First big int'l trip. Russia, France, etc. Any help?

[Bleeds On]

I see a few sites that say even the locals don't drink tap in Ukraine and Russia.
Also, a more detailed guide to what the SAFA check is looking for.

 

[njcapt]

I drank the hell out of the tap water in Russia, both in Moscow and in Siberia, and haven't noticedannnnnnyyyyy illleffeeeeccccctsssssssssssssss.,,......

No, really, it came out of the tap at about +1.5°C and tasted about the same as Chicago tap. The locals drink bottled water the same way trophy wives in LA drink it. I never got sick from water over there, but I couldn't get used to fries cooked in lard. Almost immediate colon blow.

 

[Bleeds On]

Made it to Rostov(URRR). Thanks for everyone's advice. It's been far better than expected. I think what needs to be emphasized in int'l training is the difficulties with accents and body clocks. Next time I'll have some ambien. However, Oslo was an amazing tech stop. Hardly knew we were outside the US.
For those that have been to Vnukovo, how would you compare the traffic to, say TEB? So far it's felt like we're the only ones flying.

 

[landlover]

Made it to Rostov(URRR). Thanks for everyone's advice. It's been far better than expected. I think what needs to be emphasized in int'l training is the difficulties with accents and body clocks. Next time I'll have some ambien. However, Oslo was an amazing tech stop. Hardly knew we were outside the US.
For those that have been to Vnukovo, how would you compare the traffic to, say TEB? So far it's felt like we're the only ones flying.

i find this to be the most difficult part of flying in BFE. I also hate when people think its a sign of weakness to use the phrase "say again". Because guessing what the controller is saying is always a better option.

 

[Sammy]

How did the Qfe and MPS work out for you?

 

[njcapt]

Made it to Rostov(URRR). Thanks for everyone's advice. It's been far better than expected. I think what needs to be emphasized in int'l training is the difficulties with accents and body clocks. Next time I'll have some ambien. However, Oslo was an amazing tech stop. Hardly knew we were outside the US.
For those that have been to Vnukovo, how would you compare the traffic to, say TEB? So far it's felt like we're the only ones flying.

Under normal VFR or high-IFR conditions, Vnukovo is fine, though you still could get vectored 50 miles out of your way for seemingly no reason at all. If Putin is in motion, the airport is usually shut down for 60-90 minutes with zero notice. If the weather is down and/or they are using rwy 06, expect the possibiity of horrendous, sometimes deadly delays. If they get saturated they will abandon your slot time and favor airline operations. Understand, though, that this happened to me only once in several years of flying in and out of VKO, but it was a killer (200 meter ceilings and strong winds out of the NE just after the Chelsea-Manchester United football championships back in 2008). We spent eight hours trying to get out of there and finally advised the boss to give up and go the next day.

Remember, ready for departure means you're ready to take the runway. Ready for takeoff means you're ready to push the levers up. You can sit on the runway for as much as five minutes if you don't give the ready for takeoff call. Try to spend as little time on the runway after landing as possible. They have a lot of traffic to move there.

 

[earhart]

Remember, ready for departure means you're ready to take the runway. Ready for takeoff means you're ready to push the levers up. You can sit on the runway for as much as five minutes if you don't give the ready for takeoff call. Try to spend as little time on the runway after landing as possible. They have a lot of traffic to move there.

Forgive me for being pedantic, but in Europe and Russia we only use the word takeoff as a read-back having been cleared. "Ready for departure" is the 'correct' terminology.

 

[njcapt]

Vnukovo used both. I couldn't find reference to it in any international procedures courses or the Russian AIP, but they did it with all of the corporate operators and some of the airlines - when I could follow the conversations in Russian. When we called ready for departure, we would almost always be given a line up and wait. Then we would either sit there like hazards to navigation until the tower asked us if we were ready for takeoff, or we told them unprompted and got the cleared for takeoff instruction. Roschino in Tyumen did this, too.

 

[2000Easyguy]

Made it to Rostov(URRR). Thanks for everyone's advice. It's been far better than expected. I think what needs to be emphasized in int'l training is the difficulties with accents and body clocks. Next time I'll have some ambien. However, Oslo was an amazing tech stop. Hardly knew we were outside the US.
For those that have been to Vnukovo, how would you compare the traffic to, say TEB? So far it's felt like we're the only ones flying.

All Gov't flights operate out of UUEE now due to runway construction at Vnukovo, as well as some airlines. That helps some, but as njcapt wrote, you can expect long vectoring.
06-24 is closed. 01-19 length is app. 6700 ft. NDB approaches only. They give the descent point on the notams. 01 rwy displaced threshold 3380ft w/no papi or vasi. I mention this because land point is on the crown of rwy and gives odd visual effect. Be ready for slam-dunk arrival as well.

You will get code only upon engine start, and clearance while holding short of runway ( or while entering runway) so be prepared.

No really that bad, just some things I thought might help. Good luck.

BTW, traffic is worse on the roads to town!

 

[Bleeds On]

Finally have Internet! Never let a Russian book your hotel rooms. The QFE was nothing more than setting an altimeter setting as normal and all 4 airports we've gone to have had it in hPa. Just pay attention to the transition levels and transition alts. MPS conversion was simple math. X2 for knots, X200 for fpm. Most meter-feet conversions were on the Jepp chart.
Ya Moscow told us to report what was FL131 out of FL380 in 6 min(over 4000fpm) No step downs prior to that enroute, just "go now". It was busy but not awful.
What's been most frustrating is the handling. They won't do sh!t unless you push them. That is if they even show up. Don't plan on ever getting back to the terminal once you're to the plane. Doesn't matter anyhow because there's nothing for you to use at the terminal. I've had 10X the resources at the smallest of airports in the US. The runways are very rough and not flat, as in you might actually have to pull it into a climb during flare. I'm definitely ready to head West.