I went from 165 jumps to 213 and came home with a USPA C license. Getting to the dropzone at all took more planning than the jumping did, and almost none of it was about skydiving.
This was my first time in Russia, and I would not have gone if it were not for skydiving. I left Singapore on 2025-07-18 and returned on 2025-08-02.
Flights
Out: SIN to PVG on a Boeing 777-300, then PVG to SVO on an Airbus A330-300. Back: SVO to HAK to SIN.
There are no direct flights from Singapore to Russia. The options were a transfer through China or through the Middle East, and I took China because it was fastest.
The China to Russia legs were hard in economy, enough that I spent them thinking about business class. I had expected the food on the major Chinese carriers to be good; Singapore Airlines is better, and so is the entertainment.
Visa
No trouble with either the China or the Russia visa, thanks to my APEC card. There was no separate business lane at immigration, so it saved less time than I expected.
Car rental
I booked with rentmotors.ru. The confirmation email said I could pay by credit card, and I added a note asking them to tell me if that was not the case. I never heard back, so I assumed it was fine until I arrived and was told cards were not accepted. The payment and the deposit went through a friend of a friend with a Russian bank account.
Do not rent a car there without a local contact. The deposit can only be returned to a Russian bank account, so without one you lose it - that is the part I would have wanted to know before booking, not at the counter.
Payment
Cash only. No cards worked. I had registered online for a Tbank account but the representative never turned up, so it was never set up. My friends from China and the instructors at Flow Moscow sorted out currency exchange for me.
Food and accommodation
The food was unremarkable in a good way. Pizza, burgers and spaghetti are the universally available options, and my friends were desperate for Burger King, which I never eat at home. What I saw of Russian food was wraps, soup and salads. I was staying with friends from China who cook well, so we mostly had hotpot and barbecue.
There is not much hotel or Airbnb stock out there, which I assume is just rural supply. I did not stay at the dropzone itself - I was traveling with female friends and a hostel was not convenient - so I stayed with friends in a rented house in a town about fifteen minutes away.
The dropzone
It was the first time I had seen medium and large aircraft used for jumping. Everything before this was small planes in Thailand and a medium one at Jurien Bay. The landing area is much bigger.
They run an app for manifesting a load, but you cannot change anything yourself - changes go through the counter and a staff member. The app is paid rather than free. Processing my C license cost 3,000 to 4,000 rubles, charged by the dropzone.
Packers are available, and with a large rig you wait. At one point my rig was not ready and I missed the load, and there was a disagreement about being charged for it.
What I got done
Jump count went from 165 to 213, I earned the USPA C license, and I mounted a camera for the first time.
I did not get the hot air balloon jump. The waiting list was long and the weather was not cool enough for the balloon. I did not get a night jump either; the last few days ran out of order.
I did get four hours and fifteen minutes at Flow Moscow and picked up a little head-down. It cost about a third of what the same time costs me at iFly Singapore.
What I would tell myself before going
The reality check was about people rather than logistics. I used to assume you were automatically friends with someone you jumped with, because you are trusting each other with your life. That is my view of the sport, not everyone's. For some people it is entertainment, and the people they jump with matter correspondingly less. That is not specific to skydiving, and it is not a complaint - it just means the assumption was mine to check.
Would I go back? Maybe, if the sanctions position changes and my finances allow. For flying skills specifically, Flow Moscow is the reason to.