From: "David Bensinger" <dbensinger2@earthlink.net>
Subject: Flying to Russia...

Just wanted to get back to you with an update on flying to Russia. We
will be leaving the lower 48 next Thursday for our trip to Alaska. We
hope to make the crossing into Russia on July 8th along the new VFR
routing. I say hopefully as the paperwork has been extensive. This is
new for the Russians too and it hasn't been well communicated
internally. That has created some road blocks. One we are working out
right now is obtaining a Russian Flight Number from Moscow. All flights
in Russia have a number assigned to it. We faxed our request to Moscow
and a response came back that all flights along this route are required
to have a Russian "escort navigator" on board. Oh, of course, we will
need to pay for that person's first class, round trip ticket, daily
salary, daily expense account and accommodations. As this was news to
us, we let Brian Staurseth at the Alaskan FAA know. He verified it
wasn't needed and is working with his counterpart in Moscow. We still
don't have our flight number, but are remaining positive and are taking
it in stride.

Anyway, we have put up a website to document our trip for friends and
family. We are trying to include some useful information and links to
help others who may want to make the journey. We refer a lot to the FAA
site, but add our own experience to the mix. Feel welcome to take a
look: www.aeroplaneadventures.com. Just keep in mind that we have day
jobs, so it is a work in progress. If you haven't seen the Alaska FAA's
site for the VFR route to Russia, it is at
www.alaska.faa.gov/flt_Std/FLY_VFR_RUSSIA/Index.htm. They have done a
very good job.

Cheers.

David

Marc Wiese