Any details in the book about the maneuvers “bell” & “hook” with the MiG-21 ?

MiG-21MF (1052) ; [URL=”http://img520.imageshack.us/img520/498/ethiopianmig233webqu3.jpg“][B]

1052 > MiG-21bis

Impressions of Russian test-pilot Boris Orlov after a flight with a Syrian pilot in a MiG-21UM(related on MiG-21’s low-speed manoeuvrability):

Полет летчика-испытателя Бориса Орлова в Сирии на МИГ-21ум, описанный им в книге «Записки летчика-испытателя »

« Командир звена Абдель, невысокий крепыш на кривоватых ногах, знал одно русское слово «товарич» и одно английское «о’кей», которое произносил, в основном, в вопросительном тоне. Я, естественно, по-арабски ни в зуб ногой, но в полете мы друг друга как-то понимали и даже могли договориться о своих действиях.
Начался наш полет с того, что мой Абдель сразу после взлета, не успев убрать шасси, плавно потянул на полупетлю. Самолет не очень охотно шел вверх, заметно теряя скорость. На высоте около 1000 м мы, наконец, легли на спину; стрелка приборной скорости, уползшая влево до 150 км/ч, потихоньку пошла вправо. Но самолет спокойно летел, не трясся, не выворачивался, летчик уверенно контролировал машину. Набрав нормальную скорость, он перевернул самолет со спины в обычное положение, и мы пошли в пилотажную зону.
Что бы летчик ни делал: виражи на скорости 230—240 км/ч, зависание до нулевой скорости, энергичный маневр типа «хай джи ролл» («бочка» с высокой перегрузкой) — все время ощущалась его мгновенная реакция на поведение самолета, движения рулями были точными и координированными, особенно была заметна энергичная и четкая работа ног, почти не применяемая в практике наших строевых, да и не только строевых, летчиков.
Не скажу, чтобы все, выполняемое сирийцем, было мне в диковинку: в испытательных и тренировочных полетах мы делали почти то же самое, но мы-то были испытателями, летчиками особенной квалификации и со специальной подготовкой, а тут обычный военный летчик, несомненно, высокого класса, вытворяет черт знает что! Только на посадке мой командир дал маху: как планировал на скорости 320 км/ч, так и плюхнулся на этой скорости практически без выравнивания.
Откуда-то на ВПП выехала автомашина. Абдель сходу включил форсаж, мы перепрыгнули через это неожиданное препятствие и ушли на второй круг. Окончательная посадка была столь же жесткой…
Грустно мне стало после этого полета и обидно за наших отечественных соколов, зажатых (не продохнуть!) не вполне иногда разумными ограничениями…»

http://babelfish.yahoo.com/ >

Flight of test pilot Boris Orlov in Syria on MiG-21UM, described by it in the book “notes of test pilot” “The flight commander Of Abdel, low robust fellow on the [krivovatykh] feet, he knew one Russian word “tovarich” and one English “OKay”, which pronounced, in essence, in the interrogative tone. I, naturally, in Arabic not into the tooth by foot, but in flight we each other somehow understood and even they could agree about their actions. Began our flight from the fact that Abdel immediately after takeoff, without having had time retracted landing gear, smoothly stretched to the halfloop. Aircraft did not very willingly go upward, noticeably stalling. At the height of approximately 1000 m we finally lay on the back; the pointer of indicated speed, which crept away to the left to 150 km/h, is slowly banal to the right. But aircraft quietly flew, did not shake, was not reversed, pilot confidently controlled machine. After collecting normal speed, it overturned aircraft from the back to the usual position, and we send into the piloting zone. What the pilot did: turns to the speed of 230-240 km/h, the hovering to the zero speed, the energetic maneuver of the type “[khay] of GEE hollander” (“barrel” with the high overload) – always was perceived his instantaneous reaction to the behavior of aircraft, motion by controls were precise and coordinated, was especially noticeable the energetic and clear work of feet, barely used in the practice of our combatant, yes even not only combatant, pilots.
I shall not tell, that everything which are carried out the Syrian, was to me in wonder: in test and training flights we did almost the same, but we were verifiers, pilots of especial qualification and with special preparation, and here the usual military pilot, undoubtedly, a high class, gets up what the hell!
Only on the landing my commander gave to swing: as it planned at the speed of 320 km/h, so also it flopped at this speed practically without the levelling off. From somewhere on VPP left motor vehicle. Abdel to gathering included afterburner, we jumped over through this unexpected obstacle and they left to the second circle. Final landing was so rigid…
It became sad to me after that flight and it is insulting for our domestic falcons clamped (to not breathe freely!) not quite sometimes reasonable restrictions… »

The tactic as -21 pilot would be to drag an opponent into a low airspeed engagement,

On the contrary > in the famous “exercise-500-series” there were a lot of very high-speed, low-level ACM, tactic commendations for Fishbed pilots.
This program started at regiment level in non-Soviet WP-airforces from 1972-74, various nation by nation, Soviets started a bit earlier.

Like the exercise “500” :
Complex ACMs usually over the airbase(or in near airspace) at low-level, continuous use of the afterburner from start to finish.
The pilots main problems were > keep the speed under 900km/h and do not damage the plane with too much G’s….

As “alfakilo” wrote >

Bull****. The only limit we had was on what was on the g meter when we landed. ]

Very same situation on the other side of the “wall”…

When the “500s” program started, after a short time many planes were damaged in ACM exercises.
Especially the rebuilt MiG-21SMT’s -21SM’s – with “big-mouth” & R25 engine – which arrived back to front-line units in the early-mid 70s.
These were the main reasons of the lot of structural reinforcments on the MiG-21bis
The “winner” im my range > MiG-21SMT 13G’s in ACM – landed, but with sheared 16th fuselage frame, fractured forward wing-joints…

When you started the “exercise-500” – 21SM -21SMT -21bis in clean, with full internal fuel – horizontal-8 with full AB, if the plane reached 900km/h(if you did not pull enough G’s), you had no other choice(speed run away) > shut off AB, if you shut off AB > this exercise was invalid(checked by black-box tape), also, if the average G was not enough high in this exercise(push gun trigger on stick at start and push at finish at last manouvre before landing, to sign on the tape to count average G) > this exercise was invalid.
Many physically tough exercises > older, big-assed, fat G-avoiders went to more peaceful positions….

…low altitude, high g turning contest based on EM Ps predictions. Let’s just say I didn’t buy the beer that night at the bar.

…again, same memories on the other side of the “wall”…

There were hard rules in “500s”, Doctor checked > you were in bed for 50 minutes between these sorties, no. of same exercises 3/day.
And Yes – no beer that night.
In the early days, when there were very few instructors with experience in “500s” – in the Soviet system, first an instructor checked you in every exercise from this series in double seater – pilots violated these rules, I seen 8 same exercises/day in pilots logbooks….sometimes those guys spent the night in those beds…;)

And here comes my hobby-horse again :diablo:
Luftwaffe did come into a legacy a lot of late modell Fishbeds 15 years ago…
Where are those nice diagrams for MiG-21MF -21bis ????

And btw you should take Russian or rather eastern block pilot training in consideration when mentioning accident rate.

In this case about 20-25% of those losses in the NVA-LSK > because of poor quality of the “Made in CCCP” engine-lubricant.
No training and no aircaft-performance relation.
All WP airforces lost many MiG-21F-13 -21U -21PF -21PFM on the same way….
Problem discovered 6th February 1967 at a dead-engine emergency landing of a MiG-21F-13.

Angolan MiG-21MF Fishbed ( in an unusual camouflage finish, adorned with splotches all over)

http://picasaweb.google.com/hanielp/AngolaAbril2008#5213688270459777906

MiG-21PFM

Do you have details about the Russian airlift from Tokol to Egypt in 1970?
No longer a secret, so the former personal can give some details about that.

Tököl AB near Budapest was the regular stopping-place for the Soviet flights to Egypt.
Tu-16, Beriev amphibians, Antonovs(I have many photos too, at this airbase HuAF had the MiG-21, Mi-8 rebuilt center, some of those guys were brave)….Soviet crew usually spent the whole night there. One of these Antonovs – full load in hot weather – crashed after takeoff, killed Hungarian civils.
There were an urban-legend: 515.iap. went to Egypt to fight – false too.