Thank you all for your feedback! Next instalment coming soon. Just finishing up the trip now, sitting in Frankfurt SEN lounge. It was exhilarating and more than I expected in every way.

Thanks! It was. Now just need to post the rest.

More coming very soon!

Need to work my way through a few flights first, but I promise you’ll see the hole.

No alcoholic beverages were served in Y.

Thanks!

It was a Yakovlev Як-42, but if you don’t know that it’s definitely not the plane for you.

Thank you! More coming soon.

Need. No. More. Vodka.

I’m sorry to hear that, sounds like it’s not a common problem. They show up fine where I’ve tried. Have you checked a different browser or eventually a VPN?

After nearly three glorious hours of shuteye, the alarm went off, and we wrapped our morning routines up so rapidly that we had time to go for a walk around Izhevsk.

Looking out through our window, a sunlit view of the Orthodox Church, though it was only 4:45 am.



Izhevsk is of particular note as during Soviet times it was a “closed city” (that is, special permit required and no foreigners) due to the local Kalashnikov factory. I would have loved to see the museum, and one can even try shooting all sorts of firearms for varying prices, but unfortunately Izhavia cancelled the midday Moscow flight from the schedule, and the only workable combination was taking the first flight out.

The area around the hotel is a typical planned Soviet centre - Tsum, Central square (surprisingly without patriotic name), Opera/Theatre, museum of some kind or another, movie theatre named “Россия” and lots of staircases. To ensure the capitalist flavour is represented, there’s also a KFC within this small radius and an Adidas for clothing.











Unfortunately we didn’t see what I presume to be a fountain because the whole square was closed for refurbishment. There, in the distance, one can just make out the start of the lake.



We ordered a Yandex.Taxi to whisk us to the airport, and asked him to stop off at an enroute post office to drop off our postcards. This was a great surprise to him, “so wait, those blue boxes are actually intended for sending mail? Like you put mail in them?”

A light rain was still falling, and cars cannot pull up directly in front of the terminal, leading to this picture of the Izhevsk Airport.



The airport was obviously the original, with lots of retrofitted booths selling various items or serving coffee.



P was told to check in his carry-on, but some sweet-talking lead the agent to give up and attach an “approved” tag to it.

Just after security, just as relaxed as in Moscow, I was greeted with a spectacular view of the Yak-42. In what universe do you pass security in an airport and see 4 Yak-42s on the tarmac?



Just a few moments later, I spotted a pilot walking towards the aircraft.



The terminal was very basic, but it was only 10 minutes until boarding started. Down some stairs and onto an Izhavia-branded bus for the short ride to a different Yak-42 than we had flown on the inbound flight the day before.



It quickly became obvious that we would board the aircraft the traditional, proper, intended way - through the rear integral airstairs. Not only is this a unique experience that has become exceedingly rare in 2019, but it provides for superb photographic opportunities - that is, if one is able to take pictures very discreetly. See, in Russia the aviation mentality hasn’t moved forward very much from Soviet times. Pre-flight security may be lax, decrepit Soviet airliners are still in the skies, flight attendants don’t pay much attention to reclined seats, baggage in exit rows, or anything else, really, except - and this is a big exception - photography. In general, photography is seen as a complete no-no anywhere government-related. Airports fall squarely into this category, and photographing airplanes, crew, etc. is always a sensitive subject. Luckily they (and by “they” I mean the special security guards who supervise boarding and the flight attendants) won’t throw you into a prison cell or confiscate your camera, but will issue a stern reprimand; this should be considered as your one and only warning, and any further escalation risking their ire is unadvised. Photographic tactics therefore have to be very surreptitious, and pictures have to be taken at the belt, without opportunities to frame and prepare your photo.









The staircase leads into the aircraft through a narrow metal tube - an outline identically matching the slope of the steps - and there is a heavy door, one I wouldn’t have been surprised to see on a submarine, to enter the aircraft.





Note the Cyrillic and Latin alphabet seat numbering.





I took the same seat as the day before, and unfortunately once again the flight was very full.



Right after take-off, there was a great view of the other Yak-42s parked at Izhevsk airport.



The T-tail throws a very characteristic shadow onto the wing, in case one needed yet another visual clue that the aircraft is remarkable.



Breakfast was served, a sandwich with ham and pickle and a packaged dessert.



Tea was served only after breakfast, and was poured directly from a teapot (similarly to SAS) - the flight attendant asks for your cup on a tray, takes it into the aisle, pours the boiling water, and passes the tray back to you.







The rear galley was rather small, and immediately behind it were the two toilets and the rear exit.



The rear exit is a beautiful sight in flight, the porthole window shows the outline of the stairs and light streaking in from beneath.



There was also a heavy phone, with a thick cord and lots of manual switches.





The washroom was rather unusual, not only in design but in the amenities. A kitchen paper towel holder, no toilet paper holder, a shoe brush and shoe polish. The seat was very far back due by an enormous rim - probably a result of Soviet over-engineering. The flush button was just a small black point, and in order to flush, it had to be pushed - and held - for as long as necessary.









Landing was smooth and on time - another noticeable point on the Yak-42 is the lack of thrust reversers. Combined with the unusual requirement for Soviet aircraft to actually have their engines on at considerable power for landing, it means there is an odd silence after the wheels hit the tarmac.





On the way out, I had the opportunity to take some more cabin pictures, including of the very solid, utilitarian overhead bin compartments.



The seats in all Soviet types fold over, a very useful feature (in those days) for affixing parcels/cargo in the passenger cabin, and also convenient for passengers in case of a low load - more legroom and a place to rest your feet.









In Domodedovo there was a display of vintage cars, which we passed on the way to rent our own car at Sixt.



The rental car had been pre-arranged for our arrival time, but nobody was at the desk, nor was anybody answering the many phone numbers we tried, both found online and posted at the desk. Eventually a man did arrive, with a quickly deflected apology for his tardiness, placing blame on the traffic. We had received an Audi A4, on account of P’s (and my) Diamond status with Sixt, and headed off for the day…



The day was beautiful, not a cloud in sight, beautiful sunshine, and a deep blue sky.

That’s right - basically past that porthole is “the outside”, so the pressurisation ends at the cabin door. As for lack of aerodynamics ... this is a plane that’s riveted together with flathead screws, has a shoe polish brush in the toilet, and a phone that looks like it came from a submarine (honestly, I expect there was a Soviet factory making these phones, and someone at the top said “go install this into a sub, a Yak and a weapons factory) - so any lack of engine aerodynamics is fixed with MORE ENGINES.

I have a good memory and will remind you of your wise words one day.

Yes, the rear airstair area is not sealed, the “submarine” door is the pressurisation point. I’m not sure if there are any negative impacts on aerodynamics, but one must remember Soviet engineering was focused on getting things to work and not to work best. As very well outlined in the book “Midnight in Chernobyl”, Soviet computers were so far behind their western counterparts that it took them many times longer to run a simple probability theory, therefore impacting the rest of technological advancement.

This is another way of putting it.

P loves driving, and his blind affection means he insists on sitting behind the wheel whenever he can. This extends to renting cars whenever possible - even in Moscow. I had heard extensively of the horrendous traffic in this city, but never experienced it firsthand. With the notion of a rental car firmly engrained in the plans for our 8-hour layover, we set about planning our day.

A suitable destination was found in the Central Air Museum in Monino. Seeing as our trip purpose was to fly antiquated planes, what better way to celebrate than to visit a museum displaying them? P had already visited Monino, but graciously offered to go there once again. Planning in advance on Google Maps, it seemed entirely feasible to rent the car, drive to Monino, and then drive to the city (and maybe have lunch at White Rabbit). I convinced P to set the car return for the city centre, so we could commit to a Aeroexpress train at a fixed time, guaranteeing we wouldn’t miss our 5:00 pm flight to Novosibirsk.

Alas, traffic was horrendous. The MKAD (Moscow’s main ring road) was hugely backed up for the length of our journey, and the alternative route wasn’t much better. After two hours of driving, we reached Monino, and once we were there and started calculating the time needed to get back to the airport, it quickly became apparent that our plans had become fictitious.



It was an ideal day for visiting this old Air Force base-turned-museum, and we had it practically entirely to ourselves. Ultimately, though, I have to say I liked the museum in Kiev much better. The planes in both locations were basically in the same state of (dis)repair - some were newly repainted and well-maintained, others were in a sorry state. In Ukraine, there were no barriers blocking us from walking around or under the planes. Another bonus is in Ukraine they will happily take your money to enter a number of the parked planes: all that is needed is a separate ticket purchased at the entrance gate. Here in Russia, though, no such privileges. There was a little pathway skirting the edge of the parked planes, but no close-up viewing and certainly no entry.



To be perfectly fair, however, there are some remarkable planes in Monino. Perhaps the main draw is the Tu-144, Russia’s answer to the Concorde (aka Concordski), which they claim flew first. This statement is factually correct, as the Tu-144 did first take to the air in 1968, vs. the Concorde in 1969. However, the Concorde entered into service a year earlier than the Tupolev, and the Tu-144 ultimately only flew 55 commercial flights in its entire airline career. Even the Wikipedia article on this plane has some fascinating insights and tales about this aircraft, such as the story of when most systems failed in flight on a special charter with press onboard. The Tupolev crisis centre estimated the plane will have to land without two of its landing gear pods far above landing speed, and even Gorbachev was informed of the ongoing crisis. With all that in mind, however, what is most surprising is that the Tu-144 flew until 1998 for testing purposes with NASA. Perhaps the best location to see a Tu-144 on display is in Sinsheim (Germany), where a Tu-144 and Concorde are parked next to each other. But the Tu-144 in Sinsheim, just as many other planes on display in museums worldwide, was cut up to be moved. The Tu-144 in Monino was flown in. That makes it rather special, and it is therefore even more unfortunate it isn’t possible to enter this intact airplane.

We were also rather lucky that a few weeks prior was the Victory Day celebration on May 9. For this celebration, the plane had been cleaned and prepared, and looked sparkling.





Ultimately the Tu-144 didn’t make the biggest impression on me, however. This honour is bestowed upon the Mil V-12, an ode to Soviet gigantomania, and the largest helicopter ever constructed. Pictures don’t do this aircraft justice, it is truly immense. I cannot fathom where this helicopter could have used it’s vertical take-off and landing abilities, that an airstrip could not have been constructed.







In addition to the planes I have already dedicated a few sentences to, there were a few others I have a particular endearment towards.





















Best of all, however, there was already a Yak-42 parked in the background - we flew one earlier that morning!



The drive back to the airport was horrendously slow, and we were very hungry by the time we did eventually get back to Domodedovo… Unfortunately the shashlik stand P remembered in Monino had disappeared so we were left with our hunger until we got to the S7 lounge.





The Sixt agent (same man as in the morning) happened to be in the parking lot as we came in, and he didn’t even blink at us returning the car at the airport instead of downtown. With that chapter closed, we strode into the terminal and commenced a day/night of five flights in a row.