Following the breakup of the former Soviet Union, three A-90 'Orlyonok' (Sea Eagle) Ekranoplans remained on the slipway of the Aleksayev design bureau at Kaspiisk, on the shores of the Caspian Sea.

After protracted negotiations, all three airframes were purchased by Richard  Branson and transported to the Neva shipyard in St Petersburg, where they were refurbished and fitted out as passenger ekranoplans.

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The two Kuznetsov NK-8-4K booster engines in the nose were replaced with IAE
V2500 turbofans, the tail-mounted NK-12M turboprop giving way to a Rolls Royce BR700. 

Able to carry 250 passengers in a six-abreast layout, the three 'Baltic Eagles' entered service with Virgin Atlantic on the Stockholm-Tallin-Helsinki route in 2007.

Named 'Stockholm Eagle', 'Tallin Eagle' and Helsinki Eagle' the three A-90s offer a smooth, fast passenger service between the three capital cities.  There are rumours that Sir Richard Branson is negotiating with the Russian authorities to purchase two bigger ekranoplans, Lun & Spasatel, for trans-Atlantic service.

Ken Duffey