You know that:
- The Soviet command's 1969 requirements for a new aircraft to counterbalance the American machines were so high that during development in the 1970s, Russia had to abort the program due to extreme costs and split it into two branches. Thus the light MiG-29 fighter and the heavier Sukhoi Su-27 machine were created.
- The MIG-29 from the Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau took off for the first time from Nizhnenovgorod corporate airport on October 6, 1977.
- The fighter was developed as a counterweight to the American F-15 Eagle and F/A-18 Hornet machines and its production is still underway today.
- An interesting feature of the MiG-29 is undoubtedly the shape of the fuselage, which contributes up to 40% of the total lift.
- At the time of its creation, it was a competitor that was exported to most of the former Warsaw Pact countries.
- The MiG-29 is equipped with, among other things, the IRTS system for target acquisition based on heat signatures, which is prone to jamming, however, at the time of its creation it was a feared weapon system.
- All countries that operated MiGs had one common problem, namely a chronic shortage of quality spare parts. The supply of spare parts thus mirrored the economic problems of the entire Eastern Bloc.
- The German Democratic Republic (DDR) purchased 24 MiG 29s in 1988.
- 21 MiGs are owned by the US, which uses them for combat training.
- A total of 14 different versions have been built.
- More than 1,600 have been produced to date.
Technical parameters:
- dimensions: fuselage length 17,32 m, wingspan 11,36 m, height 4,73 m
- weight (empty) 10 900 kg
- maximum take-off weight 18 480 kg
- power unit 2 x Klimov RD-33K twin-jet engines, each with a thrust of 49.4 kN (86.4 kN with afterburner)
- maximum speed 2 445 km/h (Mach 2.3)
- radius of action 700 km
- maximum range 1 430 km
- fuel tank capacity 3 630 kg
- maximum flight level 18 013 m
- climb rate 300 m/s
- crew 1 person
- armament Gryazev-Shipunof GSH-30-1 30 mm calibre cannon + 6 suspensions for missiles weighing up to 3 500 kg
From the memoirs of Czechoslovak pilot Vaclav Vasek:
"The MiG-29 has withstood comparison with Western aircraft. They were as afraid of us there as we were of them."
Assembly instructions
