Australian Flying — November-December 2017

to be a hub for water f lying and
specifically f lying boats. Following
ever expanding YouTube links I
found three different companies
building all-composite amphibious
planes in the one town. I was
intrigued, and was keen to visit to
discover them first hand.
Upon receiving an invitation
from the Royal Aero Club to an
awards night in London, I knew
I had the perfect opportunity;
return home from London via
Russia. Emails were exchanged
and one of the manufacturers,
Dmitry, would collect me from
the airport. They had arranged
for me to stay at the hotel right on
the airfield where the planes were
built. This was sounding both
interesting and pretty serious.

Russian welcome
I was met at the airport by Dmitry
and Valentine. One of the factory
owners, Dmitry spoke limited
English, but far more than I
speak Russian. Valentine spoke
very good English and was an
aeronautical engineer. On the
way to the field he explained that
Samara was the “home of f lying

boat design in all of Russia” before

proudly adding “also is home of

Russian rocketry, we built the

rocket that took Yuri Gagarin

into space.” Then bizarrely, “We

think is very good you start your

circumnavigation and launch your

film on April 12th, Yuri Gagarin

National Holiday in Russia.”

Okay... I couldn’t bring myself to

explain it was a coincidence.

As the explanations slowly

unfolded, it was explained that

Samara University has a very

strong aeronautical division and

that many graduates work for the

Chaika Design Bureau, the source

of all these f lying boats. Valentine

proudly advised that his father

had attended there and designed

aircraft, while his daughter is now

enrolled to continue the family

tradition. Surely nowhere else

in the world is a whole town so

dedicated to such an obtuse and

frankly old fashioned form of

f lying. Given my historical passion

for the glory days of travel and the

Ships that Flew, I was feeling like

I’d arrived in Shangri La rather

than the middle of Russia.

After a good night’s sleep and

lovingly prepared if somewhat

unique food (I still don’t know

what it was, but think stodgy salty

sweet milky porridge, for dinner!),

I was given guided tours of the

planes around the airfield, with

a 450-metre tarmac runway and

australianflying.com.au 31

November – December 2017 AUSTRALIAN FLYING

MAIN IMAGE: A brace

of Antonov AN-2s in

Irkutsk, Siberia.

BELOW: The mighty

Volga River at Samara.

BOTTOM: AeroVolga

LA-8, certified 8-seat

amphibian: US$1.3m!