Mig3

[Sopwith]

I was looking at the Mig3 and reading about the one Jerry Yagan has in his collection. I wondered if it is still airworthy and active, as a lot of Russian stuff goes into hibernation after a rebuild. Has there been any Western pilot reports written about the Mig3 and are there any quirky handling features about it, is that the reason for keeping them on the ground?
I have always thought what a lovely looking aircraft it was but I appreciate looks aren’t everything.
Look forward to any input, thanks.

Last edited by Sopwith on Mon Jul 11, 2022 4:20 am, edited 1 time in total.

[bdk]

Does it have the original engine or an Allison installed?

[lucky52]

Did the MiG 3 have an original Russian engine design or was it a copy of an Alison or something else?

[Dan K]

Does it have the original engine or an Allison installed?

V-1710 (at least according to her airworthiness cert)

[Sopwith]

Yes it was fitted with an Allison, there was one in Russia with a Russian engine but as far as I know that hasn’t flown.

[sandiego89]

Having been to quite a few MAAM airshows over the past 8 years or so, it seems that of the six or so Russian/Soviet types at the museum, only the Yak-3 seems to be "active" (happy to be corrected). The Yak was a newbuild in the 1990's, but I believe the restorations on some of the other Russian types are quite dated.

[marine air]

They really haven't had success with the Klimov V-12 in Russia. It's just a primitive design and poorly built to low standards. Might be a factor why the Russkies loved the P-39,
P-63 and P-40 so much. They kept running and brought them home. It's hard to beat the reliability of the Allison V-12's. Allison was building highly reliable boat engines before the war.

[Spitty]

I think Allisons are more plentiful than Klimovs these days..

[Sopwith]

Well the Allison is a tried and tested engine and they are flying in the Yaks and loads of American aeroplanes, so I would not have thought that would be the problem with the Mig3, hence my original question regarding what are they like to fly.

[lmritger]

The MiG has an issue with one of the gear legs (maybe a cracked trunnion?) which has kept it ground-bound since it arrived here in the US - I think it was incurred during one of the flights in Russia before it was delivered. Whatever the case, it's firmly static at the moment and with all the other work going on at the Fighter Factory, getting the MiG sorted has been very low on the priority list.

I'm very glad that it's there, though - it's one of the prettiest designs to come out of wartime Russia.

Cheers,

Lynn

[Sopwith]

The MiG has an issue with one of the gear legs (maybe a cracked trunnion?) which has kept it ground-bound since it arrived here in the US - I think it was incurred during one of the flights in Russia before it was delivered. Whatever the case, it's firmly static at the moment and with all the other work going on at the Fighter Factory, getting the MiG sorted has been very low on the priority list.

I'm very glad that it's there, though - it's one of the prettiest designs to come out of wartime Russia.

Cheers,

Lynn

Thank you for the information regarding the gear issue, I can understand now why it’s not been flown . That answers my question in as far as it isn’t handling problems and yes I think it is a lovely looking aircraft too.