Hello all:
I’ve just picked up Smer’s 1/48 MiG-17 PF (radar equiped version) and have a few questions:
What was the particular designation of the type’s ejection seet? I’ve been over to The Ejection Site, but the information on it is limited and I’m suspicious that the photo they have there is a somewhat incomplete example of the seat. Does the MiG-17 have a website where I could view some pictures of the seat in active service birds?
Second, I’ve seen pictures of this variant of the MiG-17 with and without the brake chute housing. I’m considering making mine an Egyptian machine from the late 60’s, anyone know if the Egyptian ones had the brake chute on theirs at that time?
Is there anyplace on the net where I can see good pictures of the cockpit of this variant of the bird? The cockpit in the kit is quite nice, I just want to make sure its right.
Lastly, I know the 17 was developed from the 15. The wheels in the kit are something of a weak point, I know I can get MiG-15 wheels aftermarket, would they be accurate on a MiG-17 as well?
Thanks in advance.
From ejectorseats.co.uk
Following ground rig testing, the first airborne live ejection in the USSR was carried out by GA Kondraschow, from a modified Petlaykov Pe-2, on June 24, 1947. This seat, designed by the Mikoyan OKB, was subsequently fitted to MiG-9s and on January 16, 1948, a live ejection was carried out from the front seat of a M1G-9UTI at 412kts (764km/h). The seat was cleared for operation at speeds of up to 378kts (700km/h) and heights above 820ft (250m) and installed in MiG-15s, MiG-17s and the 1-320
I believe it was the KK2 fitted to the MiG 19, but cant verify for the 17
This is just an interjection that is of no help to the question. While I was working for the late Combat Jets Flying Museum, we operated a MiG 15 and a MiG 21. When the Russians first started using ejection seats on the first MiGs and their other early jets, they were known as pretty much 100 percent back-breakers and man-killers. So a lot of Russian pilots, like their American counterparts in F-80s and F-84s, rode their planes down to the deaths, hoping to pull out rather than eject.
The irony is, Russia is now accepted as the hands down world leader in emergency egress technology. They build as close to the perfect ejection seat as can be had, short of actually having the Hand of God slowly lower your precious carcass to the ground. If you don’t believe this, look at all those films of Russian pilots making impossible low-level ejections at airshows, in at least two cases following terrible midair collisions at about 300-500 ft AGL, and walking away without so much as a bruise.
TOM