“Nome is located on the
southern coast of the Seward Peninsula,
approximately 540 air miles northwest of Anchorage. There are no roads
connecting Nome to any major city. Half of the 4,000 population are Native
Alaskan Eskimos. Nome has a unique
combination of traditional Eskimo culture and a gold rush past. Rent a vehicle
and tour the 300-plus
miles of road system surrounding Nome. Drive to the Eskimo
village of Teller,
see the many remnants of Nome's gold rush past,
and look for wildlife such as moose,
bear,
reindeer,
or musk
oxen. Visitors can have a picnic at Salmon Lake Campground, go
on a walking tour of the town and visit the museum, shop for Native arts and
crafts, or visit with the friendly residents.”
Logistics: Nome
(PAOM) is a roughly three hour flight by Cirrus from Anchorage. Consult this FAA website
for general information on flying in Western Alaska.
Nome is also the embarkation point
for a VFR
flight over the Bering Straits to Provideniya
Bay, Russia. The Alaska Airmen’s Association
sponsors an annual group trip along this route in early August each year.
Below is some general information
and procedures extracted from the FAA
Alaska Supplement to the AIM, Russian Aeronautical Information
Publication (AIP), notams and other air traffic procedural
documents on making the VFR trip to Russia.
A. Route Description.
Waypoint |
Latitude |
Longitude |
Track |
Distance |
BC (PROVIDENIYA BAY NDB) |
64.22.7N |
173.14.6W |
020 / 200 |
54 |
**MONUD |
64.47.9N |
172.41.5W |
020 / 200 |
44 |
NALID |
65.08.2N |
172.13.0W |
019 / 199 |
47 |
KADAT |
65.30.0N |
171.43.2W |
063 / 243 |
34 |
LA (LAVRENTIYA NDB) |
65.35.0N |
171.00.8W |
026 / 206 |
37 |
KILAK |
65.51.0N |
170.31.0W |
090 / 270 |
73 |
BATNI |
65.42.2N |
168.58.4W |
US/Russian Border |
|
**Note MONUD intersection in table
above is not on the VFR Chart but Russian ATS may request you to report this
point. It is in the Russian AIP and Jeppesen charts.
Route Width:
10 kilometers
Authorized Minimum and Maximum Route Altitudes: 1500-3000
meters
Route Availability: Route is available for operations 2100/0400 UTC
Winter, 2000/0300 UTC Summer except Saturday and Sunday. Consult Russian VFR
Enroute Chart YKD-11 and Russian Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP)
Rules of the Air and Air Traffic Services (RAC) 3-2.100.
B. Advanced flight permission
required.
Request for single flight permissions of foreign civil aircraft on B-369 must
be submitted in accordance with procedures contained in the Russian AIP a
minimum of 5 full working days in advance of intended flight. It is
recommended that flight permission is requested at least 14 full working days
in advance..
B-369 begins at the U.S./Russian border and is ENTIRELY within Russian
airspace.
Pilots need to be familiar with and comply with all Russian Laws and
Regulations while operating in Russian airspace including Customs, Immigration,
and Agriculture, etc.
A valid passport, Russian Visa and Border Permit is required.
Consult the Russian AIP or Jeppessen for pertinent aeronautical flight
information.
C. 4096 Code transponder required for operation on B-369.
Each person operating an aircraft
into or out of the United States on B-369 shall operate the transponder,
including altitude encoding equipment if installed, and shall reply on the
appropriate code or as assigned by Nome Flight Service Station (FSS). In addition, the aircraft shall comply with
the transponder requirements and ADIZ penetration procedures of 14 CFR part
99..
D. ICAO flight plan
required.
All aircraft intending to operate on
B-369 to or from the U.S. must file an ICAO flight plan one (1) hour before
intended departure. Aircraft departing the U.S. must file the ICAO flight
plan with Nome Alaska FSS. The estimated border crossing time at BATNI
and Russian flight permission number
must be included in the Remarks section of the ICAO flight plan.
Flight planned cruising altitude for
VFR flight on B-369 SHALL be in meters using QNH altimeter setting in
accordance with Russian AIP .
E. Transportation Security
Administration (TSA) waiver required.
In accordance with Special Notice ... Operations to/from Locations
Outside the U.S. Issued as a domestic and international NOTAM, a waiver must be
obtained from the U.S. TSA prior to operations on B-369 to or from the U.S.
Waiver application must submitted at least seven (7) days in advance.
Application form and further information is available in TSA Waiver Section.
F. Route Procedures
Aircraft departing the U.S. will be
assigned a discreet transponder code by Nome FSS in accordance with Defense VFR
(DVFR) procedures. Aircraft delayed more than 30 minutes from their
flight plan departure time notify Nome FSS of the delay. Once airborne if
estimated border crossing time at BATNI changes by more than 10 minutes,
aircraft must notify Nome FSS of their new BATNI estimate.
West bound
aircraft from the U.S.to Russia must contact Lavrentiya Tower on
freq 131.1 for permission to cross the Russian border and altitude assignment
10 minutes prior to their estimated time over BATNI.
East bound aircraft
from Russia to the U.S. shall request permission from
Lavrentiya Tower on freq 131.1 to contact Nome FSS over KADAT with their
estimated time over BATNI and request a discreet transponder code assignment
for U.S. border crossing.
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