Chaika Amphibian Southern Sun from Samara to Darwin Via Moscow & London

November, 2019

Many of us might have heard about Michael Smith from Melbourne, Australia.

Michael flew his “Searey” amphibian around the world back in 2015 & named the journey “The Southern Sun”.You may find details at the beautifully composed page here.

As it turned out it was just the beginning of the story.

Early 2019 Michael has ordered a brand new Chaika L65 SeaBear amphibian at the Russian manufacturer SeaBear in Samara, Russia. The aircraft was ready, tested, flown & registered by November 2019 & it was time to make the final preparations for the new Southern Sun Adventure – from London, UK to Darwin, Australia

But the question was how exactly to get out from the factory in Russia & arrive to London?

Various routes were considered with focus on leaving Russian territory via Black Sea & proceeding across Southern Europe to the UK. But when one decides to connect by a direct line the city of Samara & the city of London, it turns out the easiest route goes via Moscow, Belarus & Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea.

That was the route which Michael has approved, & in 3 leisurely days after leaving the factory at UWWQ, the Southern Sun has arrived to White Waltham Airfield, West London EGLM.

There were only three stops along the route – Moscow Myachkovo UUBM, Moscow Orlovka UUTO (check this page for details) & the uttermost western Russian frontier UMKK Kaliningrad. Onwards there was just natural habitat for SeaBear – Baltic Sea & the North Sea.