Mikhail Rostislavovich Farikh (Russian: Фарих Михаил Ростиславович) (June 6, 1959, Moscow — April 18, 2016 Bely) was a private helicopter pilot and the first Russian to go around the world by helicopter and to reach the North Pole. He held world records in helicopter competitions. He helped popularize light aviation and was a prominent activist in the world of Russian GA. He was also an active member of the aviation organization AOPA Russia.
Biography He was born in Moscow in 1959 into the family of test pilot Rostislav Fabiovich Farikh born May 12, 1922. His grandfather Fabio Farikh was a prominent polar pilot and a motoring pioneer in Russia. In 1976, Farikh graduated from Moscow School No. 10. He entered the law faculty of the Military Institute of the Ministry of Defense (which is now, after several transformations, part of the MU RF MD), from which he graduated in 1980. He served in the armed forces as a legal officer until 1995. He retired with the rank of lieutenant-colonel. After being discharged into the reserves, he went into the automobile audio equipment business. He was fond of multi-discipline car audio competitions and in 2006 became the Russian champion in EMMA racing, in which driving skills as well as car audio and tuning are put to the test. After giving up his active role in business, Farikh enrolled in cooking courses, studied Italian, and then ended up by chance in a flying club, where he began to study flying at the age of 48
Mobile sound systems
Mikhail Farikh contributed to the Russian and international mobile sound-system design and all-terrain vehicles. The projects he headed attracted great attention at car audio competitions, exhibitions, and social events. In sound-pressure level (SPL) competitions between 2001 and 2007, Team Prology took first place 48 times and second place twice, and set 14 Russian records. The absolute Russian record of 173.4 dB, set in 2003 with the car named "Ladoga," has yet to be surpassed. He helped to develop and build a number of mobile audio complexes (Hurricane, Typhoon, JBL Sound Cruiser, Prolozavr 1.0 and 2.0). The JBL Sound Cruiser test car made a great impression at the 2005 IFA in Berlin and received worldwide acclaim.
Flying
Farikh began to learn to fly helicopters in 2007. In 2008, he acquired his private pilot's license. He immediately began flying frequently and extensively. He acquired a British pilot's license in the same year, and an American one in 2010. In subsequent years, he continued to increase his qualifications by attending courses at various domestic and foreign flying clubs (in England, Spain, the US, Canada, etc.), and was constantly improving his technique, paying special attention to autorotation landings. The Robinson R44 and Robinson R66 were Farikh's main helicopters.
Without commercial flights or training student pilots, Farikh flew 332 hours in 2011 (for a total of 1,340 hours up to 2011) and 425 hours in 2013 (total 2,113 hours). He flew more than 2,100 hours in the six years after he began training. Later Farikh flew airplanes, licensed for "Single-engine land-based plane". He also flew gliders and other types of aircraft.
After major reforms to Russian aviation legislation in 2010, he mastered the new flight rules and helped other pilots to do so. In 2012, he was the first Russian private pilot to cross the border of Russia in a helicopter under the new rules for foreign flights. In 2010 and 2013 he organized the Robinson Safety Course (on safe piloting) in Moscow, and a workshop led by the British pilot Quentin Smith, nicknamed "Captain Q", on operating the Robinson R44 in the cold months of the year and under ever-changing weather conditions. Quentin is considered to be one of the most experienced Robinson R44 pilots; he twice went around the world by helicopter and became the first pilot in aviation history who landed a piston helicopter on both the North and South Poles. Between September 22 and 26, Mikhail Farikh and Dmitry Rakitsky carried out a speed-record-breaking flight from Moscow to Sakhalin. The FAI registered three records for this four-day flight.
Volunteer air rescuer
Farikh was one of the first pilots in Russia who helped rescue people who had become lost in the woods. In 2011, he took part in four search-and-rescue operations in cooperation with the Liza Alert volunteer organization. He flew for a total of about 15 hours This initiative led to the formation of the Angel helicopter search-and-rescue detachment, which now comprises over 90 people. Farikh continued to take part in rescues and joint exercises. He was posthumously awarded the badge of honor of the Angel helicopter search-and-rescue detachment. In addition to searching for people (mushroom gatherers, tourists, etc.), he participated in search-and-rescue operations aimed at searching for crews of aircraft in distress. He vigorously advocated the mandatory use of satellite trackers (SPOT, inReach, etc.), which make it possible to find aircraft following accidents.
Flight to the North Pole In 2013, he reached the North Pole as a crew member with PIC Dmitrii Rakitsky, flying the Moscow — North Pole — Moscow route. The crew was the first in the world to make that flight with the Robinson R66 light helicopter. Flights past the Arctic Circle were also performed for scientific purposes. During the flight, with the participation of the polar explorer Oleg Prodan, they placed radio buoys at the location where the schooner Svyataya Anna from the Brusilov Expedition was wrecked, so as to determine the direction of ice drift, which might make it possible to discover the ship itself.
Around-the-world flight The first attempt to fly around the world in 2012 did not move beyond the preparatory stage, as the US aviation authorities issued a NOTAM, according to which aircraft of several countries, including those registered in Russia, were not cleared for flights under the VFR over American territory. In 2013 the around-the-world flight attempt met with success. It was carried out by two Robinson R66s, flown by Farikh and Dmitrii Rakitsky, Alexander Kurylev, and Vadim Melnikov. Cameraman and film director Dmitrii Kubasov traveled the whole way with the pilots. This was the first around-the-world helicopter flight in Russian history.
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