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Jets, Wabirds 1998

The old prop-driven planes are great but there is nothing like a few ultra-noisy, fast jets to really liven things up! Here are three older jets flown at the display: the MiG 15 which was one of Russia's first jet fighters, the Dragonfly a Vietnam era US trainer and fighter, and the Vampire an early British fighter first flown during World War 2 and widely used by various air forces since.

The MiG is an early Russian jet fighter which was a good match for the American F-86 Sabre during the Korean war because of its well balanced attributes of speed, maneuverability, strength and reliability (something early jets were definitely not known for). Before the Sabre was introduced the MiG-15 caused havoc with B-29 bombing operations and their escort fighters. Over 7500 were produced, and although this aircraft was first built in 1949 and introduced in 1950, a modified version of it (MiG-15 UTI) is still used as a trainer today.

Engine: Klimov VK-1F turbojet producing 7,452 lbs of thrust (or a Klimov VK-1 at 6000 lbs, an unauthorised copy of the Rolls Royce Nene engine). Wing span: 33 feet 3 inches, length: 33 feet 4 inches, height 10 feet 10 inches. Maximum takeoff weight: 12,006 lbs. maximum speed: 579 mph, cruising speed: 525 mph, range (with extra tanks): 450 miles, Ceiling: 49,729 feet. Armament: One UBK-Ye 12.7mm machine gun or one NS-23 23mm cannon, or two 23mm and one 37mm cannon, and rockets or 2000 lbs of bombs.

Use the controller above to watch to the MiG flying past. Don't worry if it doesn't sound quite right - I think the sound is a bit mixed up with a P-51 Mustang it was "dog fighting" with at the time! (this requires Quicktime). I apologise for the poor quality of this movie but it was originally encoded in the "early days" of internet video!

This aircraft entered service in 1957 as a turbo-jet trainer(the T-37). It was modified (including a more powerful engine) for use as an attack aircraft in Vietnam. It was still in use by the US Air National Guard in the early 1990s. This particular Dragonfly is quite modern (compared with most of the aircraft at the show) being manufactured in 1972. Only 39 Dragonflys were ever built (they were converted from T-37B trainers).

The specifications for the A-37B are as follows. Engines: two General Electric J85-GE-17A turbojets producing 2,850 lb thrust. Wing span: 35ft 10.5in, length: 28ft 3.25in, height: 8ft 10.5in, empty weight: 6,210 lbs, maximum takeoff weight 14,000 lbs. Maximum speed at 16,000 ft: 525 mph, maximum cruising speed at 25,000 feet: 489 mph. Range: 1010 miles. Armament: One GAU-2B/A 7.62-mm minigun, incendiary or cluster bombs, rocket pods, and gun pods.

Use the controller above to see the Dragonfly flying its display (this requires Quicktime). I apologise for the poor quality of this movie but it was originally encoded in the "early days" of internet video!

The Vampire was the RAF's first jet fighter, being flown as early as 1943 and entering service in 1946. This widely used aircraft was still in service in New Zealand up until 1972, in Switzerland up until 1990, and was still actually being built up to 1953. Various modifications were made using different engines and to create training versions, a navy version, and a night fighter version. In total over 2900 were produced in various countries and over 80 are still airworthy today (quite a high percentage for an aircraft of this age).

Here's the specs for the Vampire (the FB.Mk 6 version). Engine: One 3,350-pound thrust D.H. Goblin 3 turbojet. Empty weight: 7,283 lbs, maximum takeoff weight: 12,390 lbs. Wing Span: 38ft 0in, length: 30ft 9in, height: 8ft 10in. Maximum speed: 548 mph, ceiling: 42,800 ft, range: 1,220 miles. Armament: four 20-mm cannons in the nose, underwing stores included eight 60-pound rockets, or two 1,000-pound bombs, or two drop tanks.

Use the controller below to watch to the Vampire scream overhead (this requires Quicktime, and is a moderately large movie). I apologise for the poor quality of this movie but it was originally encoded in the "early days" of internet video!