Eternal outskirts of Moscow and beyond (LOTS of pics!)

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112. The Tu-124 was not a big success, so replacement was designed - the Tu-134.

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113.

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114. Tu-134 is the third exhibit i've flown as passenger. Only once, from Ufa (the capital of Bashkiria) to Anapa. Nothing special - just another turbojet airliner!

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115. One of its monikers is "the wistle".

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116. But its old fashioned turbofans can produce not only the whistling sounds, but an overwhelming roar on a takeoff! But only from the outside observer - in the passenger cabine it's a quite moderate noise. "Hear me roar, my grandpa is a Tu-16 bomber!"
 
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117. The Tu-154 was the most important airliner for a soviet people. It has a long production life, two major upgrades, and its fleet of more than 1000 units carried more than 1.5 billions of people over thousands of billions kilometers.

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118. This is the fourth exhibit (and the most imporatant one) i've flown.

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119.

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120.

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121.

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122.

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123. People literally fell in love with its streamlined design. I did to. For me it's still the most beautiful airliner on the planet.

As a kid i've glued together two A4 sheets and painted Tu-154 on it. There was some contest of kids drawings on my mom's workplace and they gave me a diploma for my "masterpiece'!
 
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124. Yes, this is the supersonic Tu-144, "the Soviet Concorde".

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125. It looks nothing we use to in a civil aviation.

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126. The world of supersonic speeds is totally alien compared to sub-sonic cruisers.

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127. Now only military forces can afford to travel faster than speed of sound. But in the 1960's there was a hope to everyone.

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128. The utterly otherworldly design. Its nose can bow down when pilots were in need of better forward view during landing, taxi and take-off.


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129.

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130. Over the "Ту-144" sign you can see retractable little wings (in fully folded position).


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131.

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132. It's like a science fiction spacecraft.

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133.
 
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134. For now the era of a civil supersonic flights is totally over. No supersonics like Concorde or Tu-144. No space shuttles. Only hope still remains.

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135. The last, but least - the Mach-3 supersonic interceptor, the MiG-25!

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136. The deceptively simple soviet answer to an extremely complex and futuristic american Black Bird.

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137. The vulgar display of power!

That was it. We finished our walk through museum and went onwards to Bashkiria.

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138. And everyone carried something inside themselves from that museum!

That's all for this week!
 
Those are awesome pictures.
I’d love to see that in person.
Thanks for sharing.

Thank you! I wish to live to the time when we all can visit any museum in the world just like that.
 

It's actually a very interesting and deep thing - the soviet copying! As i've learned from memoirs, the main goal never about copying a thing, but to adopt the technology behind it. When Tupolev bureau copied B-29 the most impact was to means of soviet industry - new materials, new tools, new production processes. So DNA of Boeing lives through most of soviet post-war aircrafts, but sometimes in a way one's less expecting.

In the result, the Tu-154 has nothing in common with B-727 except layout and some legacy instruments on a pilot's panels. Tu-144 and Concorde are far more different, than B-737 and A320.

Same thing was with soviet cars, domestic appliances and electronics. The body design seems to be 1:1 copy, but inside - a totally different design, adapted to means of soviet industry and availability of domestic electronic components. The most soviet "copies" of early Intel MCU's was a complete new design with same ISA as origin. Like the AMD and Intel x86 MCU's now, but without licensing.

Some things soviets were happy to just xerox, but since the means of production were very different - they just can't. So they re-invented this things anew, with a compatibility with original product.
 
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I actually meant "xerox" to Fechter's comment right above mine--I've always been interested in aircraft, spacecraft, etc--if it moves without rolling on the ground I probably have an interest in it. ;) If I had been physically and mentally capable of it, I wanted to be an astronaut, or an astrophysicist, aircraft designer, etc. (but I was never good enough at anything for any of that).

(I did work at Honeywell CFSG for a few years back in the late 1980s-90s, final testing avionics and cockpit displays for a few commercial aircraft types like the MD-8x, A320, A340, 737-xxx, etc), which taught me things both fascinating and frightening about the airline industry).
 
I actually meant "xerox" to Fechter's comment right above mine

Ha, it seems like i tend to overthink things! Anyway, it turned out well, with a little addendum about soviet copying culture.

taught me things both fascinating and frightening about the airline industry

Whoa, it's actually a very cool occupation you got back then! I think i got what you writing about, but through a memoirs of a soviet airspace engineers. As for recent "frighting and fascinating" things - the story about MCAS on 737 MAX was very disturbing for me. The most frightening part was about pilots still has control but doing wrong things to rectify situation. No "last moment save" like in a movies...
 
The same day we went to Civil Aviation museum we arrived to Priyutovo, Bashkiria! The first thing i've noticed is the continuation of demolishing of old two storey 1950's houses.

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01. Here is the one of my childhood views going away. That row of houses on the Sovetskaya street.

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02.

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03.

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04.

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05.

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06.

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07.

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08.

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09.

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10. It should be an intense feeling - seeing the walls you know from your first years of life through a window of a half-demolished building. I didn't had such experience, but someone has to!
 
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11.

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12.

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13. Brics from a building is staked nicely on the pallets. Kind of recycling, like with plastic, glass or paper!

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14.

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15. The old canteen is closed for years, but building is still there.

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16.

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17. Local school number 4. Some of my local friends went to this school.

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18.
 
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19. This was the my first time for a Sur-Ron tuning. I've decided to switch stock 48T sproket for a 58T. Less speed, more torque - just how i like it!

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20. And, of course, something has to happen - and i've broken the bolt head. In half.

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21. I wasn't been equipped for unscrewing broken bolts. But i was in luck - my father's school classmate still lived here in Priyutovo and had a nice home workshop.

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22. And more than anything - he has the skills! Old school powahhh! Thank you, uncle Yuri, for the help.

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23. The remaining things to do was simple - to adjust and lube a chain.

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24. The bolts was from uncle Yuri secret stash. They should not lose them heads like the chinese ones from a Sur-Ron stock complectation.

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25.

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26. Here is the culprits.

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27. Those bolts are probably older than i am!
 
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28.

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29. Instead of a "white powdery" thread lock from stock bolts i've put more common "the blue liquid one".

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30. The maschine ready to run!

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31. Me and my daughter took our bikes and went in different directions. Each of us has its own things to do and places to be.
 
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32. The meadow in front of the houses has its own secret life. "Find a cat"!

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33. Here he is.

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34. And this lady cat was not so shy.

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35. She didn't hesitate to ask for petting or food.

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36. And then small horde of goats came.

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37.

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38. They didn't hesitate either!
 
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39. At last, time to ride. It's been a hot mid day, so i didn't take many photos and rather scout some places for further night shootings.

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40.

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41.

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42.

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43.

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44.

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45.

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46.

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47.

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48.
 
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49.

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50.

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51.

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52. Near the source of Glubokiy ("The deep one") creek. Not deep at all, it can be spotted by greener vegetation and reeds sticking there and there.

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53.

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54.
 
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55. By the time i went back it was early evening.

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56. The thistles was in full bloom.

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57. Thistle fluff everywhere!

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58.

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59.

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60. Suddenly, a buzzing sound appears!

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61. I've asked around, and the answer was that Priyutovo has its own amateur aeronaut, who built motor-powered paraplane and often flyes it above the settlement.

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62. Only several hours ago, when i've edited this photo, i've noticed that from a meadow in front of our house one can see a mosque on the "other side" of historical Transsiberian rairoad. I did't noticed this for years!

That was only first day of summer 2022 visit to Bashkiria. More pictures are on its way! But for now it's all for this week.
 
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The mid-day survey trips was done with. Time to evening and night trips! My first evening trip this time was to natural-gas processing plant. Yes, again!

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01. My way to the gas plant was through oat fields.


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02. There was chamomiles.

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03. And thristles.

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04. And oats.

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05. And powerlines.

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06. That was a good, warm evening.

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07.

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08.

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09.

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10. I've forgot what is the name of the blue flowers in the foreground.
 
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11. There is the gas plant.

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12. With its beautiful gas flare.

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13. The best views to that plant at sunset.

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14. The moon was high above oat fields.

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15. In some distance from the operating part of a gas plant was the decommissioned part.

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16. Those two dead gas flares was out of order for several years.

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17. The fireweeds. Or in Russian - "Ivan-chai", or "Ivan-tea" in translation.

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18. Tme to explore a little this abandoned part of gas plant.

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19. There is a huge pit in the middle of an empty path of land.

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20. It's looks that pit is used to store some garbage.
 
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21.

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22.

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23.

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24. There is some metal snakes in the grass.

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25.

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26.

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27.

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28.

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29.

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30. There is some cool industrial landscapes one can compose around that improvised garbage pit!
 
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31. Those pipes goes to the gas flares.

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32.

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33.

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34.


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35.

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36.

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37. This cisterns was connected to those pipes. Some nasty stuff was in there in need to be incinerated!

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38.
 
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39. Time to move on. I've passed through the operating part of the gas plant.

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40. The gas plant was all hissing and humming in the twilight silence.

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41. I've shot this pic almost incidentally. This is a boiler room, i didn't notice first time its walls has this peculiar mosaic decorations!

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42.

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43.

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44. Always loved those spheroids from outer space!

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45.

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46.

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47.
 
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48. I've took that traditional selfie against post-sunset gas processing plant view.

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49.

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50. There was a night fields ahead of my way.

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51. I've took two other shots of the gas reservoirs on my way.

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52. And went further into the night.

And night, as i've established earlier, is not an excuse for not to take photos. On the contrary! But that would be an another story. And this is all for this week.
 
It's a shame about that black garbage. ☹️
I've gave it some thought. Looks like a sloppy job to comply with the ecological regulations while demolishing an old decommissioned site. The artificial hole in the clay soil, in the middle of nowhere - all this points to temporary reservoir to hold moderately dangerous waste. So the real shame it is took them so long to finish the works...

Several years ago i've had a conversation with ecological engineer of Moscow Oil Refinery Plant. She was all jittery when i've asked her about funny smells or colors: "Where do you saw that?! When do you smelled this?!". Moscow local authorities and citizens gave her hard time for sure! In Bashkiria all this seems far more laid back.
 
Nice, very nice.
video of some slow ride in silence plz. Film little bit around and your bike too. I see your slow wound motor and big tire to shine on these lands.
Better late than never!


DIY hubmotor e-bike vs Sur-Ron LBX noise emission

All audio recorded with a constant gain, no additional SFX or correction.

Accelerations, decelerations, dead stops, flybys and slowbys - it's all in the video!

Sur-Ron LBX with a road tires (Петрошина Л-264). No other mods except 58T rear sprocket.

DIY hubmotor moped built with Teleport Medium frame, Nucular controller 12F + QS 273 v3 40H 6T hub motor, 20s28p NCA32 18650 battery, DNM USD-8 fork and sporting offroad tires (Петрошина Л-229).
 
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