Floggers, Fishbeds And Albatrosses In L'il Ol' Delaware
Delaware proudly proclaims itself as The First State, but it's not the first state that springs to mind when you think about air racing, or Russian military jets.
Readers of my previous blogs about Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoots won't be surprised to find that I've tracked down some more of their kin in this oft-overlooked state.
Wilmington's New Castle Airport is home to a large number of business jets, an Air National Guard unit (flying C-130Hs) and an Army National Guard unit (flying UH-60s).
Tucked away in an anonymous hangar lies a small collection of MiGs, namely two ex-Czechoslovak Air Force MiG 23 Floggers, and a MiG 21 Fishbed.
Pride of place is the pristine-looking MiG23 '05', in an all-over white scheme with blue streaks along it. In airworthy condition, but short on airtime these days due to the cost of flying it (and no doubt a small pool of qualified MiG23 pilots!)
The large Soviet-era Flogger is capable of Mach 2 and was produced by the thousand in the '70s and '80s. Its raw power can be imagined just by looking at the massive exhaust!
Its stable mate still bears the remnants of its days in the Czech Air Force, and is undergoing some restoration work at the moment. It would seem unlikely that this example will ever fly again, certainly not in the near future. Only a few hundred MiG23s remain in service, according to Aviation Week's Military Aircraft Database.
The MiG 21 Fishbed is the world's most produced supersonic fighter, with many thousands built over several decades, in a wide range of variants.
Not only distributed to Warsaw Pact countries, it was exported widely around the world, notably to India, Africa and the Middle East. India still flies a large number of them today and a few still linger on in Eastern Europe's aging Air Forces. Some 1600 MiG21 and Chinese derivatives remain active today.
This particular example is also in immaculate condition and has participated in the world-renowned Reno Air Races in Nevada. This may have resulted in some rather one-sided races given its supersonic capability!
Also forming part of this collection is another gleaming machine, the Let 39 Albatross named 'Pipsqueak'. The Czech-made Let 39 has been in production for several decades through various iterations, namely the 39, 59 and 159. It also enjoyed great export success, with thousands being sold around the world, including many back to the Soviet Union in Cold War days. Its success may be in part due to it performing numerous roles as a primary jet trainer, advanced trainer or light fighter.
Nowadays, many are in the hands of private owners, and there are some 250 or so on the FAA civil register, though not all are airworthy. This example has also taken part in the Reno Races.
Across the other side of New Castle Airport, Red Eagle Avionics specialize in supporting Soviet-era aircraft, and regularly host Let 39s for maintenance.
At the time of my visit, there were two outside on the apron, one in Thunderbirds livery...
..and one in full Czech Air Force livery, with a spurious Russian-style bort number on the nose.
Inside, receiving attention was a former Slovak Air Force example, again in superb-looking condition.
So back to that pair of Su-25 Frogfoots on the farm elsewhere in Delaware...it turns out that one of the owners of those is also one of the owners of Red Eagle here. Since writing that earlier story, one of the Su-25 owners got in touch to say the manuals have now been translated and that one of them might take to the sky "soon". Watch this space!
The author would like to thank the various aircraft owners and hangar staff for their assistance in writing this story.
All photos by Nigel Howarth