very profitable to hunt polar
bears in the area in between, on the winter ice. The Ruskies
were very sociable and would invite everyone down for cup of
coffee! A few folks would risk it, and declare an "emergency"
so they could land to take them up on it!

On the other hand, if you take a boat to Big Diomede, even
today, you'll wind up in a Russian jail cell while they
negotiate your release. It might be a shorter wait if you head
for Siberia itself in a boat.

And landing at the radar station (Tin City Long Range Radar
Site) without prior permission will get you into just about the
exact same situation as landing on Russian soil!

The Bering Straits is about 45-50 miles across. The Diomede
Islands are in the middle, and are about 2.5 miles apart. Big
Diomede is uninhabited (since the beginning of the Cold War,
when all civilians were moved to Siberia) except for Russian
military personnel (and I don't know if they are still there
today or not). Little Diomede has an Inupiat Eskimo village
with a population of about 130 people.

There is no runway on Little Diomede Island. In the summer
the only access is via helicopter and boat. In the winter
a runway is made on the sea ice. It is 28 miles by boat from
the village to the tip of the US side of the Bering Straits,
where the village of Wales is on the north side, and the
base camp for the Tin City radar station is on the south side.

(I've been to both Wales and Tin City on many occasions as well
as to Savoonga and Gambell on St. Lawrence Island, but never
made it to Diomede or Siberia.)

I would suggest an extended trip to Nome, and a few months
learning to fly in the Arctic before anyone try something like
visiting Russia. The OP also might want to take a course or two
in international diplomacy, or maybe get a law degree! The
paperwork involved is something only a real lawyer would ever
find exciting.

--
FloydL. Davidson http://web.newsguy.com/floyd_davidson
Ukpeagvik (Barrow, Alaska)