| The 4th-generation jet fighter aircraft Mikoyan | | | | unparalleled by western jet fighters. |
| MiG-29 was designed and developed by the Mikoyan | | | | Today, after the cold war finally ended without |
| design bureau in the USSR as a replacement for the | | | | becoming hot, flying a mig is possible to civilians from |
| MiG-23 Flogger for the Soviet Airforce. The MiG-29 | | | | the west, which was totally unthinkable two decades |
| Fulcrum air superiority jet fighter has been developed | | | | ago. Firstly, it became possible to fly migs at the |
| during the 1970s and joined the Air Force of the | | | | Zhukovsky flight test center near the town of |
| Soviet Union from 1983 at the well-known Kubinka | | | | Ramenskoe. Ironically, this is exactly the place where |
| airbase near Moscow. | | | | the new model was first spotted by western |
| The Soviets were afraid about the US Fighter X | | | | reconnaissance satellites and therefore got the name |
| program that lead to the F-15 fighter. Finally, the | | | | Ram-L. The possibility to fly mig 29 became possible |
| Soviets decided to develop two fighter designs to | | | | due to financial problems of the Russian Federation. |
| counter the American advantage: The PFI program | | | | In 2006, fly a mig 29 and other aircraft like mig 23 or |
| (the smaller part of the program, about 1/3) resulted | | | | also the mig 25 or su 27 became unavailable at |
| in the bigger and heavier Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker jet | | | | Ramenskoe airbase. The reason why fly migs |
| fighter, while the bigger part was the LPFI | | | | stopped is not fully transparent, it is expected that it |
| (Perspektivnyy Lyogkiy Frontovoy Istrebitel) that | | | | came with the improved financial situation after |
| resulted in the Mikoyan MiG-29 Fulcrum. Both come | | | | soaring commodity prices. |
| from the same aerodynamic studies, and the | | | | The operator had therefore to find another |
| similarities of the two concepts can easily be | | | | opportunity to fly migs, which it luckily founds in the |
| recognized. LPFI means "Advanced Lightweight | | | | Russian town of Nizhniy Novgorod. Flying mig 29 and |
| Tactical Fighter" program. The LPFI could be | | | | other models became available again, although the |
| described as Soviet version of the US- lightweight | | | | available models are limited compared to the wider |
| program that finally resulted in the General Dynamics | | | | range of migs that where available at Zhukovsky |
| F-16 Fighting Falcon and the Boeing F-18 Hornet | | | | airbase. Fly migs was limited to the mig 29 fulcrum |
| program, respectively. The Su-27 remained the | | | | and the mig 31 foxhound, an even faster and heavier |
| counterpart of the F-15. | | | | military jet that was often used for edge of space |
| The MiG-29 was that good, that the west was quite | | | | passenger flights up to an altitude of 24km. |
| afraid that it has not only lost the advantage, but | | | | After 2009, however, the mig 29 became the only |
| was now behind the Soviet Union. Especially the | | | | jet left for passenger jet fighter flights. Flying migs, |
| aerodynamics seemed to be superior, a fact that has | | | | flying the beast from the cold war today is surely |
| been supported after the newly developed MiG-29 | | | | one of the more exciting things. It is, to historians as |
| performed at airshows in the west years later, | | | | well as to aviation specialists, still unbelievable. |
| showing the famous Pugachev Cobra, a maneuver | | | | |