Russian Test Pilot Flew Hawker Hunter in 1956

Sounds a bit like your Labour government giving Russia the RR Nenes.

I’m sure I read a book (Fly For Your Life?) in which a pre-war visit of Luftwaffe oficers to an RAF fighter base took place. The pilots and groundcrew were told not to show them the then new secret reflector gunsights and avoid any conversation about them. On the day of the visit they were stunned when a senior officer invited them to sit in a cockpit and described the thing in detail…

In the mid 90s, a Russian General (IIRC, from their bomber force) was given a demonstration flight in a USAF B-1. According to the report I received from the crew, they gave him a thorough demonstration of the aircraft’s low altitude terrain following feature (which is advanced enough to give the crew a comfortable ride) reportedly the Tu-160s system was not as advanced. 

My own flight in the left seat of a B-1 was very comfortable during the very low altitude portions of the flight.

He was probably in the co pilot seat for two reasons…

It’s the best place for  a demo flight and more importantly,

He would not be privy to the displays on the bomb/nav panels…which are the sensitive items. When I gave tours of the aircraft, we were not allowed to have those displays functioning.

Maybe he did, then. Thank you, Dave!

Three months after his Vostok 1 space flight, Yuri Gagarin visited London and Manchester where he was met by cheering crowds.

I remember as a primary school kid visiting the Lord Lieutenant of Essex’s house, and he had a photo of Yuri Gagarin on the wall, who he said he’d met. Given that he was only just over the way from a USAF base, I’d love to know the circumstances of that – did Gagarin ever visit the UK and in particular Essex, I wonder?

That’s a great find Dave! Part of me is surprised we’ve not learned the pilot took a load of photos so MiG, Sukhoi, Yakovlev etc could build their own version. I wonder how his experience shaped Russian fighter design, if at all?

I seem to recall that John Farley got a MiG-29 flight when they visited back in the 1980s.

Blimey , i doubt that will happen today .I have always wondered how things are when multiple countries purchase the same aircraft from a maker