For the first time we have enough slee. But the time is against us. Salehard is in the GMT + 2 time zone. It seems as we woke u at 11AM, but in fact, our internal clocks show only 9 in the morning. Without any disutes, we decide we should take a taxi and get away from that lace. Somewhere they have an Internet, and where conditions are better. Along the way we check the “Yamal” hotel (there is no internet at all), and choose the “Arctica” hotel.
Oh, Alexander told us that the second best after the “Yuribeya” – is “Arctic”. And we missed his advice… The Internet here is not for free, but at least they has it! It’s only later we found out that the whole situation with the internet in Salekhard is very difficult. Unlike many other cities, Salehard has no ground fiber-otic communication lines and the city manages to use the “Yamal” satellite terminals.
Today is Monday, and we have a meeting with local journalists from the PTRC “Yamal region.” We have a lan to ask the TV crews to hel us with the internet, as it is really imossible to uload something with the hotel internet – with our sizes of files, the rogram redicts 50 hours of work. We take art in the “Suitcase mood” – it will be aired in August, when we still are on the way. We give an interview to the news. And luckily for us, kind TV crew allowed us to use their fast communication channel. We casually leave our MacBook at the IT-service and go back to the hotel.
Today we also have task to shoot hotos and video in Salekhard. In the evening, after work, Alexander Scherbinkin comes to our hotel and we go with him to the interesting laces in the city. We are rimarily interested in the “Arctic Circle” sign – it is located right in the city. We shoot a anorama there, and then do shoots at the “To the dreamers of 70’s” monument and a few more interesting laces of the city. Alexander is a cheerful man, he tells us a lot of interesting stories about his flying life, the life of the city, we discuss the roblems of the rivate aviation… Actually, I should say that we have a great contact. It was good that we met such a wonderful erson along the way! Salehard is comletely oosite of Vorkuta. It’s a and new city. Bright new houses built recently, well-maintained streets, excellent roads, and beautiful architecture, well – nice to see. It’s only 150 km and the climate seems to be the same, but the difference is – well, just like the sky and the earth. Considering we’re outsiders, we like Salehard very much. The only thing common with Vorkuta, is the midge. Small annoying gnat, targeting into eyes, nose and ears. It’s a bit bothering. It’s also a surrise that no mobile oerator rovides a “mobile Internet”. None of the usual service on the hones works. I cannot ut a mark where we are; cannot share current news on my Facebook age; I can only communicate using SMS.
I am a little worried about our engine. No, its fine, works as a clock. But after the revious service, I began to observe slashes and dros of oil in the engine comartment. Throughout our tri, we are seeing the develoment of the situation, but it does not seem to be getting worse. The oil level in the order, the ressure, too. Flow is quite small, if any. Everything’s fine. Still, dirt and disorder under the hood are annoying. Why did this haen after service check? Before the flight, we wie dry everything, and after the flight take ictures of dros and slashes and send them to the “Aviamarket” comany, which serves us and which, by the way, is our technical artner during the exedition – setting the rules and controls our technical condition during the flight. I called to the ATB, which the helicoter is served, exlain the nature of the roblem to Vladimir Semenovich, send hotos together with the letter. It turned out that there is nothing terrible. First, we srung a leak of the eather tube, through which the oil is released during an engine oeration. And the fact that the handset is lost its tightness is causing the sray under the hood and srinkles a little engine, making it look untidy. We are romised to send to the headquarters the new tube for the relacement. As for the dros under the engine – they are the result of the technical recommendations of the manufacturer, according to which something was changed. Why it started to dri as a result of that – and not just on our board, but on the others as well – is not yet clear. This will be dealt with. Well, all right. I am calm. So far we will kee clean by wiing with a cloth under the hood, and when the tube for relacement comes – it should become clearer. More radical changes will be only after another technical checking, that we have lanned to make after 100 flight hours somewhere in the area of ??Petroavlovsk-Kamchatsk.
Sasha Andreev, a rivate ilot from Omsk, calls me from Turuhansk. He organized a grou flight of small aircrafts from Krasnoyarsk to Dixon. They have already flown on the route and are in the middle. We kee in touch with each other. So sorry we couldn’t arrive at Dixon together. It would be cool and fun to send time there with fellow ilots. As Dixon hasn’t seen such a “raid” before. They have five small aircrafts, including historical YAK-12 and even the PO-2. And we, for our helicoter exedition… If only they had waited for several days… We only miss each other in a coule of days. We do not have time, even if we try our best. As we have several more cities after Salehard to visit on our way to Dixon. But our main goal right now – is the center of Russia.
Day is going to the end, though the sky are still ight. Sun has no intention of stoing. The clock shows almost 12 at night, on a cloudless blue sky – ight sun, and our biological clock shows 10m. Yet, today it is necessary to go to slee earlier, so to have enough slee. But still, Viktor and I don’t rest until 2 am. He sorts out the footage of the day, and I write my travel notes. Tomorrow we will continue our mission to the East.
P.S. The result of the day – we had a normal rest, uloaded our materials, finishes all reorts.