The Baltics - Tallinn & Riga

(Source: http://euroheritage.net/warsawpact.jpg - shading of city names and travel route added)

I do not remember the details of our welcome dinner. I do remember being told about a change in our itinerary. Instead of staying in Tallinn, we were flying that evening to Riga, Latvia, some 280 kilometers (175 miles) to the south. That news caused some grumbling among our tired group of travelers, but after dinner our buses drove us to Tallinn's small airport.

I am not normally a nervous flyer, but I did feel a little anxious as we boarded a twin-engine prop airplane operated by Aeroflot («Аэрофлот» in Russian), the state-owned Soviet airline. Perhaps it was a combination of fatigue and the small size of the plane compared to airliners I was used to. But also, whether warranted or not, I had minimal confidence in Aeroflot and the Soviet aircraft industry. My worry increased as we watched the airport workers pile our luggage in the aisle at the back of the plane - almost to the cabin ceiling. I knew that was not standard procedure. Many memories have faded after 40+ years, but I distinctly recall looking back at the stack of luggage, and then meeting eyes with a fellow student sitting across the aisle. He was obviously feeling the same worries.

Fortunately, our short flight was uneventful. We landed in Riga, boarded buses and drove to our hotel, and checked into our rooms.

“And the evening and the morning were the first day.” 

(My anxiety about our airplane - if not the loading procedures - was unfounded. If you would like to know why, click "Read more.")


The airplane was probably an Antonov AN-24, a twin-engine turboprop aircraft. Along with its variants, the AN-24 was the standard Soviet short- and medium-haul passenger and cargo airplane from the 1960's through the 1980's. For a photo of an AN-24 in late Soviet-era Aeroflot livery, see (Link: Photo of Antonov AN-24 - taken at the St. Petersburg-Rzhevka airport in 1992.)

The AN-24 was ruggedly built and had a good safety record in the hands of competent operators. It was designed to serve remote areas of the Soviet Union, where “airports” were often little more than grass or dirt landing strips. The high wing protected the engines and propellers from dirt and debris. A wide undercarriage and oversize landing gear, plus exceptional power for its weight, allowed the plane to operate from short, rough runways. It required minimal ground support. By the time production ended in 1978, more than 1300 AN-24’s had been built. Even the last production models are now aging, and the airplane has been phased out of passenger service in most of Russia and Eastern Europe. Some are still in military and cargo service, and hundreds are operating in less developed parts of the world. (Link: Wikipedia on Antonov AN-24.)

We were flying from and to urban airports with customary facilities - paved runways and so on - but watch this short video of a take-off from a muddy runway. (Link: AN-24 Rough Takeoff.) I can't help but admire the skill of the pilot, but I'm glad I wasn't a passenger.