Pilot Oleg Kononenko undergoing final flight suit preparations prior to flight. His right glove is being sealed to his flight suit. The M55 navigator, Irina Bubnova, is to Oleg's left. She takes the flight plans submitted by the scientists and maps then onto a real flight map, providing "way points" for the pilot and of course calculating fuel consumption to assure a safe return to Kiruna.

In general, the M55 flies for about 4 and 1/2 hours, but fuel consumption can vary according to winds and most importantly aircraft altitude (the plane flies most efficiently at its highest altitude).

Oleg Kononenko, the pilot, was easily the best ping pong player in the hangar. After many of his winning shots people would say "that's why he's flying the airplane".