My father was flying on it during 8 years MLD version. And 21 years on Mig 21 (all serial versions ).He had service during 29 years in Soviet Air Force and 3 years in Ukraine Air Force.Thanks for the video. Hi frome Ukraine!
This video brough tears to eyes. I am Bulgarian though I live in the UK. It is wonderful to see, this aircraft in safe hands but also saddens me that foreign countries respect history, and collect jets like that while in Bulgaria even in museums these planes are rusting away. I do hope you preserve the BGAF markings when you are done putting it together. Hats down to you sirs, keep up the good work
Yes the incredible landing gear is what probably the most fascinating feature of the MiG-23, and gives its characteristic "look" of the plane. Its a marvel of ingenuity and mechanical engineering prowess. The MiG-23 was designed based on the Vietnam-experience, and it had to solve seemingly contradictory requirements. Short landing and take-off had priority, thus the vario-wings, and everything else was built around that. It carried the most advanced "Atoll" missiles (4) under the fuselage.
In Serbian aerotechnical institute, Moma Stanojlovic, we had several IRAQI MIG 21's and one MIG 23's on maitenance. After invasion on Iraq they stayed in institute on sun, rain and snow for 15 years... after all that time, when we crancked them up, they all started as only one day pased from maitanance. We had western tech also, and by our statistics, western helicopters had 3 time more failures than Russian... this is unbiased info, i am nither Russian nither NATO guy.
I've seen this plane when was still on service. I'm from Bulgaria. This plane was from 25th AirBase Cheshnegirovo and it was a notable part of my childhood. I remember this plane and also boards 36, 33 and 66 from BN series
the 2.35 speed should be seen as max safe speed. I once talked to an ex GDR MIG23 pilot who knew of a soviet pilot in east germany who had a damaged speedometer and noticed his wings close to melting away. On the ground engineers figured out the MIG 23 must have flown at mach 2.7-2.8, the engine was that powerful.
Hope you all get this in excellent flying condition. Looks quite rough at the moment but keep at it. Very cool and very capable aircraft. Love the way they do their cockpits. That turquoise paint really makes everything stand out for better readings and location of. Thanks for a great video although be it a brief one.
Excellent video, Sir! Just to pick a little nit, @3:32 what I'm sure you meant to say (and write) was "10,000 kilograms" or "10 metric tons" of thrust.
Great video. I agree that Russian/Soviey designs are striking; very much mechanical, up to now, working with the "environment" and therefore elegant and efficient. They appeal to the engineer in me. The MiG-23 never really was what it threatened to be though, being an awkward machine to fly and land for the matter.
Very goo video- thanks. I believe the MiG 23 has no ailerons but has spoilers. Depending on the speed, the spoilers in conjunction with rear stabilizers provide roll control.
Восхищён тем, что чужая страна с любовью восстанавливает для истории самолёты которые оставили след в истории авиации.Жаль что у нас эти самолёты гниют под открытым небом,и я сомневаюсь что они сохранятся через 10 лет.Американцы молодцы.Кстати действующего списанного самолёта МИГ23/27нет ни в России,ни в Украине.Вообще списанные самолёты в музеях этих стран внутри пустые.Часто отсутствуют приборы на панели.Надеюсь посетить Ваш музей:)
This was great...thank you. If I was a rich guy I would buy all kinds of stuff like Mig-23,Mig-21,19,17,15. T-55,62,72,80. Bmp's ,cool old trucks those ural ones....oh man if I had money! And all the cool U.S. stuff I guy could buy up.
W latach 70-tych jak plażowałem nad Bałtykiem dużo ich latało w okolicach Kołobrzegu. Wyglądały bardzo bojowo z tymi swoimi rozpuszczonymi skrzydłami jak podchodziły do lądowania. Później jak jeden radziecki pilot odbywał swój pierwszy lot po przerwie urlopowej, spanikował i opuścił swój samolot po niedyspozycji silnika, jak się okazało chwilowej i samolot lecąc bez pilota w automacie rozbił się w Belgii, jednostkę karnie przeniesiono. Później jak plażowałem już nie było na co popatrzeć:)
John, What you are doing is amazing!! I had no clue till tonight you existed and you are in Dallas. I have to come check it out. Do you allow guests to sit in the cockpit on slow days?
Nice job on the video. Just the facts and interesting features. No anti Russian or stupid USA patriotic bull. All fighters built at this time emphasized speed and performance and were not just electronic war machines. Good job guys.
Американцы оценили наш миг по достоинству как надёжный и эффективный боевой самолёт,были испытаны ими наши миги не спроста чтобы всё что им доселе не известное переменить для своих истребителей,в борьбе с нашей авиацией.
I love soviet built machines! Almost like an alien technology that has a different concept and approach. I also like a very similar aircraft to this called su-24
In fact the first kill in Gulf War was F-18 piloted by USN Speicher. He was shot by Mig-25, true. Overall, coalition lost a few dozen aircraft. There is no reliable records left in Iraq so most attributed to SAMs and ground artillery by default.
Excuse my ignorance on the subject, i find it interesting but as im only just starting to get interested i know very little about it. Anyway , on to my question , I remember watching a video saying that one of the Migs could get an amazing altitude, like close to space kind of altitude. Is that correct and if so wich plane was it? Thanks in advance anyone that answers. Great video uploader.
I saw one up close and personal in the 90's, a Syrian Air Force pilot was encouraged to cross over to our friendly little nation with this gift. I was most impressed by the beafy main landing gear, yet it could fold up into a tiny package, a mechanical marvle. Also the diameter of the jet nozzle is about 25% wider than an F-15 or F-16 or Phantom. On the other hand, the workmanship of the structural rivits on the fuselage was so appaling, it actually shocked me.
Exellent job on the presentation. Being that is's a B model, I'll bet you're dying to occupy one of those seats one day when the restoration is complete. Are you restoring it to airworthy conditions? Will she fly when finished?
MiG-23,MIG-25,MIG-31 was one of the best looking fighters ever made !!Slava na Russkite bratia!! I'M BULGARIAN keep up the good work MIG-23 is bad ass ALEX JONES AUSTEN,TX
woow yeer cool video thanks for sharing i take it your going to get this one flying again??? or is it just for static display. Not that i would be able to see it fly anyway "bit to far away"... anyhow hope you have good life insurance policy if you try and take it for a spin!
A U.S. Air Force vet once told me the strategy of the North Vietnamese was to lure U.S. jets over SAM sites. The SAMS were better at nailing USAF Thuds and Phantoms than MiG-17s and 21s.
The jet nozzle is a bit bigger than an F-15 or F-16s, quite impressive in person. So I pressune it has the thrust. The intakes are almost as large as a Phantoms, which has two engines.
The Cold War was a war with a lot of cool inventions. Soviets develop many wander airplane. But americans develop many cool stuf F4 Phanton, an always my favorite F 14 Tomcat, I hope you at your museum you have these kind of American cool stuf.
Not a highly thought of aircraft, but I like it because I see that it was well thought out. and if it is like most russian aircraft it is cheaper to build than its westeren counterparts.
I think the dogtooth is just the result of making the wings wider, after the design was done. Obviously they couldn't make it wider all the way, because when the wing rotates it would need more space inside the fuselage.
It is. It is rarely mentioned but Iraq scored more combat aerial kills comparing to coalition in Gulf War. Out of 75 coalition losses 42 are to Iraqi action. At the same time Iraq lost 36 planes in aerial combat. All the other aircraft losses are non-combatant aircraft bombed at their bases.
Ahmad Shumayal Yess!!!! The camera man is allways showing that guy, instaed of focusing in the parts he is explaining!!!! LOUSY CAMERA WORK!!! (And the sound is bad too)!!! Otherwise, a very interesting video!!!!
The aircrafts performance has never been questioned. it accelerates quick, it climbs quick and it's fast as hell, everything you want in an interceptor, it's biggest flaw is it's low tech avionics and low tech instrumentation. the migs ability to process and display vital info would get your ass wooped by a more modern plane
Awesome! I would love to build and maintain Eastern Block aircraft. Do you guys teach volunteers? I have 6 years of UH-60 phase maintenance crew chief experience. Rad!
Am I correct in believing MiG fighters all have odd number designations? Somebody has posted a "MiG 28 fighter" on RUclips and i don't think it's right - perhaps they've been watching Top Gun!
Mach 2,35 is with carried 4 missiles. Mig 23ML or MLD can fly 2,5. Test-pilots fly Mach 2,65 therefore is on Machmeter 3,0. This is fastest one engine plane in service and variable-geometry.
Great video. But please get a shirt mic for the future. The volume of the voice was changing so constantly it made it very difficult to watch (especially at work).
A MiG-23 BN in East German markings On 26 April 1984 Bond, who was about to retire, made a farewell visit to "an Air Force Systems Command unit"[6] believed to have been the 6513th Test Squadron, Red Hats, at Groom Lake. The Red Hats, like the 4477th TES Red Eagles based at Tonopah Test Range, clandestinely operated Soviet aircraft.[7] On a previous visit to Groom,[8] Bond had flown the secret YF-117A prototype. The MiG-23 was known as YF-113 in US service and, along with a greater number of MiG-21s, was part of a collection of Soviet-built aircraft that the 4477th flew.[9] Bond insisted on flying the MiG-23 BN fighter-bomber[nb 1] after a cursory briefing over the cockpit rail, even though it was considered a difficult aircraft and pilots usually received several hours of ground instruction before flying it.[6][12] On his second high-speed flight, he was flying at 40,000 feet and over Mach 2,[nb 2] and had left the T-38 chase plane that was flying with him far behind, when a hydro-mechanical inhibitor activated, preventing him from disengaging the afterburner. It was designed to avoid sudden shut-downs at high speed that could damage the Tumansky R-29 engine, or even cause it to explode and destroy the aircraft. At such speeds, with the wings fully swept back to 72°, the MiG had very limited pitch authority and was inclined to yaw and roll. Bond lost control,[nb 3] made a distress call ("I gotta get out of here") and was then killed in the ejection, when the slipstream broke his neck and shredded the canopy of his parachute. The aircraft crashed in the desert, diving in at a 60° angle[13] and impacting on what is now known as Jackass Flats, part of Area 25 that was still contaminated from NERVA nuclear rocket testing years before.[15] Bond's body was discovered by a USAF sergeant on his way to work, who removed the rank insignia from Bond's flight suit with a pocket knife before going to get help.[16] Aftermath
The KM-1 ejection seat used in the MiG-23 The USAF would not confirm or deny that Bond was flying a MiG when he died,[17][18] and stated that Bond was flying "an Air Force specially modified test craft",[17] but it leaked the information to a journalist, Fred Hoffman.[15][19] When Time magazine reported on the accident and the rumors of the US MiG program, the USAF was forced to reveal that it was flying Soviet aircraft.[20] There were fears that the publicity would also lead to the exposure of the F-117 program, which was still secret and was also based at Tonopah, but this did not happen.[15][21] The accident investigation was chaired by General Gordon E. Williams.[16] The investigation report was kept secret, but one pilot who had seen it commented unsympathetically: "He should have read the flight manual."[8] The report was required reading for American MiG pilots in years to come.[16] There was some annoyance that Bond had written off an irreplaceable national asset.[16] Work continued to make the KM-1 ejection seat used in the MiG-23 safe and reliable; another USAF pilot, Mark Postai, had been killed in an attempted ejection from a MiG-23 in 1982.[22] Maintaining the Soviet ejection seats included reverse engineering the pyrotechnic cartridges which fired them, as these had a relatively short life and had to be replaced regularly as the chemicals degraded.[23] Pilots over the age of 45 were not normally supposed to fly solo in fast jets, and Bond was 54 at the time of his fatal crash.[17][19] Lieutenant Colonel James Tiley, commander of the Red Hats, was reassigned in July, though it is a matter of debate whether this was related to Bond's death.[16] Bond was buried in Ashland, Mississippi, and was survived by his wife Betty and four children.[24] A memorial stone to him was placed in the desert where he crashed.[21] Major Thomas E. Drake, an experienced MiG-23 pilot who frequently said "This airplane will kill you today if you let it",[25] emphasized the importance of good preparation to Colonel James Evans, who was preparing to learn to fly the Soviet types, by referring to "the General Bobby Bond Memorial Checkout: two take-offs, one landing, and a fatal ejection."[26] The 4477th was inactivated in July 1990[27] but it is likely that the USAF continues to operate Russian aircraft clandestinely, including MiG-29s and Su-27s.[28]
"10 to 1 in the Americans favour, is such a ridiculous propaganda"! There were Chinese, North Korean, and Soviet pilots. I don't know how the Chinese and North Korean ratio was, but I know for sure that the Soviet - American ratio was about 1,5:1 for Russians.
Kids always want to know "how fast? how fast?" and nobody seems to be able to relate to 2,500 km/hr or even 1,600 mph... so we tell them "Dallas to Houston in 11 minutes." One kid said, "How long would it take to get to Wal*Mart?" :-)
It also should be noted that during the arab-israeli wars while the israelis lost only about 30 aircraft to to arab fighters they lost 104 due to SAMs while the arabs lost in total about 130 aircraftfrom all causes. So in overrall losses the numbers dont seem to be "10-1" in NATO's or israel's favor like most soviet aircraft detractors would like you to know.
Aaaah 10,000 kilograms is 22,000 pounds. There are very few rocket engines that produce 10,000 metric tonnes of thrust let alone do any T-jets make even a fraction of that. But I'm sure I'm probably the 10,000th stickler of a person who has pointed this out. I'm sure the curator made this mistake owing to filming nerves and realised his mistake later.
@vonkaunaz That was later in the war. Khomeni was afraid and correctly so the military would stage a coup. The Air Force in particular was loyal to the Shah and the old Royalist forces. He purged all the best military commanders and pilots so you had hardened Iraqi pilots fighting Air Force cadets.
My father was flying on it during 8 years MLD version. And 21 years on Mig 21 (all serial versions ).He had service during 29 years in Soviet Air Force and 3 years in Ukraine Air Force.Thanks for the video. Hi frome Ukraine!
Hope you are well brother
This video brough tears to eyes. I am Bulgarian though I live in the UK. It is wonderful to see, this aircraft in safe hands but also saddens me that foreign countries respect history, and collect jets like that while in Bulgaria even in museums these planes are rusting away. I do hope you preserve the BGAF markings when you are done putting it together. Hats down to you sirs, keep up the good work
Miss this planes so much, the runaway is just ~ 500m from our house and they pumped the sky crazy. I'm glad that one of them is at a real museum.
Yes the incredible landing gear is what probably the most fascinating feature of the MiG-23, and gives its characteristic "look" of the plane. Its a marvel of ingenuity and mechanical engineering prowess. The MiG-23 was designed based on the Vietnam-experience, and it had to solve seemingly contradictory requirements. Short landing and take-off had priority, thus the vario-wings, and everything else was built around that. It carried the most advanced "Atoll" missiles (4) under the fuselage.
So thankful this video was posted on RUclips.
It is incredibly preserved. I wish I can come to see it one day.
for the camera man, when the guy point up to show something, you film that.
Yup! That is *the* annoying thing about this video!!!
In Serbian aerotechnical institute, Moma Stanojlovic, we had several IRAQI MIG 21's and one MIG 23's on maitenance.
After invasion on Iraq they stayed in institute on sun, rain and snow for 15 years... after all that time, when we crancked them up, they all started as only one day pased from maitanance.
We had western tech also, and by our statistics, western helicopters had 3 time more failures than Russian... this is unbiased info, i am nither Russian nither NATO guy.
Exactly thinking to Cernobâl, Kursk and Tu 144.
I've seen this plane when was still on service. I'm from Bulgaria. This plane was from 25th AirBase Cheshnegirovo and it was a notable part of my childhood. I remember this plane and also boards 36, 33 and 66 from BN series
I would LOVE to visit this museum and work there. I could add much expertise in working with this aircraft.
Very interesting. I was hoping to see that folding dorsal fin they had on some models. Thanks for posting.
Greetings from Bulgaria!!!
the 2.35 speed should be seen as max safe speed. I once talked to an ex GDR MIG23 pilot who knew of a soviet pilot in east germany who had a damaged speedometer and noticed his wings close to melting away. On the ground engineers figured out the MIG 23 must have flown at mach 2.7-2.8, the engine was that powerful.
Hope you all get this in excellent flying condition. Looks quite rough at the moment but keep at it. Very cool and very capable aircraft. Love the way they do their cockpits. That turquoise paint really makes everything stand out for better readings and location of. Thanks for a great video although be it a brief one.
Fascinating :) Thank you
This fighter is from airbase Dobroslavtsi.
Excellent video, Sir! Just to pick a little nit, @3:32 what I'm sure you meant to say (and write) was "10,000 kilograms" or "10 metric tons" of thrust.
Great video. I agree that Russian/Soviey designs are striking; very much mechanical, up to now, working with the "environment" and therefore elegant and efficient. They appeal to the engineer in me. The MiG-23 never really was what it threatened to be though, being an awkward machine to fly and land for the matter.
This is a Bulgarian fighter and from the airbase Dobroslavtsi
Very goo video- thanks. I believe the MiG 23 has no ailerons but has spoilers. Depending on the speed, the spoilers in conjunction with rear stabilizers provide roll control.
Восхищён тем, что чужая страна с любовью восстанавливает для истории самолёты которые оставили след в истории авиации.Жаль что у нас эти самолёты гниют под открытым небом,и я сомневаюсь что они сохранятся через 10 лет.Американцы молодцы.Кстати действующего списанного самолёта МИГ23/27нет ни в России,ни в Украине.Вообще списанные самолёты в музеях этих стран внутри пустые.Часто отсутствуют приборы на панели.Надеюсь посетить Ваш музей:)
Awesome video guys. Very impressive the effort you guys put in regards to this soviet era fighter. Thumbs up!!!
This was great...thank you.
If I was a rich guy I would buy all kinds of stuff like Mig-23,Mig-21,19,17,15. T-55,62,72,80.
Bmp's ,cool old trucks those ural ones....oh man if I had money!
And all the cool U.S. stuff I guy could buy up.
Pretty amazing aircraft, the MiG-27K is my favorite flogger variant.
W latach 70-tych jak plażowałem nad Bałtykiem dużo ich latało w okolicach Kołobrzegu. Wyglądały bardzo bojowo z tymi swoimi rozpuszczonymi skrzydłami jak podchodziły do lądowania. Później jak jeden radziecki pilot odbywał swój pierwszy lot po przerwie urlopowej, spanikował i opuścił swój samolot po niedyspozycji silnika, jak się okazało chwilowej i samolot lecąc bez pilota w automacie rozbił się w Belgii, jednostkę karnie przeniesiono. Później jak plażowałem już nie było na co popatrzeć:)
Amazing video !
John, What you are doing is amazing!! I had no clue till tonight you existed and you are in Dallas. I have to come check it out. Do you allow guests to sit in the cockpit on slow days?
superb, very interesting. Thanks for posting, great effort.
Nice job on the video. Just the facts and interesting features. No anti Russian or stupid USA patriotic bull. All fighters built at this time emphasized speed and performance and were not just electronic war machines. Good job guys.
Американцы оценили наш миг по достоинству как надёжный и эффективный боевой самолёт,были испытаны ими наши миги не спроста чтобы всё что им доселе не известное переменить для своих истребителей,в борьбе с нашей авиацией.
Да нихуя компоновка воздухозаборников скопирована с фантома и радар тоже
Numatics! Priceless,
Good video, thanks
What else can you buy? I want one for myself.
I love soviet built machines! Almost like an alien technology that has a different concept and approach. I also like a very similar aircraft to this called su-24
Su 24 is a beautiful bird
My uncle actually flew it :)
In fact the first kill in Gulf War was F-18 piloted by USN Speicher. He was shot by Mig-25, true. Overall, coalition lost a few dozen aircraft. There is no reliable records left in Iraq so most attributed to SAMs and ground artillery by default.
awesome video thanks for posting
@NorceCodine
A few years after entering service it was also fitted to carry the AA-8 Aphid.
Still the ratio was 10:1 in the Americans favour. I believe it's the only time Americans and Russians have directly fought each other.
Excuse my ignorance on the subject, i find it interesting but as im only just starting to get interested i know very little about it. Anyway , on to my question , I remember watching a video saying that one of the Migs could get an amazing altitude, like close to space kind of altitude. Is that correct and if so wich plane was it?
Thanks in advance anyone that answers.
Great video uploader.
Antifaith29 the MIG you are curious bout is the MIG 29.
Great vid, more please!
@coldwarair Well it's not that bad at all. I really enjoyed it, and learned a few things.
Very nice explanation.
I saw one up close and personal in the 90's, a Syrian Air Force pilot was encouraged to cross over to our friendly little nation with this gift.
I was most impressed by the beafy main landing gear, yet it could fold up into a tiny package, a mechanical marvle. Also the diameter of the jet nozzle is about 25% wider than an F-15 or F-16 or Phantom. On the other hand, the workmanship of the structural rivits on the fuselage was so appaling, it actually shocked me.
Beautiful :D
I'am from Poland - very nice video! 5/5
Exellent job on the presentation. Being that is's a B model, I'll bet you're dying to occupy one of those seats one day when the restoration is complete. Are you restoring it to airworthy conditions? Will she fly when finished?
very cool video.
It's spelled pneumatic, not numatic by the way
Yor rite!
Jared Ernst لل
Jared Ernst قف
wow excellent work blessings to you
MiG-23,MIG-25,MIG-31 was one of the best looking fighters ever made !!Slava na Russkite bratia!! I'M BULGARIAN keep up the good work MIG-23 is bad ass ALEX JONES AUSTEN,TX
Great job!!
Can we see the plane pleeeease ?
woow yeer cool video thanks for sharing i take it your going to get this one flying again??? or is it just for static display. Not that i would be able to see it fly anyway "bit to far away"... anyhow hope you have good life insurance policy if you try and take it for a spin!
A U.S. Air Force vet once told me the strategy of the North Vietnamese was to lure U.S. jets over SAM sites. The SAMS were better at nailing USAF Thuds and Phantoms than MiG-17s and 21s.
Maybe... but it's fun to have one in your garage. :-)
Cual amenudo salen a vuelo en Cuba y cuanto dura un vuelo typico? deben ser un bestia en combustible,
Saludos
Very nice. Some close up details I've not seen before. Looks like they intend on flying this.
MACH 2.35 for a single engine aircraft? Damn, that's impressive. Even for a "swing wing" aircraft.
The jet nozzle is a bit bigger than an F-15 or F-16s, quite impressive in person. So I pressune it has the thrust. The intakes are almost as large as a Phantoms, which has two engines.
In looks, you're right. However this was the Soviet answer to the F-4 and has slightly better performance.
Guys, you rock!
The Cold War was a war with a lot of cool inventions. Soviets develop many wander airplane. But americans develop many cool stuf F4 Phanton, an always my favorite F 14 Tomcat, I hope you at your museum you have these kind of American cool stuf.
Not a highly thought of aircraft, but I like it because I see that it was well thought out. and if it is like most russian aircraft it is cheaper to build than its westeren counterparts.
nice trip cool information
I think the dogtooth is just the result of making the wings wider, after the design was done. Obviously they couldn't make it wider all the way, because when the wing rotates it would need more space inside the fuselage.
It is. It is rarely mentioned but Iraq scored more combat aerial kills comparing to coalition in Gulf War. Out of 75 coalition losses 42 are to Iraqi action. At the same time Iraq lost 36 planes in aerial combat. All the other aircraft losses are non-combatant aircraft bombed at their bases.
C Model Wings having dog tooths? Camera person please point up so others can also look at it. :(
Ahmad Shumayal
Yess!!!!
The camera man is allways showing that guy, instaed of focusing in the parts he is explaining!!!!
LOUSY CAMERA WORK!!!
(And the sound is bad too)!!!
Otherwise, a very interesting video!!!!
Wow. Very interesting. Well done!
I subbed!
The aircrafts performance has never been questioned. it accelerates quick, it climbs quick and it's fast as hell, everything you want in an interceptor, it's biggest flaw is it's low tech avionics and low tech instrumentation. the migs ability to process and display vital info would get your ass wooped by a more modern plane
Awesome! I would love to build and maintain Eastern Block aircraft. Do you guys teach volunteers? I have 6 years of UH-60 phase maintenance crew chief experience. Rad!
Good video thx for that!
Nice video. BTW it's: pneumatics.
Am I correct in believing MiG fighters all have odd number designations?
Somebody has posted a "MiG 28 fighter" on RUclips and i don't think it's right - perhaps they've been watching Top Gun!
Mach 2,35 is with carried 4 missiles. Mig 23ML or MLD can fly 2,5. Test-pilots fly Mach 2,65 therefore is on Machmeter 3,0. This is fastest one engine plane in service and variable-geometry.
Mig 23 is a good piece
Thanks for the vid.
Is this the one that's for sale at controller com?
Great video. But please get a shirt mic for the future. The volume of the voice was changing so constantly it made it very difficult to watch (especially at work).
thx, checking HD quality instead; why don't you remove this one?
Death
A MiG-23 BN in East German markings
On 26 April 1984 Bond, who was about to retire, made a farewell visit to "an Air Force Systems Command unit"[6] believed to have been the 6513th Test Squadron, Red Hats, at Groom Lake. The Red Hats, like the 4477th TES Red Eagles based at Tonopah Test Range, clandestinely operated Soviet aircraft.[7] On a previous visit to Groom,[8] Bond had flown the secret YF-117A prototype. The MiG-23 was known as YF-113 in US service and, along with a greater number of MiG-21s, was part of a collection of Soviet-built aircraft that the 4477th flew.[9] Bond insisted on flying the MiG-23 BN fighter-bomber[nb 1]
after a cursory briefing over the cockpit rail, even though it was
considered a difficult aircraft and pilots usually received several
hours of ground instruction before flying it.[6][12] On his second high-speed flight, he was flying at 40,000 feet and over Mach 2,[nb 2] and had left the T-38
chase plane that was flying with him far behind, when a
hydro-mechanical inhibitor activated, preventing him from disengaging
the afterburner. It was designed to avoid sudden shut-downs at high speed that could damage the Tumansky R-29 engine, or even cause it to explode and destroy the aircraft. At such speeds, with the wings fully swept back to 72°, the MiG had very limited pitch authority and was inclined to yaw and roll. Bond lost control,[nb 3] made a distress call ("I gotta get out of here") and was then killed in the ejection,
when the slipstream broke his neck and shredded the canopy of his
parachute. The aircraft crashed in the desert, diving in at a 60° angle[13] and impacting on what is now known as Jackass Flats, part of Area 25 that was still contaminated from NERVA nuclear rocket testing years before.[15]
Bond's body was discovered by a USAF sergeant on his way to work, who
removed the rank insignia from Bond's flight suit with a pocket knife
before going to get help.[16]
Aftermath
The KM-1 ejection seat used in the MiG-23
The USAF would not confirm or deny that Bond was flying a MiG when he died,[17][18] and stated that Bond was flying "an Air Force specially modified test craft",[17] but it leaked the information to a journalist, Fred Hoffman.[15][19] When Time
magazine reported on the accident and the rumors of the US MiG program,
the USAF was forced to reveal that it was flying Soviet aircraft.[20] There were fears that the publicity would also lead to the exposure of the F-117 program, which was still secret and was also based at Tonopah, but this did not happen.[15][21]
The accident investigation was chaired by General Gordon E. Williams.[16]
The investigation report was kept secret, but one pilot who had seen it
commented unsympathetically: "He should have read the flight manual."[8] The report was required reading for American MiG pilots in years to come.[16] There was some annoyance that Bond had written off an irreplaceable national asset.[16]
Work continued to make the KM-1 ejection seat used in the MiG-23 safe
and reliable; another USAF pilot, Mark Postai, had been killed in an
attempted ejection from a MiG-23 in 1982.[22] Maintaining the Soviet ejection seats included reverse engineering
the pyrotechnic cartridges which fired them, as these had a relatively
short life and had to be replaced regularly as the chemicals degraded.[23] Pilots over the age of 45 were not normally supposed to fly solo in fast jets, and Bond was 54 at the time of his fatal crash.[17][19] Lieutenant Colonel James Tiley, commander of the Red Hats, was reassigned in July, though it is a matter of debate whether this was related to Bond's death.[16]
Bond was buried in Ashland, Mississippi, and was survived by his wife Betty and four children.[24] A memorial stone to him was placed in the desert where he crashed.[21] Major Thomas E. Drake, an experienced MiG-23 pilot who frequently said "This airplane will kill you today if you let it",[25]
emphasized the importance of good preparation to Colonel James Evans,
who was preparing to learn to fly the Soviet types, by referring to "the
General Bobby Bond Memorial Checkout: two take-offs, one landing, and a
fatal ejection."[26] The 4477th was inactivated in July 1990[27] but it is likely that the USAF continues to operate Russian aircraft clandestinely, including MiG-29s and Su-27s.[28]
AFAIK 022 is from Cheshnegirovo ;)
@PICLex He probably meant 10 tonnes.
"10 to 1 in the Americans favour, is such a ridiculous propaganda"! There were Chinese, North Korean, and Soviet pilots. I don't know how the Chinese and North Korean ratio was, but I know for sure that the Soviet - American ratio was about 1,5:1 for Russians.
interesting information I didnt know that
I have a question: Were you using a teleprompter?
Sadly a MiG-23 crashed at an airshow recently in the US fortunately crew were OK
@TheAnticlinton U mean ancient?
Kids always want to know "how fast? how fast?" and nobody seems to be able to relate to 2,500 km/hr or even 1,600 mph... so we tell them "Dallas to Houston in 11 minutes." One kid said, "How long would it take to get to Wal*Mart?" :-)
Mig-23 aerial combat won/loss record: 25 - 102
@t
The Golden Age of turbojet fighters.
The golden era of the Bulgarian air force
Did I hear 10,000 Tons of thrust? Perhaps 10,000Kg is more correct. This was one of the most widely deployed soviet interceptors of the 70s and 80s
Its a shame we hastily decomissioned those adequate fighters and left the anciant MiG-21bis instead
It also should be noted that during the arab-israeli wars while the israelis lost only about 30 aircraft to to arab fighters they lost 104 due to SAMs while the arabs lost in total about 130 aircraftfrom all causes. So in overrall losses the numbers dont seem to be "10-1" in NATO's or israel's favor like most soviet aircraft detractors would like you to know.
MiG-23UB
My father gaurded an airbase with bulgarian MiG-23B fighter bombers
cool
Burns 2 gallons per second 😮 I wonder what is the fuel capacity of this jet.
this video is 7 years old, what are you doing here?
why the mig 23 has a bulgarian registracion
Aaaah 10,000 kilograms is 22,000 pounds. There are very few rocket engines that produce 10,000 metric tonnes of thrust let alone do any T-jets make even a fraction of that. But I'm sure I'm probably the 10,000th stickler of a person who has pointed this out. I'm sure the curator made this mistake owing to filming nerves and realised his mistake later.
@vonkaunaz That was later in the war. Khomeni was afraid and correctly so the military would stage a coup. The Air Force in particular was loyal to the Shah and the old Royalist forces. He purged all the best military commanders and pilots so you had hardened Iraqi pilots fighting Air Force cadets.
10 000 metric tonnes of thrust?
10 000 000 kg of thrust?
He means 10 000 kg of thrust, or 10 metric tonnes, right?