. . . 42 years, ago, today
https://theaviationist.com/2018/09/0...super-fighter/
Still remember seeing the pics . . .
. . . like a spaceship had landed
..........
Printable View
. . . 42 years, ago, today
https://theaviationist.com/2018/09/0...super-fighter/
Still remember seeing the pics . . .
. . . like a spaceship had landed
..........
An interesting adversary back in the day. It certainly could get high and fast but intel was that a Mach 3 run toasted the engines enough that they required replacement on landing. Regardless, killing an aircraft that's traveling at mach 3 required rapid geometry assessment and a near perfect attack profile to get a missile on target. Speed really was life for those guys.
Toyed with one in Iraq that was testing a no-fly line but he lived to fly another day...quite literally. Got shot down the next day when he got a little cockier (and actually over the line).
The 80s and 90s were a great time to be in military aviation...rough and tumble, mostly analog, jets with a few beeps and squeaks, lots of horsepower, and a thin safety margin. Reminds me a bit of these old cars we all cherish...
I read the book, MIG PILOt, years ago. A fascinating read. Nice way to spend a few hours during our quarantine.
Jim
27 th of December 1992, maybe?Quote:
Originally Posted by jimhuiz
That sounds about right.Quote:
Originally Posted by 928cs
Source:Quote:
Originally Posted by jimhuiz
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikoyan-Gurevich_MiG-25
"After the war, on 27 December 1992, a U.S. F-16D downed an IQAF MiG-25 that violated the no-fly zone in southern Iraq with an AIM-120 AMRAAM missile. It was the first USAF F-16 air-to-air victory and the first AMRAAM kill."
What kind of plane were you flying?
subscribed, tell more stories of air to air encounters. I remember flying with a buddy back in the early 80s in a Super Decathalon from Louisiana to Phoenix, AZ, to fly sailplanes at Maricopa Gilder Port south of Phoenix. I was in the back seat. We flew adjacent (about five miles) to an MOA (miliary operations area) in New Mexico and were at 5,000 agl when two F15s magically appeared about 1,000 feet below and less than 1/4 mile directly in front of us climbing FAST in full afterburner. My buddy in the front seat screamed and pushed the nose over on sighting them and I caught a glimpse of them and their afterburners as they flew past. I have no idea if they saw us but it was a butt puckering moment. I was trained as a glider pilot then transitioned to single engine. The rule is keep your eyes out of the cockpit at all times, glance at your instruments. My buddy also was trained first as a glider pilot.
Wish I had a Mig story...
Some years ago at Oshkosh a stubby wing jet did several low fly-bys over the flight line, that the crowd enjoyed. Known for having a checkered history (Yeager accident) but it seemed quite impressive.
Normally, polished aluminum.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOwIdAXlgPg
If you were squawking they probably knew you were there and were just screwing around with you...5000ft was a hard deck for maneuvering and if their burners were lit up it was probably for show and laughs. I had numerous close encounters with civilian props and jets flying through MOAs and only once was it a complete surprise (and an extremely...like < 100ft at 500kts closure, close call). Big sky theory never let me down (knock on wood).Quote:
Originally Posted by JackMan
I was in Eagles during the whole Iraq thing (90-96, although in some respects it has never ended). My unit shot down more Migs than anyone else but it wasn't to be for me, just the Foxbat encounter during Southern Watch and several combat missions supplying air cover so the ground pounders could blow shit up. Unfortunately, it came back around to us with the Khobar towers terrorist attack and we lost several members...mostly enlisted. I had moved on to a new unit by then so wasn't in theatre with them at the time but got the call from my Bros the next day or so. Sad days for many.
Air to air was da balls, best mission ever (still is I presume) and the greatest group of guys (and later gals) I got to serve with. It was crazy dangerous though, even in training. On the track you end up in the kitty litter and maybe upside down, or into a wall, but the rule is to be able to walk (or limp) away. Most everyone in the flying world just bites it when things go wrong. For every time you hear about someone punching out and making it...there are many more who just didn't. I'm more reflective now with the passage of time, and although looking back on things makes me cringe with the unnecessary risk and bravado and general craziness, I wouldn't have done anything differently and I feel incredibly privileged to have had the experience. At the same time I really don’t want to glorify it.
The recent loss of 9 of our service members off shore shows that in some respects, nothing has changed. I was in a privileged and protected position when I was flying...the jets were fabulously maintained and far superior to anything you'd ever meet in combat. The SAMS were somewhat dangerous but more so for the ground pounders (bombers). if I would've bit the dust it would have most likely been of my own doing...at least partly so. Our troops serving in security forces, intel, special forces, front line hospitals, ground battalions, aircraft carrier mx squadrons, and more are the one's I really look up to. They do their job without the advantage of a 50 or 100M dollar jet backing them up, and even when they do everything right they all too often pay the price. Those guys and gals, like our 8 marines and one seaman...they're the real shit. Us flyboys...we were mostly just full of ourselves ;-)