Stuart Galbraith Posted December 16, 2019 Posted December 16, 2019 A video just dropped on YouTube that is pretty interesting. It shows a USAF operated Mig23bn operating out of Tonopah AFB in the 1980s. Supposedly there is more to come. https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=rFSNRmicF5A
Dawes Posted December 16, 2019 Posted December 16, 2019 When I was stationed at Nellis AFB in the 1980's, the 4477th was being inactivated and several of their personnel were assigned to my squadron. This was (I think) in the 1988-1990 timeframe. Nellis was (and still is) a hodgepodge of different units so none of us paid much attention.
Nobu Posted December 17, 2019 Posted December 17, 2019 A sign of a unit taking its mission seriously in various ways. Great find, and looking forward to more.
Stuart Galbraith Posted December 17, 2019 Author Posted December 17, 2019 (edited) The video is supposedly posted up by Steve Davies, who wrote the book about the Red Eagles called, erm Red Eagles. Well worth getting. Supposedly the pilots were scared shitless of the Mig23. It was fast as hell, would even run down F111's at low altitude. The problem was it had this problem in the early models that it would depart without much in the way of warning. And when it did, the engine used to deform which meant the turbine blades bit into the side of the engine, detach, which kind of exploded the fan blades through the aircraft fuselage. A least one pilot managed to deadstick a Mig23 back that was misbehaving like that (largely because there as no warranty on the ejection seats and nobody trusted them). Another tried and died in the attempt. It will also be remembered a USAF General died flying one of these things as a retirement present. The pilots did love the Mig21 though, especially the early ones. They were slightly flawed in how they were reassembled so the pilots used high angle of attack to depart, and then fairly easily gain control again. They were an amazing aircraft. Edited December 17, 2019 by Stuart Galbraith
Daan Posted December 17, 2019 Posted December 17, 2019 Regarding the maintenance of the Constant Peg MiGs: The MiG-17s were straightforward, but eventually the 4477th crews lost faith in the engines. It was an obsolete airframe, in any case, flown mainly by developing nations, so the MiG-17 was phased out in 1981.The MiG-21 had a few more problems than the MiG-17, including spotty fuel couplings. One day, the fuel couplings of a MiG-21 failed and caught fire as the crew was testing its engine on the trim pad. “Fortunately, it was right across the street from the fire station,” said Stringer.It was the MiG-23 that was the maintainers’ nightmare. The Flogger was a compromised design, in the US view. Made light for speed, the airframe didn’t have sufficient strength. The wing box which carried the weight of the swing wings was particularly prone to cracks.Link It is probably not surprising that after the Cold War many air forces removed their MiG-23s from service before the MiG-21s.
Stuart Galbraith Posted December 17, 2019 Author Posted December 17, 2019 Yeah, I can entirely understand that. The mig23 was one underrated aircraft, but my God, not one id want to fly.
Stuart Galbraith Posted February 12, 2020 Author Posted February 12, 2020 Gail Pecks lecture on commanding the Red Eagles.https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MYzrBPWUEa4
Stuart Galbraith Posted August 13, 2021 Author Posted August 13, 2021 I finally found the video the previous promised. Well worth a look, this was an extremely slick operation.
DB Posted August 17, 2021 Posted August 17, 2021 Looks a bit more than a simple engine fire. Catastrophic engine failure could result in loss of authority of the right wing's control surfaces (it shouldn't, but who knows what the design standards are for Russian milspec), which could cause what is seen.
lucklucky Posted August 17, 2021 Posted August 17, 2021 (edited) The engine is flush with wing, it is not in a pod like in jet commercial aviation. So potentially more dangerous. I wonder what made the aircraft turn right. Was not just some pilot in that aircraft. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolai_Kuimov Edited August 17, 2021 by lucklucky
Stuart Galbraith Posted August 18, 2021 Author Posted August 18, 2021 Propeller wouldnt feather is my guess. At a higher speed he would probably have got away with it.
DB Posted August 20, 2021 Posted August 20, 2021 On 8/17/2021 at 11:25 PM, lucklucky said: The engine is flush with wing, it is not in a pod like in jet commercial aviation. So potentially more dangerous. I wonder what made the aircraft turn right. Was not just some pilot in that aircraft. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolai_Kuimov This isn't really true - the engine is in a pod, and the pod is mounted forward and below the centreline of the wing. This is fairly typical of turboprops, I think. Sure, it isn't on a pylon, but it is underslung. One would expect that the rotating parts of the engine would be fully forward of the wing so that the (typical) 30 degree debris "ring" for thrown, uncontained engine parts would not hit the critical parts of the wing. It's also possible that the prop separated and critically damaged the wing, too.
lucklucky Posted August 20, 2021 Posted August 20, 2021 You are correct that turboprops have generally that configuration, being different than jets. I think it is more dangerous.
urbanoid Posted April 3, 2023 Posted April 3, 2023 1 hour ago, Stuart Galbraith said: Have your Doughnut and enjoy. Sir, there's no need to involve the police.
Stuart Galbraith Posted April 3, 2023 Author Posted April 3, 2023 (edited) Yeah, I've not seen this before. Presumably this is the Israeli sourced 007. Edited April 3, 2023 by Stuart Galbraith
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now