On 28 May 2017 the Russian made airliner Irkut MC-21 made its successful maiden flight in Irkutsk. Developed by the Yakovlev Design Bureau and produced by Irkut, it is the largest design bureau project in 40 years. The previous record holder was the Yak-42, the first airliner produced in the Soviet Union to be powered by modern high-bypass turbofan engines. The first of three Yak-42... Continue Reading →
On the other side of the Kola Fjord from Murmansk lays the small village of Abram-Mys (technically still part of the city of Murmansk). Here you can find not one, but two interesting places. The first is not clearly marked in any way, but if you decide to walk up a little set of stairs... Continue Reading →
We recently spent about a week in and around the Russian city of Murmansk, the largest city on Earth North of the Artic Circle, discovering new places preparing a new photo itinerary. I will post more pictures and infos on this trip in the coming days and weeks, but, first thing first, let's start with what... Continue Reading →
The Antonov An-2 was one of the most successful Soviet propeller planes. Nicknamed "Annushka" or "Annie", it flew for the first time on 31 August 1947. It was used as a light utility transport, parachute drop aircraft, aerial agricultural work and many other tasks suited to this large slow-flying biplane. Its slow flight and good short field performance... Continue Reading →
To serve its almost 20,000,000 (yes, twenty million!) inhabitants, the city of Moscow can count on nine railway terminals and four international airports: Domodedovo, Sheremetyevo, Zhukovsky, and Vnukovo. Today I want to talk about the last one in this list and, in particular, abut a rather unique architectural solution. Vnukovo is Moscow's oldest operating airport and it is the highest... Continue Reading →
When temperatures plummet below zero Celsius (32 Fahrenheit) a very time consuming (but absolutely critical) operation that planes have to go through before departure is that of de-icing.
The monument is actually not a replica, but a real retired Tu-16 from the the 46 VA VGK (SN) heavy bomber unit that was based in Smolensk. If you are a bit of an airplane fanatic (like me) and you visit Smolensk, then you just have to go and see the Tupolev Tu-16 monument just a few hundred meters (about a quarter mile) due West from the center of town, at the southern "vertex" of a small triangular shaped park.
Russia Through The Lens 