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). 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 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.
Other aviation activity As an active member of the Russian aviation community and representative of AOPA Russia, Farikh developed relationships with government agencies and regulatory bodies and participated in various events with other GA pilots. He also took part in various air shows and events — Vertoslet, the travel-media PereDvizheniye Festival, and others. In 2015, under Farikh's leadership, a group of five helicopters (the crew of one of them containing representatives from the US, Britain, and Russia) visited three poles — the magnetic pole, the geographic pole, and the
pole of inaccessibility. In 2015, at the annual conference of AOPA Russia, he presented the Pilot of the Year award in his capacity as the King of Arms of the organization. Also in 2015, Farikh took part in a successful attempt to set the
Guinness World Record for the largest helicopter formation. Farikh did a lot to make flights in which he did not take part possible, by sharing experience with others, rendering organizational assistance, and following his colleagues’ flights closely. One of the biggest projects undertaken with Farikh's assistance was the 2014 Moscow — New Zealand — Moscow flight headed by
Evgeny Kabanov. Farikh also played a big role in the 2015 attempt by
Sergey Ananov to carry out a solo around-the-world flight in a
Robinson R22.
Death Mikhail Farikh died on April 18, 2016 during the second helicopter expedition in search of the
Svyataya Anna gun-vessel. The fatal crash occurred at 22:06 local time (17:06 UTC) at
Oleg Prodan, polar explorer and director of the Onezhskoye Pomorye National Park, and Alexei Frolov, founder and owner of the Mirital company, also died. All three men held private pilot licenses with the helicopter pilot entry. A group of three
Robinson R66 helicopters participating in the "Searching for the Two Captains" expedition was flying along the route from
Amderma Airport to the landing site on
Bely Island in the
Kara Sea. While they were approaching the island, thick, low cloud cover formed. The crew of the formation leader decided to descend into the clouds to determine their lower boundary and see if it was possible to land. While carrying out this mission, the helicopter crashed. A large crowd paid its last respects to the deceased crew in the memorial hall of the
Troyekurovskoye Cemetery on April 24, 2016. Mikhail Farikh is buried at the
Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow, Alexei Frolov is buried at the Zvyaginskoe cemetery (Moscow region), while Oleg Prodan was buried in at his birthplace in Rybinsk, along with his parents. == Memorialization ==