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the local warplane museum is always a source of intresting things around here. The latest is a Polish made, MIG-17 terrorizing our skies. I've not spotted it in the air myself, but I hope to sometime soon. it's an impressive bird to see on the ground.
Here's the article in our local paper
Rebuilt MiG-17 model D
Today was waving to the pilot in the steerman biplane as he tooled over the shop, low and slow.
Love the sound of that radial.
 
Be interesting to know how much he has in it to make it airworthy again. Old foreign jet aircraft are fairly common on the used aircraft market. Most are not as expensive as some might think. The only problem is, parts availability. They usually have to be shipped here and not flown,(if their flyable), unless a ton of paperwork is done and knowing the FAA, that could take months. I've seen some sold for less than the cost of a used 172 Cessna. 48 to 50 Gs will get you a flyable one.
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Takin' too long to load the page here. I'll look later.

Never saw a MiG until the USSR collapsed and they started showin' up in 'collections' here.
 
I'll bet there are a lot of fabricated (and complicated) parts used in that MIG resto.

Somebody has a lotta money to throw at that plane . . .

Wow. Nice.
 
Article hints that it took a year or better to get the plane to the U.S. from the scrapyard it was in in Poland. and when it arrived it had been horribly treated, vandalized, and poorly crated for shipping. It was a total resto. everything was reworked. I saw it in the restoration hanger a couple of years ago. He's paid for his hanger space by giving the museum a MiG-13.
I'm still watchin the skies. he hasen't flown it yet. weather has not been cooperating for a photo shoot.
Like many of our british cars, it's this mans' passion. and he's plainly got lots more cash flow than I do.
the kicker is, he's not even a pilot! he's hired a pilot to come and fly it for him.
 
I imagine that the skill set for flying a jet fighter is different than that a cessna. I wouldn't doubt that the FAA is going require that the pilot have a rating that includesa jet fighters.

My uncle handbuilt a 3/4 size all aluminum P-51D. Wonderful plane, he said it flew like his vette drove. It only took him 13 years to get it in the air.
 
Don_R said:
I imagine that the skill set for flying a jet fighter is different than that a cessna. I wouldn't doubt that the FAA is going require that the pilot have a rating that includesa jet fighters.
Click to expand...

Yup. They do. Doesn't interest me in the least either. I'd rather be in a cub :smile:

Anyway...There is no rating per-se. The Mig 15/17/21, L39s, F104, etc, are considered "surplus military turbojet" aircraft and require a letter of authorization from the FAA for that specific aircraft. To be eligible you have to be at least a private pilot with an instrument rating, minimum of 500 hours as pilot in command in airplanes, and minimum of 1000 hours flight time. Then there's successfully completing the required training, etc.
 
A group of investors bought a MiG 21 for next to nothing and had it shipped to Frederick, MD. We let them assemble it in our hangar. I like the styling of the 21 with the pointy nose; very Cold War looking. It was in rough shape and they didn't or couldn't restore it to flying shape. It sat on the ramp for a long time and finally became a gate guardian or museum piece somewhere. It would make a great gate guardian.

They had better luck with two Lavochkin L-29 two-place jets. All they needed was assembly and they flew them often. They also sat on the ramp for a good while but were eventually sold.

Just like messin' with LBCs; you do it for the passion, not the money. They might have said they were doing it for an investment, but no one believed them.

It was fun having the ships in the hangar. Like working in a museum.
 
There was/is a place in Gadsden, AL that bought, imported, & refurbished ex-communist bloc jet-engined planes...last time I was over there, their hangar & parking lot were full of fighter jets & commercial aircraft.

Here in Huntsville, there's a little airport, Moontown Air Field, that's home to several YAK-52's, an Antonov AN-2P plus a huge Russian commercial plane - a biplane - though I don't know what it is...I either see it in the air or it's locked up in its hangar.
 
There are lots of Yak52s (and others) and AN2s around - and I seem to see L29/L39s quite a lot (not to mention the scads of Sukhois too).
 
hmmm... Usin' that model, I wonder if there's gonna be a gaggle of F4's an' A7's showin' up in Chinese aircraft collections in the next few years? :devilgrin:
 
aerog...what's the big biplane that flies real slow that they used for transortation between villages? cabin is huge? Not a jet but unusual.
 
YEAH!! That's it....there's one here at Moontown Air Field...it's kept locked in a hangar except when you see it flying overhead.

It's kept in the red roof hangar all by itself to the left in the photo of Moontown:

moontown2.JPG
 
Ford Tri motor evolution?
 
PAUL161 said:
aerog said:
I'd rather be in a cub :smile:
Click to expand...

I'll agree with that one!
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Click to expand...

Well guys, I'll meet you half way... a cub on tow and then the grob 103 from release...
 
tony barnhill said:
aerog...what's the big biplane that flies real slow that they used for transortation between villages? cabin is huge? Not a jet but unusual.
Click to expand...

Cabin is huge. I worked for a guy who ran a Drop Zone and he was always talking about getting an AN2. He bought an AN2 after I quit and I went back to look at it.

He could fit 17 jumpers in it!

I think the AN2 is the largest single-engine biplane.
 
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