Bird's-eye View of The Russian Cities

One of the best ways to view the size and beauty of Russia is to do a low flying fly over. Simply magical. RTG will take you on an unforgettable scenic flightseeing tour of the spectaculalar Russian cites. During this unique tour you will not only see the great Russian ancient cities, enjoy unforgettable landscapes and learn interesting facts from the Russian and Soviet history, but also have the great possibility to fly and steer the best known Yak 18T. Accompanied by very experienced test pilots from the Russian Air Force you will feel yourself in comfort and remember your trip for a lifetime!

Day 1. Moscow
Arrival in Moscow. (The driver will be holding the sign Russia Travel group). Transfer to the hotel located in the city center. Accommodation at the 4* hotel in the city center. Free time.

Day 2. Moscow – Yaroslavl – Kostroma
Breakfast at the hotel.
9am – Meeting with a guide at the hotel lobby. Departure to air – base. An English – speaking representative will accompany you during your route.

10.30am – Arrival in aero club. Instruction, Pre – flight training, medical testing.
12.00am – Flight to Yaroslavl. This city is one of the pearls of Golden Ring of Russia a nice, beautiful city on the river Volga. In 2010 Yaroslavl will be celebrating the 1000th year anniversary of the foundation of Yaroslavl.
1.40pm – Arrival to Yaroslavl. Transfer to dinner. Free time for shopping, picture taking.
4.40pm – Flight to Kostroma.
Landing. Transfer to the hotel by car. Optional dinner at the typical Russian restaurant.
8.30pm – Meeting with a guide at the restaurant. Walking excursion around the city center. You will admire the beauty of the Upper Volga scenery, magnificent monuments of old architecture. The picturesque suburbs of Kostroma have long been a source of inspiration for many Russian artists. This combination of the monuments of old architecture and cozy provincial neo – classicism, the blend of the regular lay put and the wooden houses with an intricate lacy carvings on the facades,
creates the unique, unforgettable image of Kostroma. Transfer to the hotel. Accommodation for 1 night.

Day 3. Kostroma, Ivanovo, Nizhni Novgorod
Breakfast at the hotel.

9am – Meeting with the guide. Departure to excursion. You will see the group of sixteenth – and seventeenth – century monuments in the territory of Kostroma: the Church of the Manifestation of Christ, the complex of the Ipatievsky Monastery, the Church of the Resurrection – on – the – Debra and the Church of St. John the Baptist. Visit to the Kostroma Museum of History and Architecture.
1pm – Transfer to the aero – club.
1.30pm – Flight to Ivanovo. Ivanovo is a big industrial city halfway between Vladimir and Kostroma. Russians half – jokingly call this place 'the city of brides', because there are more women than men working at the city's textile productions.
2.15pm – Arrival to Ivanovo. Transfer to the restaurant.
Return to the aero – club.
5pm – Flight to Nizhni Novgorod. Nizhni Novgorod, Russia's third largest city, is an exciting city. Unlike Moscow and St. Petersburg, with their large numbers of Westerners, Nizhni Novgorod offers insights into life in Russia's heartland. In previous centuries, Nizhni Novgorod was a commercial hub of Russia, located at the strategic confluence of the Oka and Volga rivers. Today it is the "test site" for democratic reform and free market initiatives. If transition to a peaceful, democratic future is to occur in Russia, Nizhni Novgorod will be the pacesetter. You are a first-hand witness to a unique historical phenomena, a society moving from totalitarianism to democracy with all its ups and downs, joys and sorrows.
6.40pm – Arrival to Nizhni Novgorod.
Transfer to the city center. Dinner at the Russian restaurant. The restaurant is located on the picturesque bank of the river Volga. Free time for walking around, picture taking.

Day 4. Moscow
Breakfast at the hotel. Meeting with a guide at the hotel lobby. Departure to Excursion around the city. Transfer to the aero club.
2.30pm – Flight to Moscow.
5.30pm – Arrival to the aero – club not far from Moscow. Meeting with the representative of RTG and transfer to Moscow by foreign car. (Short city tour).
19.30pm – Dinner at the Russian restaurant.
Optional banya (Sauna).
Return to the hotel.

Day 5. Moscow
Breakfast at the hotel. Meeting with a guide at the hotel lobby.
10.00am Departure for excursion. The tour of Moscow City will present you one of the most beautiful sights of the capital of Russia.
We shall start at your hotel and organize this tour depending on its location but it certainly will include the Red Square with the Kremlin, St.Basil's Cathedral and GUM Department Store. Then we move to Gorky Street, Tverskaya Street today, Moscow's Broadway, which goes all the way from Sheremetyevo Airport to the Red Square. Then you’ll enjoy the panorama of Moscow from Sparrow hills. Turn around and watch the main building of Moscow State University. Local vendors will offer you matrioshkas and military shapkas and other souvenirs. Free time for shopping, picture taking.
19.00pm – Optional performance at the Bolshoi theatre/circus.
21.00pm – Farewell dinner at the Russian restaurant with folk show.

Day 6. Moscow
Breakfast at the hotel.
Meeting with a guide at the hotel lobby.
Transfer to the international airport. Departure.

Qualities of the Aircraft

Yakovlev was the leading light aircraft designer in Soviet times, producing a range of superb aircraft, all with the heritage of Second World War Yak –3's and – 9's – considered by many to be the best fighters of the war. The Yak 18T was designed as a multi-role light aircraft, and while a primary use was training Aeroflot pilots, it was widely used for more generalised flight training and light transport.

Under the Soviet system, all training aircraft have to be aerobatic, and the Yak 18T does possess an extraordinary range of abilities – it is sensitive enough to be a really good aerobatic aircraft, while being stable enough to be an efficient instrument platform.

Qualities of the Aircraft
- Incredibly rugged.
- Very good short field performance. 
- Relatively economical for the power (360 hp). 
- Very spacious with good load carrying (we have seen one in Russia with four adults and three children in it!)
- Extremely responsive with lovely controls - far more so than any other 'cabin' aircraft.
Load Carrying
- Empty weight of a standard aeroplane is 1,217 kilos and maximum take-off weight is 1,650 kilos – so load is 433 kilos – (953lbs).
- The historical background was that the Yak 18T was designed as an aerobatic trainer for airline pilots (i.e. Aeroflot) and also for good short field performance.  For this reason there was no reason to increase maximum gross weight more than required by its intended use.
- Yakovlev however conducted extensive tests at a gross weight of 2,000 kilos (i.e. 350 kilos (770lbs) over max gross) no less – the aircraft still took off in 700 metres and handling was fine.