Certified and Registered: 1953 MiG-15UTI
I always admire a seller with a candid approach, and that is undoubtedly the case with the owner and this 1953 MiG-15UTI. He doesn’t have to sell this fighter, and categorically won’t hand it to someone inexperienced. He acknowledges that these are extraordinarily difficult aircraft to fly, and has no interest in seeing some rich novice go out in a blaze of glory when they confuse ambitions with ability. However, it is currently registered, and returning it to the sky should be straightforward. Therefore, if you have the skills and the money, it could be an ideal project.
The first production MiG-15 took to the skies in 1949, and apart from a high build total, it is the aircraft’s service life that makes it genuinely extraordinary. They remain in active use today within the North Korean Air Force for pilot training duties. The “UTI” was essentially a flight trainer, with the weapon arsenal restricted to a single machine gun. The seller purchased this 1953 example, and with a rush of blood to the head, commenced stripping its exterior for a cosmetic refresh. However, time and circumstances mean that never eventuated. It means that the new owner must complete the work, but it shouldn’t be complicated. The important factor to consider is that this MiG is Certified and Registered, making returning it to the sky relatively straightforward.
If you like your classics with plenty of dials and gauges, this MiG will tick the boxes for you. The sheer quantity of instruments and switches makes the seller’s claims about how difficult these aircraft are to operate easily believed. There are no luxuries, with everything inside the cockpit purely functional. Surprisingly, the MiG houses some proven British technology. Rolls-Royce granted the company a license to build its RB.41 Nene turbojet engine, which Russia produced domestically as the Klimov VK-1. This engine gave the MiG a top speed of 688mph and a cruising speed of 530mph. The range was also quite impressive for the era, with the MiG-15 capable of covering 1,570 miles if kept at its optimum altitude of 39,000 feet. The seller indicates that apart from replacing the rubber lines and hoses, this UTI has no mechanical needs or shortcomings.
The MiG-15 proved a success, and with 13,130 produced in Russia alone, no jet aircraft enjoys a higher build total. This MiG-15UTI looks like an excellent project for the right person, and the price is surprisingly affordable. The seller listed it here on eBay in Oswego, New York. The price of $35,000 is not negotiable, and the buyer must fulfill strict criteria, even if they land at the door with the cash in hand. It will be fascinating to see whether it finds a new home, and although the listing’s “watch” total is low, it only takes one person for this MiG to head to greener pastures.
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Comments
For many months during the War in Korea, these were the scourge of the sky and outclassed the jets of the free world. Their sweptback wing design for high speed tactics overwhelmed the combat aircraft especially as most often Russian pilots were in the cockpit. At the time most NATO aircraft were generally left over from the end of WW2. Not until the North American F-86 Sabre replaced the straight wing Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star and Republic F-84 Thunderjet was the MiG-15 successfully challenged, such was the advanced design edge.
A distinctly important piece of aviation history right here, and the seller is absolutely right to thoroughly canvass the buyer.
GLWTS
Tums up, Nev. I must admit, while not my cup of tea, what is cool is the knowledge for some things exhibited here. Back a 53 footer into a dark loading dock, I’m your man. I tried to avoid the sound barrier. Thanks for the additional info, didn’t mean to steal your F86 part.
FWIW-the white line painted straight down the instrument panel came with the admonition to the pilot that they put the stick there should they begin to lose control of the aircraft….!
Oy, may as well feature Hollywood hats, what? They did? Oh yeah, while I suppose it could qualify for an item found in a barn, nowhere in the title does it say it has to be a car, but really, I’m sure there’s a site for this kind of stuff, I’d place this in the same category as the hat, come on, I’m in danger of losing interest in the site. Trucks, why not more trucks? Those seem to hit a nerve, wood boats, vintage campers, farm tractors, even an obscure Asian offering, a vintage chainsaw for heavens sake,,, but the only use I see for this, what is Art Arfons doing these days? Oh, right, 2007 at 81.
Anyway, back to our regularly scheduled program,,,whatever that is. Apparently, some additional research, because it does have to do with military, freedom and all, I read, it was called, a MiG 15 UTI,,ahem,,Fag0t, which I thought was rather odd, but I’m not sure there was anything funny about one of these on your tail. Must have been an incredible ride. I know very little about our air power, except it was the best, I read it was the F86 Sabre that cut these to pieces. USA, USA,,,sorry,
Howard,
The controversial name associated with this aircraft was assigned by NATO. All Russian/Soviet aircraft have NATO reporting names- I had to memorize every one them while in the USAF. All fighter names start with F: Fitter, Foxbat, Flagon, Frogfoot, etc. Bombers start with a B: Bear, Backfire, Blinder, Blackjack, etc. Cargo planes start with a C: Coot, Camp, etc. Helicopters with a H: Hind, Hip, Havoc, etc. When documenting AOB (Air Order of Battle) at a Soviet airfield on intelligence reports based upon overhead photography, it was just easier to say “12 Flagon, 6 Fitter”, etc.
Names are also given to systems within the EOB (Electronic Order of Battle), such as radar systems: Spoonrest, Firecan, Long Talk, etc. These systems are (were) typically associated with airfields.
I had to dust off 50 year old memories to come up with some of those names…. 😉
My dad flew B52’s, I grew up on Air Farce bases,
I think one Russian Fighter (Mig 23?) was code named “Faggot”
me always laughed at that one
MiG 23= Flogger.
In addition, jets are 2 syllable words and propeller planes were 1 syllable. Yak 9 Frank and Tu-4 Bull
If I recall correctly, the one-syllable NATO names denote “propeller driven” (ex., Bear = propeller (a turbo prop bomber) whilst the 2-syllable names are “jet powered.”
Good morning Howard, just a heads up. I read in the paper today the hat sold for $ 630,000 K !
Hi Mike, dang, missed it by $50 bucks,,,
h,o,a…truth wuz, when russky pilots flew, kill ratio on us wuz 10:1…when n. korea pilots, 10:1. for america…be blessed, grateful, prepared…soloed 1960
Its transportation so it qualifies and very interesting to most, that is what is important the interest of things unless you live in a closet
Buying this at a price is the least of ones worries
Buying fuel ⛽️ is the breaking of the bank as the aviation price and consumption is Wowsa.
Good lick with sake .
Tom Cruise or John Travolta any change in those deep pockets 😎
Apparently, Michael Dorn, the actor who plays the Klingon Worf (if you’re into Star Trek you know), owns and regularly flies an F86. Wouldn’t be surprised if he’s spent some time in its chief adversary the Mig 15.
Way beyond my qualifications but cool.
A 45 minute flight in the Collings Foundation TA-4 is $8000. So I’m guessing you’d spend 4-6000 dollar per hour in fuel alone. Wonder what the annual inspection would cost…
There’s a video on YouTube by one of the guys who flies a Corsair in the movie “Devotion”. He said people always ask, “What does it take to fly a Corsair”? The answer is pretty simple, “At least 200 hours in a T-6”. Advantage Aviation in Palo Alto rents out a T-6 at $600 an hour, so do the math.
You can fly for an hour in one of the only 2 remaining flying Lancasters for a measly C$3,900 (around US$2,800 to most of you):
http://www.warplane.com/aircraft/flights/buy.aspx
It flies directly south of our house, probably 3-4 times a week in the summer – it is quite something to see, but the sound of it is amazing!
best
bt
For a second, I thought that I saw Tom Cruise sitting in the cockpit of this aircraft in the lead photo, getting ready to hit the afterburner in the opening scene of Top Gun XVII.
While in the Air Force stationed in Nevada we went to the Reno air races. They had a static display at the airfield that included one of these. Nicely restored but impressive as the design and the workmanship by the builders was first rate. Would like to see this one when it’s finished.
I chuckled at your comment about workmanship. A Soviet pilot defected to Japan in 1976 while I was at Rediness Command with a MiG 25 Foxbat- the most advanced Soviet fighter at the time. It was designed to climb fast and high, powered by two enormous jet engines, to intercept strategic bombers and to try to shoot down the SR-71 with air-to-air missiles. Japan wouldn’t let the U.S. take the aircraft out of the country (to avoid provoking Russia), so U.S. technicians completely disassembled the aircraft in Japan for exploitation, eventually returning it to Russia in numerous crates (minus a number of components). The debrief reports that I read mentioned vacuum tube avionics, steel, non-flush rivets in the fuselage and many components fabricated from steel (where U.S. aircraft would have used aluminum), leading to signs of rust and corrosion throughout. Overall, fairly crude for the standards of the day. It was not nearly the potent threat that we imagined.
The Soviet helicopter I had flown are also incredibly crude. Frightening really. I was approaching an airport and the control tower reported smoke coming from the helicopter. I responded it was just the normal exhaust plume. Not terribly efficient and grossly under powered.
The same era UH-1 is an engineering marvel by comparison.
I’d put an LS in it! and maybe find the control column
Looks like one of the many that lined the runway in Guangzhou,China back in the early 80’s.
The cost of restoring the MIG would be astronomical and the of course, you would have to be a certified pilot to fly the aircraft!
The aircraft would have to be certified by the FAA, no easy task. Good luck!
It says it’s certified and registered, if you read the writeup.
“Certification” must be repeated at least annually for any aircraft flown in the US. And for something like this with a limited number of licensed and qualified mechanics and shops, you’d better hope you’re already an owner/operator of jet warbirds. About 25 years ago I knew a fellow who flew F-86s in Korea and then back in the 90’s he bought a MiG-15 for fun. Part of his business was aircraft maintenance but another part was the demolition and scrapping of retired jet airliners – and all that remaining fuel had to go somewhere – hmmmm?
One of these was at our local airport for a time. You always knew when it was taking off or flying as the noise was deafening, even from five miles away.
You didn’t happen to live in the Joliet, Ill. area do you???
Would love to hear what Chuck Lutz has to say.
Bob Lutz
Yeah, that’s right. I knew a guy named Chuck who was kind of a no-bs type of fellow like Bob seems to be.
What’s interesting is that the language on the gauges is English and not Cyrillic. I’m guessing they are replacements?
An old and dear friend of mine was the first US pilot to shoot down a MIG
with an F-80 shooting star in the early
stages of the Korean War in 1950. His name was Russell Bowen and at the
at the time I met him, he was a regular customer at the Taco Bell restaurant I worked at in Winter
Haven Florida. It was ’90 or ’91 when I first met him. He’d call me the Road
Runner because I always did the meep meep sound to let folks know I
was there so I wouldn’t accidentally
run into them. He told me the story of
how he shot the MIG down about a year after I met him. Before that, he
was just a cool old man with a really
good sense of humor and whose name I never knew. Then one day, he
told me about shooting down the MIG. He told me that he celebrated a
a bit and then he said he felt very cold
inside after seeing the plane explode.
On his way back to base, he said that
it was the most sobering thing he’d
ever done. He said that a lot of fighter pilots felt the same way he did,
and like him, they were there to do
their bit and protect the world from
the Red Menace that was so feared at
that time. As I said, I knew him by face and not by name. That wouldn’t
come until I saw an episode of Wings
on the Discovery Channel where his
name was mentioned. He was very
surprised when I called him by name
the next time I saw him at the store
a few days later. Over time, he would
bring many of his aviator friends to
my store with him. All I can say is that I wished I’d brought a tape recorder from home to capture all the
stories they told there. I said goodbye
to him for the last time in May of 1999 when he and his daughter moved to Lima, Peru. I’m sure he’s gone now but the stories he told made me respect all those guys who
fought for our freedom. And as he
told me once, a true hero is one that
never made it home.
I sure wished that my “thumbs up” button worked! ^^^
Oral histories are so important- living accounts of what really happened. Most of the WW II people are gone, so we should work on harvesting the experiences of those who served in Korea and Vietnam, as they are “next in line”…
Great prize of history. Making it flight worthy is futile and it wouldn’t stay that way for long. Keep it on the ground and it will last forever, and be a symbol for our grand kids. Putting it in the air may cost the pilots’ life, not to mention those on the ground.
What’s a “slant eye”? Is that like a Slant 6 engine?
Here we go, again.
Big C- if people would only stick to talking about cars (or planes or hats or whatever) and related stories and experiences and leave the offensive language, stereotypes and all the other “culture war” detritus at the door, then I think everyone will have a much better time on BF. It really shouldn’t be that difficult- we are all supposedly adults here. We all love cars- let’s focus on that and go elsewhere to vent about non-automotive topics. I don’t go on the NYT or Washington Post websites to talk about cars.
Sorry. I was getting another HD tattoo on my hairy arms. What were you saying?
Planes of Fame Museum in Chino, CA flies a vintage plane the first Saturday of each month. They have the only Mitusbishi Zero flying on its original Nakajima Sakae engine. Ironically this year they will be flying it on Saturday, December 7th.
https://planesoffame.org/visit/flight-schedule
Fun Fact: Mr. Nakajima learned to fly in my hometown of San Diego, CA.
I’d need some more information about that air worthiness certificate before I got too excited. When was it issued, what class is it, and how long has it been sitting? And based on the answer to that last one, how much routine and preventative maintenance is required to show it’s up to date today.
In short, if you don’t have a certified MIG 15 mechanic already on the payroll, you might want to let this one get away.
My father was in the USAF in California when he bought a 1956 Volkswagen, around 1960, that had been brought back from Germany by a service member. Ironically, he had a young airman who worked for him that had trained at the VW factory after the war and prior to joining the USAF and immigrating to the United States. His labor rate was calculated in beer. A minor repair would be a “six pack job”, whereas a bigger job, like pulling the engine, was a “case job”. As a young boy, I was fascinated at that guy’s skill at working on our car- no wasted moves, just quiet efficiency.
Not an airplane guy at all here, but I’m curious as to what qualifications the seller would be looking for. A former Soviet fighter pilot? Experienced with one of these would be difficult to find around here, I would imagine.
Actually more than we might know. Was privileged to chance a meeting with a guy involved with the Red Eagles from an undisclosed AFB “back in the day” as he put it against select USAF pilots at Nellis AFB. The USAF’s 4477th Test and Evaluation Squadron (TES) were the “Red Eagles” and flew MiG-17 “Fresco,” MiG-21 “Fishbed,” and later MiG-23 “Flogger” aircraft to train USAF pilots in Soviet tactics using Soviet aircraft.
More than a few of those amazing pilots still around passing on their knowledge and experiences.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMu2X3-oSok
https://www.ebay.com/itm/155821922819
about 8 years ago I saw a Danish pilot of a MIG15 trying to get the engine to ignite by throwing burning news paper into the air intake, once he got it started he was going to fly it back to Denmark, from just north of London UK, rather him than me! where do you get news paper at 10,000 feet over the north sea if he had a flame out?
See Michael Gaff’s comment (above) for the origin of the use of the term on this forum. I presume that your comment is directed at him.
I just want to say, while I poo-pooed the listing initially, the real life experiences these conjure up are priceless. Thanks to all that contributed, I doubt anyone here is under 50, and therein lies the rub. While these stories are such an important part of our history, they will surely fade like Beatle haircuts and Nehru jackets. And so it goes,,,,
Howard- I think that it is ironic that a perfect condition first gen Camaro or Roadrunner gets 5-10 comments on BF, but if they post a hat or a 1:1 scale airplane kit (are you listening Revell?), BF’s servers melt down with the tidal wave of comments. I love the variety and find it funny how non-automotive items strike such a chord in people. Now, we need a 50s jukebox…. 😉
Well, ok-you asked for it…👍🏻
https://grandamericajukebox.com/jukeboxes/vintage-jukeboxes-for-sale/#SeeC
No MiGs for sale on Trade A Plane, but how about this!
https://www.trade-a-plane.com/search?category_level1=Jets&make=MCDONNELL+DOUGLAS&model=F-4+PHANTOM&listing_id=2315633&s-type=aircraft
Trying to revive their devastated economy, the post churchill administration agreed to license turbojet technology to Stalin and the commies. The US objected, but the thankless brits having completely forgotten all that we sacrificed for them decided to ‘license’ the rolls royce jet engine technology anyway. Of course, Stalin copied the engines with modifications and put them into the Mig’s, making them the ‘scourge’ of the Korean war as mentioned above. The Nene engine gave them the air power to challenge the free world in eastern Europe and South Asia. Thank you Great Britain!
Last time I saw a MIG-15 was when a Cuban pilot flew one below radar and landed at Homestead AFB about 1970 or 1971. Nixon was in office and Air Force One was sitting at the tower by Base Ops. Nixon was visiting his friend on Ley Biscayne.
There were some serious security issues discussed and that MIG went back with hundreds of USAF squadron stickers all over it.
To Stalin’s amazement the British Labor Party’s Government allowed the Russians to purchase and produce the power plant that went in this aircraft with the understanding that it “would not go into military craft.” This was nothing less than legalized treason. Those involved should have been fried along with the Rosenbergs. i am unaware of what Churchill said about this. He had been voted out of office the year before after saving civilization from Hitler and his gang. Such gratitude!
There’s an excellent video on YouTube on what it takes to actually fly one of these. Yeah, complicated…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOE2J54z0s0
This jet was clearly remade for the English speaking market, not Soviet. For those thinking that the airworthiness certificate is valid, that went out the window when the plane was disassembled. Sure, the AC is transferable, but the FAA will inspect condition for safe operation with the new owner.
All I am saying is, somebody better do their homework, as this stuff is complicated. This jet is classified Experimental with Exhibition Category. You are not going to trailer this to your local regional airport and fly it a few times a month, even if you could afford to do it.
The purchase price will be the least of the expenses, and it will not be a project for the faint of heart. And then good luck getting certified to fly it, assuming you found somebody who was able to put it all back together for you. Sweat equity won’t make this happen.
There would be lots more information I’d want to know before I even considered buying this: I’d want to see all the paperwork, including whatever the admitted sparse logs (admitted) are; I’d want to see when it was last flown, for how long, and when the last maintenance was done, at minimum. Who knows how much of the instrumentation even works?
I flew a T34B many years ago, and that plane saw regular maintenance, was still flying – yet only the essential main flying gauges (6 pack) worked in the front, and I wouldn’t have wanted that plane at any price.
Half the aircraft we admire today in museums were bought. restored, and donated by those “fat cats”.
I went to the War Eagles Air Museum in El Paso, TX. I recall that all of their aircraft are air worthy. The collection was developed by a married couple who both loved to fly and had the significant resources required to acquire both the aircraft and to build the facility within which they are stored. If you are in the vicinity, it is well worth checking out.
There’s a video floating around showing the complex procedures needed to fly one of these. Search for “Flying a 1954 MiG 15 Fighter Jet 540 MPH”
Would you be shot down if you enter Russian air space in this thing? Maybe not if you were Maverick – even on a covert mission.