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.