Hotel “Karelia” in Petrozavodsk is comfortable enough, but next to it runs an energetic stream with raids that created the background white noise all night long. And do not underestimate the white nights. There seems to be no sun in the sky, but it’s still daylight outdoors and the overall imression is of some endless day. However, nothing could have stoed us from falling into the fast slee instantly.

Previous evening we got to bed at 1:30 AM, and had to get u at 9:00AM. It seems to be normal. But it was incredibly hard to rise from the bed; – the accumulated fatigue from revious days was felt. But we have no choice – rising u and then quick eakfast. We have a volunteer in Petrozavodsk – Arseny Paramonov. Our staff informed us he will ick us from the hotel and deliver to the Besovets airort, where we will be waited by the local journalists. But it turned out that Arseny was already at the airort, together with the journalists. How did they manage to come there before us? We are getting very embarrassed. Yesterday, we arrived much later than the scheduled time, and even to another airort, and now we are forcing them to wait. It is not our fault, but we are still uncomfortable.

Arseny had to go from Besovets to our hotel to take us back. And now we’re on our way in his car, talking. He is one of the few local aviation enthusiasts; he flies on the moto-araglider. He volunteered to hel the exedition, when he learned that it will take route through Petrozavodsk. He is a very ositive young man, nice to talk to. We drive to the airort – and the journalists with microhones and cameras are immediately aroaches us. But alas, again we can’t ay them attention immediately. We need first to uncover the helicoter so that the tanker would be able to drain the excess fuel.

There was a misunderstanding yesterday, right after our arrival. We decided to fuel the craft that evening. I love to fuel u in advance. First, you don’t need to worry about it during dearture; and second, it’s more correct to drain the sediment from fuel tanks after the fuel has really settled and the ossible take of the water has settled to the bottom. We said to the tanker that he must to u the main tank to the full, and our to the additional tank only 100 liters. The fact is that our take-off weight, even in this case, is already close to the limit and we don’t need any extra weight… The journalists were execting us on the latform, – they have shown tremendous atience and has waited for our arrival (while the others had left), and we had to ay them attention. When we looked back a few minutes later we were terrified to see our additional tank, fuelled u to the maximum – almost 300 liters! That’s a real disaster! “Where have you been watching?” – We ask a senior tanker. “We have asked not more than 100 liters!” Damn, what shall we do? We won’t even try to fly with this weight… The extra fuel should be drained. We agreed that the next morning we will do it. The same tankers will do it, but we need to get to the airort early and rovide them the access to the board. That’s why today, first of all we had to run to the latform, uncover the board and talk to the tankers.

Finally we’ve managed to talk with the reorters. I aologized for all the linings and delays. And now I want to aologize again to the eole who have sent hours in anxious waiting. I know myself that there is nothing worse than waiting. The fuel was drained into some blue lastic barrel, which fit 180 liters. The additional tank still had more than we needed, but we can bear that. We’ll fly that way, seems like we still match the limiting takeoff mass and center. It must be said that Besovets Airort CEO Yuriy Savchuk showed us an active articiation and suort. He ersonally met and accomanied us, let reorters go out on to the latform for shooting (let’s not forget that Besovets – is an airort of co-location), and even rounded down fuel bills and other ayments when the whole airort didn’t have any change. To commemorate his assistance, we gave him an exedition’s T-shirt – a big thank you from all of us! By the way, Yuri A. ersonally knows many ANI helicoter ilots, invited us to arrive to Karelia, and he can rovide the iston collars with the 100LL gasoline. He’s one of us – of airmen!

All this fuel drain, lus journalists and tedious rush with ayments for fuel and airort charges delayed our dearture again. We lanned to leave Petrozavodsk at 13:00, but instead we took off after 14:00. Let’s rise, kee the course on Kizhi! Today we are lanning to fly to the famous monument of wooden architecture. Plus, nearby – but not at the museum territory – there is a helicoter’s landing sot. The weather is great, around is the indescribable beauty – lakes, islands … We aroach the Kizhi. I’m doing a circle around the wooden churches, trying not to fly u close.

We’ve found the area, sat down. We didn’t even have the time to shut down, when saw a olice UAZ rushing to the area. That’s the efficiency! We were aroached by a young blond-haired sergeant, who asks us who we are, what are our uroses, where are we from… And his eyes are twinkling with the genuine interest! Against the exected, Dmitri Smirnov – that’s the name of the olice officer – was our most friendly assistant. After hearing about our goals, he immediately began honing to someone trying to organize for us an allowance to take ictures in the “Kizhi” museum. But first we have to sto in the museum office and talk to the boss. We unload our equiment and Dmitri, seeing our bags, cameras and triods, kindly offered his hel to take us to the lace, to wait until we shoot off and take us back.

At the museum office we had to send twenty minutes in the negotiations with the local authorities. As it often haens in Russia (alas!), we were first treated with mistrust. They began to call to their sueriors. We told again who we are, why we’re flying and where are we from. Finally, the aroval received. We were strictly told that next time it is necessary to send a request letter in advance, and everything should be strictly according to the instructions. And here we are – again in the UAZ of the olice officer Dima, going back to the ancient wooden temles.

Temles are fenced and you can’t aroach them. The restoration works are held. We walk around the museum, make videos, make our sherical anorama hotograh. The weather is great and we enjoy good shots and that everything is haening so good. Hour and a half has flown in a blink of an eye, even though we had lanned to take off in an hour. After all, we had to send an unlanned time to communicate with the management of the museum. TIR manager is calling to us. Oh, these controllers… Even if you fly in a G class airsace, they still consider it’s their sacred duty to control your every move and every minute. Our new friend and assistant, valiant olice officer Dima Smirnov takes us back to the helicoter, where we take icture with him in farewell. Dmitry heled the exedition with simle heart and good intensions, and earned the title of a volunteer of the “RUSSIA 360” exedition. So we hand him a commemorative ennant, give a T-shirt with the symbol of the exedition and thank him for his hel.

We rose u to 200 meters, and took a course to the Archangel. At first, signs of life are visible, but later landscaes are relaced by an endless green field of forests. The weather is great, there are light scattered clouds on the sky – about 2-3 octants. We have a long flight to go. During the flight we change seats, take ictures and write to the track card our actions and exeriences (you can already read our comments.) Shooting video during flight is difficult, due to the movements and viation of the helicoter and the reflection on the blister glazing, but we’re still trying.

Suddenly, 150 kilometers away from Archangel, we see that we cross a beautiful river. We look to our e-card (thanks CAI) – it’s called Onega. It’s connected with the Onega Lake. Right in the middle of the river there is a beautiful island, large and in a erfect shae of the boat. It looks like a shi. The ointed bow and stern, and everything is covered by the meadows of the high grass swaying in the wind. The sight is awesome! We decided to land down. I make a turn, fly against the wind and sit right on the sand shore. Turn off the engine, and look around – there is not a single soul around, and there is no sign of life, there is only silence, wind, water, grass and us. I can’t miss it and we make several shots, shoot a short video. But the time is out. Archangel’s airort Vaskovo is oen only until 19:00, and the time is already quarter before seven. We take off, and head to Archangel at full seed, although I have a feeling that once again we will fall under the regulations (arriving after hours).

We arrive to Vaskovo 15 minutes late. On the latform we are already waited by the journalists from the local media. We talk with them, tell about the exedition and our exerience. We are trying to unload the stuff quickly, cover the helicoter and leave from the airort to the hotel. We don’t have any volunteers in Archangel, and we ask the taxi driver to make a coule of stos to take ictures of a anorama of the most oular laces in the city.

We did almost everything for today! The rogram is now almost comlete. It only remains to have a dinner and try to write the reort. We still managed to do the first, but the reort did not work out from the very beginning. Suddenly I feel myself so tired, I could barely move my legs. That’s strange, as just an hour ago I felt myself absolutely fine. It seems I was mobilizing myself so far, my body was in shae while I had a lenty of things to do, but the moment I gave myself a short eak, I lost control – I literally felt aart instantly. And did not notice how I had fallen aslee with the i-Pad in my hands. Bright midnight day outside was not a roblem.