J-20 Hotdog,

Please don’t post anymore of those large tank pictures by direct linking…..almost all in the forum have seen it. Is it too hard for you to resist posting those tank pictures? If its so, only post the links. TIA.

The best article I read was about a USAF F-16 pilots evaluation of German MIG 29, He was constantly saying how easier his F 16 is to fly compared to MIG. Let me try and dig it up.

I’ve got over 500 hours in the MiG-29 and 2000 hours in the F-16 (I also flew the F-15A/C and the F-5E). The following is an excerpt from a research papaer I wrote while working on a Master’s Degree in aerospace engineering. Bottom line: F16 (and F-15) good, MiG-29 bad.

MiG-29 Fulcrum Versus F-16 Viper

The baseline MiG-29 for this comparison will be the MiG-29A (except for 200 kg more fuel and an internal jammer, the MiG-29C was not an improvement over the MiG-29A), as this was the most widely deployed version of the aircraft. The baseline F-16 will be the F-16C Block 40. Although there is a more advanced and powerful version of the F-16C, the Block 40 was produced and fielded during the height of Fulcrum production.

The article is from CodeOne magazine?

And what credible info do you have or the pilot who wrote the article to prove that he actually have 500hours under his belt in a MiG-29? More importantly, did he actually train for combat flying or was his training manual all about how to use MiG-29 for picnic rides? From the article all we can get is that the guy who wrote the article is a pathetic learner and a Dumbass (!) when compared to Indian MiG-29 pilots!

I’d like to take you back to the tale when the in-service Mirage-2000 was pitted against the newly inducted MiG-29s by the IAF to evaluate them in the late 80s. I’m sure you have read that article and well aware of what I’m talking about.

The MiG-29s was brand new and the flight hours logged by the newly converted & young pilots who fought against the matured Mirage-2000 pilots had far fewer flight hours compared to their M2K counterparts. And there was pilots who had logged just over 50hours and showed their worth in duet. The result being, MiG-29s flown by the IAF pilots beat the crap out of the Mirage-2000 flown by the their counterparts!

Here the common factor was the standard of pilot training that each pilot gets before he converts to his combat aircraft. But the decider of the duet was superior aircraft when almost all the baseline standards & parameters was equal. In there the MiG-29s reigned supreme! And I do not have to tell you that Mirage-2000 is a standard for FBW aircrafts of that time and neither do I have to tell you the so-called “user-friendliness” of the Mirage-2000 compared to the MiG-29A.

And what it shows is that, the best article that you read in your lifetime was written by probably an incompetent pilot/pathetic learner who did not have the required brain mass to learn and fight with his MiG-29. Or maybe he was just biased. You can take whatever suits you. IAF MiG-29 pilots proved what I’m saying over 2 decades back.

I wonder if it’d be possible to just cut away and buy the I-masts with their sensors…:D

Yup, it wud be good for P-28 which have a lot of “head weight”… i don’t know what the guys were thinking when they designed the P-28 with such a ridiculous top-heavy “mast”. The same goes for the Kolkota class. It too need trimming down.

Looks like it would make a nice Yacht for someone. 😀

who could that be?….as Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich already bough one

and his Indian counterpart Vijay Mallya already got delivered his earlier.

Thats a very beautiful shot of the MiG-21 Bison. All the “muscles” on the airframe getting highlighted and the burner… 😎

And an earlier report on the Saras.

India Seeks Russia’s Help for Home Made Saras Aircraft

India Defence Online, New Delhi – After the hiatus of one year, the state-owned National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) will be aided by Russian experts to rectify and make design changes in India’s first indigenous aircraft called ‘Saras’.

Due to a fatal crash in March 2009, the development of the ‘Saras’ aircraft was stalled but Russian expertise is expected to bring the ‘Saras’ project to its fruition.

A pact was signed between India and Russia recently and an expert team from the Russian Government-run civil aircraft maker Myasishchev Design Bureau (MDB) is at National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) to assist Indian designers on the ‘Saras’ project.

Interestingly, it was MDB of Russia that first built and flew the small turboprop aircraft ‘Saras’ in the 1990s, but lack of funds forced MDB to abandon it despite its tie-up with NAL.

India’s premier research laboratory under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), has been holding talks with MDB since last year and has finally convinced a Russian team to India to assess the ‘Saras’ project again.

According to NAL officials, Russian experts will help speed up flight development and certification and will advise NAL on flight testing as well as on design issues like flight controls. Since the fatal crash in 2009, NAL has sought an additional $10 million build a new aircraft.

NAL had built two prototypes of the 14-seater ‘Saras’ aircraft. Despite that accident and the loss of one of the aircraft and three people, India’s home-grown multi-role “Saras” aircraft will still be acquired by the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Indian Navy. The price tag of each ‘Saras’ aircraft was $8 million then.

In July 2009, NAL officials indicated that the second prototype of the 14-seater Saras aircraft had been fitted with a high performance engine and its weight had been considerably reduced. The weight had been reduced after fine-tuning the aircraft’s structural design, more use of composites and optimisation of margins and electrical fittings. The reduction in the weight of the second prototype by over 500 kilograms from the first prototype of 5118 kilograms was also matched with a high thrust engine from Pratt and Whitney.

While no reasons were cited last year for the ‘Saras’ aircraft crash, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has investigated the crash and found fault with the management of the project and design issues such as unstable flight control laws. The DGCA recommended that NAL consult other aircraft makers for flight trials.

hmmmm…….they could have done this way much earlier rather than wasting 10-15 years to consult the original designers.

So the 15 aircraft that IAF is to get will be the modified Saras.

Pretty much what the articles say about delays. The ‘export’ version 22350 with Fregat radar and Shtil SAM would probably be quicker to build as a quick fix.

Is the Russian Navy only going for Stereguschys from Sevmash(a monopoly) or are they ever going to award a contract for a second, cheaper corvette type like we heard a while ago?

I would hope that Sevmash continue to have the “monopoly”, if not Russian Navy will be starved of even the submarines.

And 20380 is not being built in Sevmash as far as I know. Sevmash is a big yard and the biggest in Europe. The 20380 will be peanuts when compared to what they are building. The 20380 (& 22350) order was/is monopolized by the PRIVATE corporation and being built in St Petersberg
I’ve posted on that here…

http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showpost.php?p=1778575&postcount=132

corrections are welcome, if required, always.

Anti-spin parachute housing.

Ken

Thanks Ken

But why did they need a new housing or say why the protrusion? Anything else inside the tail cone? Did i miss something:confused: I can’t get it, can you please explain little more?
TIA

Poland signs MiG-29 upgrade deal
By Bartosz Glowacki

Poland’s defence ministry has signed a Zl133 million ($42.6 million) deal to upgrade some of its RSK MiG-29s.

Aiming to extend operations of 13 single-seat MiG-29A interceptors and three MiG-29UB two-seater trainers until at least 2030, the work will be performed by Poland’s Military Aviation Depot No 2.

http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2011/09/09/361817/poland-signs-mig-29-upgrade-deal.html

After this upgrade will Poland offer their own MiG-29 upgrade package??
When we talk about copying, most of the people point their fingers at Russia or China. But Poland have been one of the biggest copycat living off with all the “modified” Soviet systems and at the same time bitching about Russia.