<<To the previous page One morning I accompanied Mark and Valerie to their private school and delivered a talk. I called it A Brief Overview of Canada. The school has asked me to arrange penpals for the upper grades so that the students might practice their English.

Don made a visit to the control tower. He found the differences in the controlling methods interesting.

Don's comments on that visit:
Sergei arranged for me to have a tour of the ATC facility in Krasnador while Sheila was at the school. I found this very interesting.

The airspace configuration, sectorization, and radar equipment is comparable to the Canadian system, however, the communication equipment appeared to be older technology.

The "tower or VFR" control system is quite different.

The ground controller and the tower controller (they call him the 'start' controller) sit in different buildings. The ground controller is in what I thought of as the tower above the terminal building.

He sits at a desk within an enclosed 'office' with windows on 2 walls, that is within the actual cab. The location behind the double panes allows only limited visibility of the airport.

The start controller sits in a small 'mini' tower right at the runway threshold and controls only the runway. I asked what happens when they have to change runways and the answer is that a truck comes and takes the controller to the other tower at the other threshold. Interesting!

We also had a personal tour of an oil distribution company. The company is owned by a good friend of Sergei who just happens to be another Sergei.

Lastly, we were invited to a friend's home which is built along North American lines using vinyl siding instead of brick. Igor, Maggie and their daughter Natasha made us feel very welcome in their home and treated us to a wonderful meal. Jointly prepared by Vita.

Additional comments from Don:

I was lucky enough on the trip home (thanks to Sergei) to be invited up to the cockpit of the TU 154 for the take off and landing. This proved to be very interesting. I found the Russian crew to operate with the same professionalism that I have encountered on all my flight deck observations over the years with various western airlines.

The trips we have taken, while working in the Middle East, have been chosen with the aim of experiencing different lifestyles. Visiting Sergei and family in Krasnador has been an experience of a lifetime.

We will always remember their warm hospitality and kind attentions. No matter where they are in the world we will always consider them to be some of our dearest friends.

Don and Sheila MacArthur

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Don and Sheila MacArthur

Sergei Segienko & Family