Moscow Domodedovo Briefing

When this page was originally written, Russia conducted flight operations where altitude was measured in metres. Somewhat surprisingly, Russia now use Flight Levels above Transition Level, which has made things a whole lot simpler. Below Transition Level they still use height measured in QFE. The airline I work for conduct operations on QNH, and supply a handy conversion table for each airport to convert height (QFE) to altitude (QNH) below transition level.

A word about Weather Forecasts in Russia - they seem to be incredibly pessimistic - it is quite common to see Fog, Thunderstorms, Snow and high winds all on the same forecast. They are also inconsistent - for example, CBs may be forecast at Domodedovo, but not 20nm up the road at Sheremetievo. Make of that what you will. The synoptic chart will give you a clue as to what is likely.

Arrival

The arrival will always be WT with a FK1 transition, even if your flight plan implies FK2. This is probably because there is something under the flight path of the FK2 transition that the Russians don't want you to see.

It is possible to overfly the airfield once, twice or not at all during the approach. It is also highly likely that the final base turn will be tight, potentially leaving you high and fast. The final turn to intercept the localiser is often down to you. That said, you might end up flying at tree-top level 25 miles from touchdown.

If you are on an elongated approach, look out for Ramenskoye Airfield - longest runway in Europe at 5400m. This is where the Tu-144 Konkordski was test flown, also the Borat (make that Buran) Space Shuttle, and finally it hosts the Moscow airshow. The airfield is about 10 miles NE of Domodedovo, runway 12/30 by a river.

Back to DME. The runways aren't the smoothest, apart from some of 14L/32R which has been partially resurfaced (its bumpy again Dec 2011). The follow-me cars are excellent, pity we don't see them anywhere else (except Barcelona). The rest is routine.

Departure

De-icing is carried out off stand. It is a good idea to put an early call in with Delivery to co-ordinate a start time if de-icing is required as they won't give clearance earlier than 15 minutes before STD.

A good opportunity while taxi-ing out to see some old Russian types, like the Tu-154 (727-ski), Il-62 (VC-10-ski) and some pink 757s if that is your thing. Other than that fairly routine. Regarding SIDs, it will normally be a WT departure, however, if routing via Vitebsk or Minsk, it may be a DK departure. Call Krug passing 200m QFE, though they don't seem to mind if you're a bit late. In my airline, we do other stuff at the same time which seems more important. Don't be surprised if Krug send you in totally the opposite direction to what your expecting. In my experience, this is more often the case than not. A nice gentle rate of climb will afford you nice views over the city. They generally seem to be able to get you away more efficiently than they brought you in. That said, about one time in four, they will vector you East!