The American G.I.s of the 2003 wave have marked their passage with their "tags" and pose for a souvenir photo...
A sleek, elegant aircraft, the Soviet Mikoyan-Gurevitch Mig 29 Fulcrum was developed in the early 1970s, and made its maiden flight on October 6, 1977. It entered service in 1983, and is used today by many countries. Over 1,100 have been built to date. With a length of 17.32m and a wingspan of 11.36m, it can fly at Mach 2.3 at 10,000 meters, thanks to its two Klimov/Sarkisov turbojet engines...
The Mig 29 has a very low radar signature, and can perform high load-factor turns despite the absence of computer-assisted fly-by-wire controls. Its short range - 1,150km - confines it mainly to homeland defense rather than attack missions...
Designed to counter the new Western F-14 - F-15 -F-16 - Tornado & Mirage 2000 fighters, it was used in the Gulf War in 1991, then in the Kosovo War and in the Ethiopia-Eritrea conflict in 1999. It's highly likely that a Mig 29 in the hands of a skilled and motivated pilot is an extremely formidable adversary...
The 1:48 scale Academy model was reworked based on photos of the real machine. Plates have been opened and numerous details added. The wing control surfaces have all been modified. The cockpit has been redesigned, and the canopy cut to obtain the breaks caused by the soldiers' weapons, who appear to have trained on it...
