Aeroport Izhevsk Ижевск - Spotting Guide

Aeroport Izhevsk Ижевск – Spotting Guide

August 7, 2020 - last modified on November 17, 2023

Izhevsk airport is a regional airport about 1000km East of Moscow. In 2018 it handled around 400 000 passengers. The airport is most known as homebase for Izhavia, which has an all yak-42 fleet of 9 aircraft. However, not all these are based here. Main sheduled routes are to Moscow and Saint-Petersburg. There can be some other charter flights too with yak42 or an24, especially in the summer season. Other visitors are always possible, but not very common. Main traffic is Izhavia Yak-42, Aeroflot SSJ, Smartavia B738 (which flies for Izhavia to Moscow, but not always) and maybe in summer an-24. Plus there are some heli’s based here (ANSAT and mi-2) which fly regulary. So, not the busiest airport, but with some typical Russian traffic.

Written by Julian Mittnacht in cooperation with Tjorn Decroos. Last Update: June 2020

Rating
Movements
Airline Variety
Photo Locations
Weather
Airport Information
Runways
01/19	2.500 m (8.202 ft) Concrete
Terminals	One for all operations
Spotting Information
Ladder	Not recommended and not really needed
Car/Public Transport	It’s best to go by foot for the last part. There is a small, bad dirt road. With 4×4 you can try this but parking at the spots is not recommended. Better park at the airport and walk. There’s also a bus station at the airport.
Restrooms	Inside the airport or maybe inside the gas station (not checked).
Drinks/Food	There is a gas station nearby with a small shop, also few local bars.
Hotels	A few small, local Hostels. Bigger Hotels in the city.
Season	Hot in the summer (heathaze) and very cold/cloudy in the winter. As far as traffic goes summer is generally slightly busier.
Runway Usage
18/36	It’s a very calm airport. Runway use depends on direction of arrival and winds. Sometimes they land with small tailwind if that’s faster. 01/19, runway 01 has a shorter taxitime for departure, so might be preferred if low winds.

	Spot #1 – Field – 01 Arrivals and 19 Departures Evening
WHERE	It’s a dirt road that leads to the approach path. Either you can walk to this postion from the terminal as marked on the map or you use a car and park next to the main road and walk to this location. You can stand closer or further there as preferenced.

WHAT	01 Arrivals and 19 Departures Evening. Yak 42’s stay low on departure so possible to take them side-on here.

TIME	After 14h till sunset.

MISC.	Just a dirt road in empty field, can be muddy when wet.

FOCAL LENGTH	Depends on distance you stand. For a ‘side on’ of Yak-42 you need almost 300mm

	Spot #2 – Dirt Road – 01 Arrivals and 19 Departures Morning
WHERE	From spot #1 follow the dirt road by foot or car (bumpy road!) all the way to the other side of the runway. For side-on pictures the fence can be in the way, follow the treeline to stand on the opposite of the field to stand a bit more back.

WHAT	01 Arrivals and 19 Departures in the morning.

TIME	From Sunrise till 13h.

MISC.	Be aware of the bad road conditions. Nothing nearby. Some trees spending shadow.

FOCAL LENGTH	160 for side-on SSJ.

	Spot #3 – Fence – Runway and Apron – All movements
WHERE	Continue northwards and walk along the fence till a small tree, you’ll see the ground is a bit higher there. Use this spot only for a very short time to avoid problems. Leave the fence asap, security may come. During my visits we never had problems but were very cautious.

WHAT	Here you can see line-ups or taxi and apron action. Caution, you have to photograph through the fence! 60mm lenses will fit.

TIME	Morning till afternoon. Heathaze can be a big issue for apron shots in the summer!

MISC.	As said before, only use this spot if really needed and as short as possible.

FOCAL LENGTH	120mm runway side-on. 300mm taxi and apron.

	Spot #4 – Old Tower – All movments
WHERE	This spot can be found on some empty space that is used for long term storage and as truck stop. You have to pass a gate (marked on the map) which might be ‘guarded’. If so, you can ask to pass, but don’t even try it if you don’t speak Russian. Once inside go to the old guard tower where you will be elevated to clear the fence.

WHAT	View on the apron, taxiway and runway.

TIME	Apron and taxiway almost all day, runway shots from around 14h.

MISC.	Be careful and respectful, as this is most possibly private ground.

FOCAL LENGTH	250+ mm