What Russian Types would you like to see in the UK?

It wasn’t open on my last visit in August 2009.

Cheers

Ken

Ken,

Have you missed a year?

How many years have you gone to Russia without missing one?

Phil
(Travelled with you in ’94 and ’05)

Oh hang on. Just seen and heard the AN-22;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ak16XdxJDkI&feature=related

Better add that one to the wish list as well. 😉

The Tu-95, Su-25 and MiG-31

Well for me a military type would have to be this, the TU-95 ‘Bear… simply awesome;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzbWydg9gvA&feature=related

If i could choose a civil type as well then the Tu-144 ‘Concordski would be it. They look clumsy but somehow majestic.

I would like to see

SU-15 Flagon
TU-22 Blinder
TU-95 Bear

Russain types in the uk

There are a few types in the uk.

Harwarden has 2 Su-17 M varaints and a Mig 27.

http://www.demobbed.org.uk/image_view.php?s=25102_su17.jpg
http://www.demobbed.org.uk/image_view.php?s=69004_su17.jpg
http://www.demobbed.org.uk/image_view.php?s=83712515040.jpg

Some Mi-2 and Yak-52 are still found here, but does anyone know where all the AN-2 frames have gone which were here?

Spadeadam has an ex East German SU22M4 and a MI-24 Hind.
Scampton’s SU 22 came from the same place and is in excellent condition.

Lots of good Russain helo’s at Weston including a recently acquired MI-8 from Poland.

Would love to see some other types getting to the Uk;

Mi-6 Hook
Tu-22 Blinder
Su-25 Frogfoot
Su-15 Flagon

If you want some Russian hardware of ya own, break open the piggy bank and go here;

http://www.russiantruck.co.uk/for-sale.php

Its not just trucks !

Are you sure that wasn’t the Old Flying Machine Company’s LA-11?

OFMC’s La-9 went to NZ and is now active again having been laid up for a couple of years. I’ve heard it’s heading for the US soon.

TFC’s Lavochkin is an La-11, which is still listed on the TFC website as a project.

http://fighter-collection.com/pages/aircraft/la11/index.php

Why didn’t we keep the Mi-8s at Boscombe Down? I’m sure the ETPS would have found them a very useful training aircraft as they must have very little similarities to the modern western helicopters the RAF operates.

They were purchased purely for the Afghan pilot training program (albeit substantailly updated with western DASS and instrumentation) and at the end of that they were donated to the Afghan Army for use over there. The more helos they have, the better.

If ETPS requires it’s students to test an alternative design, they send them to that country (e.g. the Gripen) or borrow one. Maintaining such a non-standard design over a lengthy period would be quite expensive.

Why didn’t we keep the Mi-8s at Boscombe Down? I’m sure the ETPS would have found them a very useful training aircraft as they must have very little similarities to the modern western helicopters the RAF operates.

I presume that this is the guy who has the ex-Czech Mi-24.

I was asked years back by various people in the Tupolev OKB what I thought they might get for a Tu-95 on eBay. I didn’t think they were serious…

Apparently this ‘item located’ in Cambridgeshire??? :rolleyes:

Now you’ve got your chance to get one over here :o)

If we all club together!!!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/TU-95-BEAR-COMPLETE-/300471828159?pt=UK_CPV_Aviation_SM&hash=item45f5843ebf

It went to New Zealand along witih a P-40 and Corsair.

Are you sure that wasn’t the Old Flying Machine Company’s LA-11?

What happened to The Fighter Collection’s Lavochkin LA9? (or was it an ’11?)

It went to New Zealand along witih a P-40 and Corsair.

Cosford also has a Mig-15, as does East Fortune and I think there is one at The Norfolk & Suffolk Museum

To correct this post,

East Fortune has a Czech built version of the Mig 15 called the Letov S-103

It also has a cockpit section of a Polish built version of the Mig 15UTi, this isn’t on display due to space constraints.

What happened to The Fighter Collection’s Lavochkin LA9? (or was it an ’11?)

They’ve gone to the Afghan Air Force

What the Mi17s at Boscombe

Did you visit the newly-opened hangar at the entrance??

Yes it is open to the public now. It houses 9 or 10 fighters, WW2 vintage and older:

Photography here is a bit hard. They planes are close to each other, and poorly lit. Here’s an example photo of the Aircobra. For this photo I used an external flash as the build-in flash was insufficient.

The same reason as the USAF scrapped lots of B-52s – SALT, START and CFE agreements to scrap military equipment.

Most of the Soviet Air Force equipment was ‘overseas’ – in other republics – when the SU collapsed.

It sounds like arranging some ‘trades’ of the remaining airframes (including those in former Soviet states) may be a way of preserving what remains (aircraft still in service). And it isn’t as if our own forces aren’t going to have a few ‘spare’ airframes pretty soon! :rolleyes:

Great photographs by the way; thanks for posting them. 🙂