T
hey could have meant the plane, or
just visiting the country generally.
But there was a high level of
concern amongst the few with
whom I’d discussed my impending
research trip, I suspect fuelled
by the niggling tales of negativity
on the evening news. We seem to
only hear the bad news on Russia.
But I’d experienced this before
and found that regardless of
what we may conceive about
other countries and what
arguments may exist between our
governments, the real people in
the towns, especially away from
the big cities, just want to get on
with their lives, look after their
families, educate their kids and
invariably are willing to reach out
and help their fellow man. The
remote regions of Russia I visited
in May of 2017 would prove no
different.
One thing I’ve worked out along
life’s journey is that trepidation
generated through preconceived
ideas can shepherd you away from
great opportunity. It’s partly why
I never told anyone I was heading
off to London, let alone around
the world, in my little SeaRey. Iwas worried I’d be told I was a fool
and in turn psyched out of going.A bigger boat
After the circumnavigation in
Southern Sun, as much as I love
her having provided a wondrous
adventure and she saved my life, I
knew that future missions would
need a bigger, more suitable
aircraft. If being honest, I was in
fact lucky to have made it home.
I knew I wanted to stick with a
f lying boat and towards the end
of my journey I’d made a wish
list of the key attributes required
for the next Southern Sun: two
diesel engines with constant speed
props, minimum 120-knot cruise
speed, four to six seats, built-in
long-range tanks, all composite
construction and marinised for
salt water operations.
I had already looked all across
the world and believed that such
an aircraft didn’t exist, that I’d
need to have it built as a one-off,
frankly a scary exercise fraught
with danger. My concern wasn’t
just knowing what an enormous
project that would be, but as
Donald Rumsfeld had said, andmuch like many parts of my
round the world f light, the biggest
issue would be the “unknown
unknowns”, the things I didn’t
even know I didn’t know.
I travelled to Oshkosh to
conduct research. There was some
hope on the diesel front with
Superior working hard on the
Gemini engine, but it still seems
to be years away. I spoke to some
aircraft engineers who pretty
much scoffed at the idea of the
plane I sought. I stumbled across
a very rugged looking three-seat
amphibian from Russia on display,
looking like a more agricultural
version of a Searey. Talking to the
builder with a mixture of English,
Russian and gesticulation and
looking at a brochure, it seemed
they also had a twin aircraft.
They seemed to take salt water
operational issues seriously and
while pretty rugged and simple,
maybe it would be a step.
On returning to Australia I
searched for any information I
could find. The aircraft I had seen
at Oshkosh were being built in the
city of Samara, east of Moscow
on the Volga River. It seemedFlying the
Russian Seaplanes MICHAEL SMITH
You’re going to
Russia to test fly
a plane? Really,
is it safe? SeaRey
circumnavigation
veteran Michael
Smith found the
answer.
30
AUSTRALIAN FLYING November – December 2017Russian
Bear