MiG-29: The Soviet Answer to the F-16

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[groove]

In May/June of 1990 we saw the Mig-29 and SU-27 fly at the Will Rogers Airport in OKC.
We were told by the announcer that we were among the first "Westerners" to see them fly.
First was the Mig-29, it was incredibly agile and did maneuvers that seemed to rely on pure Engine power it seemed, doing Cork-screw turns on its tail as it climbed at times with one Engine turned off.
The SU-27 looked a bit like a giant F-15. It was the most impressive of the two planes. It did every maneuver the Mig did, but did seem like a more refined aircraft. The Mig's engines smoked.
Both planes did the Cobra right in front of us which was very impressive. Finally the Pilots landed and got out and waved to the crowd. Beautiful aircraft. Both were painted in sky blue and light grey as I remember.
For what it's worth I thought I'd put that out there.

[evanulven]

"Protect yourself online with a Mig-"

Love to. Threat of a strafing run would probably improve my ISP's customer service.

[Werrf]

"It's a shame that the F-16 and the MiG-29 never fought each other." Vladimir Putin: "Hold my vodka."

[ignitionfrn]

2:10 - Chapter 1 - Background
5:05 - Chapter 2 - Export
6:25 - Mid roll ads
8:05 - Chapter 3 - The aircraft itself
13:00 - Chapter 4 - Armaments
13:40 - Chapter 5 - The americans MiG29s
14:35 - Chapter 6 - Operational history
17:00 - Chapter 7 - Mikoyan 1.44, the failed successor
19:05 - Chapter 8 - The dogfight of the imagination

[forodrim]

I'm a bit amazed that you forgot the German Mig-29, that German inherited after the reunification. They were used extensively in training exercises with the US, so that pilots could train against a real Mig. Those exercises also showed some of the advantages the Mig had over the F-16 f that time, in close combat the Mig was almost unbeatable while the US planes had a clear advantage at beyond visual range. "Military Aviation History" has a great video about that.

[brucelez]

Additional point worth noting, the MIG29 has vents in the top of the wing that allow it to draw air from above the wings for the engines, this enables it to take off from dusty runways and adds to the deployment options.

[kvant]

There's actually one air force that, to this day, uses BOTH the MiG-29 and the F-16. Poland.

Going back in time and showing someone in the 1980s a picture of a MiG-29 and F-16 flying side-by side in the same livery would be pretty surreal.

[kalle]

Something that’s super cool is that the Swedish jet fighter j-35 draken (dragon) from 1955 could also perform a cobra, but instead of using thrust vectoring it used a wing with control surfaces, and no extra pure control surface like a canard wing

[atacorion]

The MIG-29 was not designed as an air superiority fighter, it was a tactical fighter, an interceptor that would fly close to the battle lines, the SU-27 was an air superiority fighter.

[mordentus]

Simon speaks about MiG-29 supermaneurability, the entire time it's Su-27 or Su-30 video demonstrating it. Hillarious

[mariebcfhs]

India: How many MiG-29 should we order?
Indian Government: Order 66

[garethmurtagh]

One of the Mig-29’s designers was asked about its lack of range, he joked that it was “a fighter designed to protect the boundaries of its own airfield”

[Scar]

0:28 - I'll take the 29 over shurfshark

[richardmeyeroff]

Germany also used the Mig 29's that they inherited from East Germany after rejoining.

[haha__cool_yes]

Love the video, but thrust is measured in “lbf” meaning “pounds of force” as opposed to pounds of mass like when weighing oneself. “Pound feet” refers to torque, and is written “lbft”. Easy to misread, but something to clarify for the future

[MikeBracewell]

Loads of things wrong with this, so many it's difficult where to start the criticisms. Here's a few to begin with: The Mig was a point-defence fighter not an air-superiority fighter, the F-15 entered service in 1975. The Mig 29's original load was 4 tonnes, upped to 6 in later versions (you can find this info everywhere). Nothing is mentioned of the plane's helmet mounted sight & the capability of the R73 in close combat which caused a great deal concern in the west during the early 90s. The Mig's "party piece" was the tail-slide not the Cobra - that honour went to the SU 27. The '29 does not have FBW nor RSS, so although capable of performing a kind of Cobra manoeuvre, it's can only do it fleetingly & not to the same extreme angle that the Sukhoi can achieve. Having said that, a 1950's vintage Saab Draken can achieve the Cobra manoeuvre, & this does not possess a particularly high T/W nor fancy flight control avionics: the Cobra is all about aerodynamics & a "soft" stall-point. Another moot point is you're comparing late model F-16 figures to standard A series Mig 29s. During the cold-war, the F-16 was fitted with the less-powerful & fuel efficient PW F-100 engine & was a far-less capable machine. I suggest you spend more time researching your videos rather than honing your chit-chatty delivery.

[mussagan]

Simon every time you uttered the word the 'Cobra Manoeuvre' you have managed to show an Su-30 doing that never a Mig 29

[Grumpy_old_Boot]

If you want to buy an aircraft that can go over Mach 2, the demilitarized MIG-29 is the cheapest one you can buy - Even to this day!

[Cmoth]

IMHO, the two most graceful-looking fighters ever are the F-16 and the Mig-29. Aviation Art. Russian engines: Engineer: "How much power do you want?" Pilots: "Yes".

[ApprendreLangues]

"You can protect yourself online with a MiG-29"... even Simon's promotional comments are entertaining!