MiG-29 "edge of space" flights.. anyone done it?

[renmure]

A "friend" might be having a significant birthday next year and I (oops, he) was thinking about something fairly memorable to do to do using the birthday as an excuse for some self indulgence.

Having seen James May on telly up at 70,000ft in the SR71 (apologies, James May flew in a U-2, not an SR-71 The SR-71 was well retired by the time May got his flight) and thinking WOW!! it seems that you can do something similar(ish) in a Mig-29 plus a bit of high speed aerobatics thrown in for good measure. Definitely memorable and if done in conjunction with a Moscow vacation with Mrs R then not totally so totally self indulgent. Infact, she thinks it is a great idea.

http://www.incredible-adventures.com/edgeofspace.h...

Looks like the flights are all "packaged" with different companies all offering essentially the same thing plus bolt-on tours etc so a bit more research is needed, but I just wondered if anyone here has done anything similar or knows of anyone who has been there, done that and bought the G-suit?

Edited by renmure on Sunday 3rd November 17:53

[Eric Mc]

James May flew in a U-2, not an SR-71 The SR-71 was well retired by the time May got his flight).

[jjones]

Eric Mc said:

James May flew in a U-2, not an SR-71 The SR-71 was well retired by the time May got his flight).

sorry to be a pedant, but you have a right bracket there with no matching left bracket.

[renmure]

jjones said:

Eric Mc said:

James May flew in a U-2, not an SR-71 The SR-71 was well retired by the time May got his flight).

sorry to be a pedant, but you have a right bracket there with no matching left bracket.

I should really delete the thread 'cause I won't get any reply that makes me grin more than that

However..

[Eric Mc]

jjones said:

Eric Mc said:

James May flew in a U-2, not an SR-71 The SR-71 was well retired by the time May got his flight).

sorry to be a pedant, but you have a right bracket there with no matching left bracket.

Your pedantry is of a lower quality than mine and not really pertinent to the thread.

It was a TU-2S actually.

[Eric Mc]

To the OP - go for it and tell us all about it when you get back - IF you get back

[Dr Jekyll]

renmure said:

Having seen James May on telly up at 70,000ft in the SR71 (apologies, James May flew in a U-2, not an SR-71 The SR-71 was well retired by the time May got his flight) and thinking WOW!! it seems that you can do something similar(ish) in a Mig-29 plus a bit of high speed aerobatics thrown in for good measure. Definitely memorable and if done in conjunction with a Moscow vacation with Mrs R then not totally so totally self indulgent. Infact, she thinks it is a great idea.

http://www.incredible-adventures.com/edgeofspace.h...

70,000 feet and mach 1.9, hmmm. I went at mach 1.9 once but only 60,000 feet. Mind you I was enjoying a roast dinner washed down with champagne at the time

[Kenty]

Do you know what it costs?

[LimaDelta]

Recent PH topic here

[rhinochopig]

An alternative would be a trip over to NZ and to avail yourself of their more relaxed aviation laws WRT to acrobatic displays and passengers - so I was told so will probably be corrected

My wife and I did a couple of sessions in a Pitts which was utterly brilliant. Something I'd always wanted to do and it cost peanuts for what you got and the G-Meter recorded +6 and -4g so it was certainly being thrown about a bit.

The other benefit is that for the likely cost of the Mig trip you get a Holiday in NZ featuring all the other crackers ways to scare yourself senseless. Not helpful for you original question but an alternative with some merit.

[Fat Albert]

I knew a guy at our local Radio Control flying club who re-mortgaged his house and handed over about £25k for a week in Moscow that included flights in an L39, Mig 29, Mig 25 and SU27, he got to keep the flying suit and him and his Wife got leather Flying jackets (His Wife came along for the trip, not the flying) It all ended with a big mess dinner in the Test Pilots school.

It actually really affected him, he came back and sold off all 36 of his RC planes and went into quite a deep depression as he felt that that had been the peak of his life and it was ll downhill from thereon (he worked in IT for an insurance co.), there was no point in flying 'the toys' after being to the edge of space, etc.

I have lost touch with him, last I heard he had got into large-scale model tanks....

Edited by Fat Albert on Monday 4th November 14:40

[Sixpackpert]

Fat Albert said:

It actually really affected him, he came back and sold off all 36 of his RC planes and went into quite a deep depression as he felt that that had been the peak of his life and it was ll downhill from thereon (he worked in IT for an insurance co.), there was no point in flying 'the toys' after being to the edge of space, etc.

I have lost tough with him, last I haeard he had got into large-scale model tanks....

Yes, that's what a depressed bloke should be building. Stuff with a gun on it!

[trickywoo]

If I was going to do something like that I'd rather do it in a Mig 25.

[Ayahuasca]

rhinochopig said:

An alternative would be a trip over to NZ and to avail yourself of their more relaxed aviation laws WRT to acrobatic displays and passengers - so I was told so will probably be corrected

My wife and I did a couple of sessions in a Pitts which was utterly brilliant. Something I'd always wanted to do and it cost peanuts for what you got and the G-Meter recorded +6 and -4g so it was certainly being thrown about a bit.

The other benefit is that for the likely cost of the Mig trip you get a Holiday in NZ featuring all the other crackers ways to scare yourself senseless. Not helpful for you original question but an alternative with some merit.

Why go that far? In Sussex an outfit based at Goodwood Aerodrome will let you fly aerobatics in an Extra 300. Did loops, rolls, barrel rolls, stall turns, etc, and you can dogfight another aircraft!

[Turbodiesel1690]

Go for it OP - those Migs seem to have fairly reliable ejection systems, they've certainly been tested frequently enough

[renmure]

Kenty said:

Do you know what it costs?

Circa 15-18k once you buy the dvd and include the obligatory 5-7 day stay in Moscow and flights etc.

LimaDelta said:

Recent PH topic here

Thanks.

rhinochopig said:

An alternative would be a trip over to NZ and to avail yourself of their more relaxed aviation laws WRT to acrobatic displays and passengers - so I was told so will probably be corrected

Not being flippant, but one of the pilots at my airfield is an aerobatic instructor / examiner and I have been in a Pitts a few times and had quite a bit of fun being upside down and inside out.... but you can't see the curvature of the earth from there

Turbodiesel1690 said:

Go for it OP - those Migs seem to have fairly reliable ejection systems, they've certainly been tested frequently enough

haha. yeah, that would make it more than memorable!!

[Ayahuasca]

There is another firm at Goodwood who will let you fly a Mk IX Spitfire. I would rather that than a MiG. Not cheap though.

[iiyama]

Ayahuasca said:

There is another firm at Goodwood who will let you fly a Mk IX Spitfire. I would rather that than a MiG. Not cheap though.

Mot sure there is.....care to elaborate?

[Eric Mc]

As far as I am aware, the CAA will not sanction warbird flights in the UK except for aircraft of a transport or trainer variety - so you can get a Harvard flight in the UK but not a Spitfire or Mustang.

[Ginetta G15 Girl]

IIRC the TrMkIX at Goodwood is open for people to buy shares in it.