MOSCOW, December, 20. /TASS/. Every year, the Mikhail Somov departs from Arkhangelsk to sail along the Northern Sea Route: the ship carries food, construction materials, equipment and people. During the route the Mikhail Somov visits more than 30 meteorology stations and crosses six Arctic seas. The ship crew works together with the 2nd Arkhangelsk aviation team. A dozen times every day helicopters deliver cargo and people to the shore and back.

It is impossible to do without helicopters in the Arctic. Ships cannot get close enough to many stations, and thus personnel and consignments are taken by air. Work begins at sunrise: the alarm may beep at five, or at seven - the further towards the east and closer to winter, the later the beep goes off.

Helicopter crews change often: new pilots learn how to work in the Arctic conditions. The current crew is: flight instructor Vasily, captain Alexander, first officer Artyom, and Dmitry, an engineer.

The helicopters from Arkhangelsk fly not only in the Arctic, but also in the Antarctic, in Africa, in Afghanistan. Anyway, the crews say trips with the Mikhail Somov are most interesting. They require creativity, thinking outside the box amid rough and changing weather conditions.

High precision

From the sky, the world looks very special. It’s endless.

Back in childhood, Alexander Komarov, would climb a haystack to watch the sky. He dreamed to become a pilot. While at secondary school, he was getting ready to learn being a pilot. The boy got sports titles in skiing and athletics.

He graduated from the Ufa Aviation Technical University, and was sent to work in Arkhangelsk. He has piloted Mil Mi-2, Mi-4, and practically all modified Mi-8. He was the regiment’s deputy commander, and a flight instructor. In 2017, Alexander started working in the civil aviation, and had to begin afresh. He joined the 2nd team as a first officer.

"In the Arctic, the climate conditions are tough: in summer fogs stay all the time, and winds. We land ‘by choice,’ that is while in the air we choose touchdown areas. All flights are above water. The areas with very few visual references, landing on deck, the birds, and unequipped pads," the pilot said.

Alexander works with the Mikhail Somov for the first time. "We are descending, I watch and think: here, our blades will cut everything over there - the crane, the masts."

Alexander will never forget the first, training flights on Mi-2.

"The feeling was if the ground slides from under the feet. It was the first introductory flight: left-right, a turn, a spiral, and then we flew at an extremely low altitude over the town, and landed. The instructor asked: "How is it?" I couldn’t utter a word. I couldn’t believe I was flying. I wished I could stay at the airfield."

The next stage was to learn to pilot Mi-8. One of the routes was above his native village. A day before the flight, he called mother saying next day he would be in the air. The parents dropped the work and were guessing which of the helicopters their son was piloting.

When a third-year student, Alexander went in for parachuting. "The first jump - you can’t understand anything, and then - it’s such a pleasure. The heart beats like with love. And then, the dreams are to jump from higher, and yet higher. We jumped from 4,000 meters - it’s almost a minute-long freefall." Alexander has made 860 jumps.

It was not easy to become a student once again, now in the civil aviation. The teachers were strict, he said, and yet they did share all secrets.

"It is interesting to fly in the Arctic. Some tasks are of high accuracy - for example, to put a diesel inside a building, using a helicopter. The pressure during such missions is endless."

Northern people are "as simple as water"

"I was offered this mission. It’s long been my dream to sail onboard [the Mikhail] Somov. The only concern I had was that the mission is long. It took me the first week to get adapted onboard, everything seemed weird. And then the work began, the flights, when I could see the Arctic’s beauty - the face remained beaming all the time. Not so many people get the opportunity to sail along the Northern Sea Route, to see these cold seas, the polar stations. It’s hardly possible to explain the emotions: the joy, though fear sometimes," Artyom Abramov, the first officer said. This year’s navigation is his first experience of the kind.

Artyom was born in Ashgabat (Turkmenistan), his grandfather was a military, and the family kept moving from one location to another. At some point, he lived in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Region, in the Tarko-Sale village.

"Back then, in Tarko-Sale, when at school, I could see very often helicopters flying above the village. With my friend we discussed how great it could be to see everything from up there. That was the beginning of my dream. In 2011, I graduated from secondary school and went to study at the Omsk piloting and technical college."

Artyom chose not to return home after the course. He wanted to see the world. The young pilot sent out his CV to different teams, and received an invitation to the team in Arkhangelsk.

"The work in the Arctic, in Arkhangelsk or in the region, differs a lot. The weather may change quickly. The flight plans include taking off the deck, when masts are so near, it is complicated. When I was allowed the first takeoff, my wish was to land as soon as possible."

The first officer on board [the Mikhail] Somov works mostly as a dispatcher, a liaison between the ship and the helicopter.

"The crew is in the sky, I am on the bridge. The sailing continues, tasks keep changing, I say how to position the ship best so that the wind allows takeoffs and landings. The tension here is high, and everyone must be top responsible. The responsibility is huge. I communicate with the crew permanently, worry for them."

At evening meetings they discuss tasks for the coming day. In the morning, the engineers are the first to come to the helicopter, to have it ready for the flight.

When on the bridge, Artyom turns on the radio station and the antenna on the ship, which helps pilots to "see" the ship in bad weather. He calls the dispatcher, confirms the takeoff permission. "Off we go to work as planned."

"With what to compare flights? With nothing, I’d say. It’s the absolute freedom. We all may have problems, but when you sit there and press the "Start" button - everything disappears. All thoughts, all problems. What remains is your pure mind and balance."

Artyom’s attitude to the North is special: the North is the home. And the people in the North are "as simple as water."

"Work with [the Mikhail] Somov is stress-free. It is filled with inspiration. This country is endless, and it causes admiration. We admire the people who work and live in the complicated conditions. As for the Arctic, I’ve fallen in love with it! It is so different: it can be severe, can be beautiful, and can be kind. All together."

A helicopter in the Arctic is nothing special, and every day helicopters make flights to the shore and back. A precise and dangerous job. Early in the morning, quite often even before breakfast, the cargo team, a part of the expedition and some meteorologists are taken to stations. On the first days of the route, some may be watching the scenes through windows, but as time goes, as the ship moves further to the east, people onboard the ship pay less and less interest to the views. Every day is a routine day. The fatigue is only growing.

"He pilots fine," Vasily Sokorev, a flight instructor, said about Artyom. "He has put and picked the cargo off the deck. As yet, he does not fly in tough conditions, like, for example, pitching or fog."

"I put on the uniform and feel the pride. I get proud for myself, for the profession. The relations in the team are like in a family. Everything is simple," Artyom said.

First flights are shocking

"To me, it’s also very interesting to teach what I know. It’s important that I can share my skills. At first, I was nervous to be an instructor, as the responsibility is enormous. Now I see, there’s a lot I can share. It’s interesting, though not easy. Like in any teaching process, some would grasp instantly, and others require additional explanations," said Vasily Sokorev, a flight instructor. "During the work, the guys listen to me. We do discuss almost all questions, and in case it’s possible to make a joint decision - this is what we do."

Vasily has dreamed about the sky from the childhood. The greatest impressions came from books and movies about pilots, he said. When an undergraduate, he studied at a pilot club, and even made a few flights on Yakovlev Yak-52 and Antonov An-2. Was parachuting, too. Later on, he graduated from the Omsk college and went to work in Arkhangelsk. "Many would ask me, why there, since I come from Novosibirsk. My answer is - I wanted to see the North."

Back then, Vasily did not think he would remain there for long. Since then, 15 years have passed.

"The work with [the Mikhail] Somov is special. Alexander came to the civil aviation four years ago. He is an experienced pilot. I teach him the details of working with a ship in the Arctic. It’s not teaching him afresh, it’s just to explain to him the specific details we have here. Adaptation is necessary of course. Artyom sails on [the Mikhail] Somov for the first time."

Vasily has been working with [the Mikhail] Somov since 2010. At first, he was shocked by how a helicopter lands onto a sailing ship.

"The very first flights were rather not joy, but shock. You can’t really understand what’s going on. Yet, the more experience you become, the more pleasure you receive from every flight."

At many weather stations, the crew would keep the engine on - to save the time. They may conduct a dozen return flights between the ship and the shore within one day. The task is to be bringing cargo until it’s dark. The blades keep slamming the freezing air. Passengers may leave the helicopter, when engineer Dmitry gives a signal. Then people press themselves into the snow, waiting for the helicopter to fly away taking with it the icy swirl.

"Dima (Dmitry) is our conductor. He points to a location for landing. So that we could land straight, without bending aside. When he jumps onto the ground, he feels how solid the soil is. At times, he may take a pry bar to check the ground around the wheels. He’s got the most mobile work in the crew," Vasily said.

Boys continue to dream about the sky. Over the recent year, five young first officers have joined the team. "Not all want to be bloggers. There’s hope many want to fly," Vasily said happily.