Our transport

The main mean of transportation during our expeditions is helicopters Mi-8, which belongs to the private company. Tourists are helicoptered from the private airport, located  about 1000 km north of Ekaterinburg. It takes about 12 hours by car to get an airport. If you prefer to have a rest on the way to an airport, we can offer you a comfortable minibus (7-12 seats).

Time of your arrival in an airport is about 7 am.  When you are travelling, your cars are parking. It takes 1-1.5 hours to load your luggage in a helicopter. To avoid overweight of a helicopter, all luggage is weighed before loading. We are thinking about your safety. In case of overloading, extra luggage can be left in an airport. Seven days before your flight, preliminary list of participants is compiled. According to this list, the flight list of all passengers is compiled for an air carrier.

Flight time to the particular river, chosen for the expedition varies and depends on the distance. If this distance exceeds the maximum standard flight distance   the second additional tank is installed into the helicopter cabin. This allows us to  get more remote rivers,  but, in this case,   the number of participants and the weight of luggage decrease . between an airport and a  river. Accordingly, the cost of participation in the expedition becomes higher.  Anyway, when planning expeditions, we are guided by common sense. All our expeditions are combination of  a “wild” river   and the reasonable  price.

The logistics of expeditions is develoved by tour leaders  and arranged with a helicopter commander. Based on the data available  the flight plan, schedule of air traffic and the exact coordinates of the landing site are corrected.

The  helicopter unloading on a landing site should be carried out over short time  no more than 3 minutes). After the end of expedition, the helicopter loading with equipment  should be approximately 3-4 minutes. Landing-takeoff  sites  for a helicopter  are chosen by a tour leader   of the group that communicate with a helicopter commander by  satellite phone   and report exact GPS-coordinates of the location of the expedition.

Satellite communication  with the city of Yekaterinburg, friends and relatives of  expedition members, track their route, is probable every day.  This is important for each member of the expedition.
Time of arrival   to the airport after ending the expedition     is usually in the interval of at 2-3 pm (local time).

The return way to Yekaterinburg  takes approximately 12-14 hours and , as usual,   we are at 2-3 am the next day  in Ekaterinburg with fresh fish from a northern river. 
Participants of expeditions from other cities   (Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Omsk) can get the point of our expedition starting by both  train and plane (there are direct flights from Moscow, St. Petersburg and other cities). Participants from adjacent regions  (Perm, Tyumen, Kurgan) can get  the airport by their own cars. 

Note. Departure / arrival may be changed due to weather conditions in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug and Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug.

Helicopter takeoff and landing.  Video reports.

Overloaded Helicopter Mi-8MT.  Flight to the Naroda River, the Sub-Polar Urals. August 2010. 

Helicopter evacuation of a group of fishermen.    Naroda River, the Sub-Polar Urals. 2010.