The Mikoyan-Gurevich (MiG) E-8 was an experimental supersonic jet fighter under development to replace the MiG-21. Only two prototypes were built in 1960-61. The original MiG-21's air intakes were moved under the fuselage, freeing up the nose where a larger and more powerful radar, able to deliver longer range air-to-air missiles, could be built in. Canards were built to both sides of the nose.
The two prototypes flew in 1962. Twenty-five test flights were made (24 were completed). The design was abandoned in favour of work on the MiG-23 and the MiG-27. The basic problem was that the highly modern and advanced airframe exceeded the power and ability of the computers to control the aircraft. This shape and configuration are now common, putting the E-8 a few decades ahead of the competition.
On 11 Sept 1962, the Tumansky R-21F-300 engine, then under simultaneous development, exploded in midair at a speed of Mach 2.15. Test pilot Georgy Mosolov, a leading Soviet test pilot, was severely injured by debris from the compressor and had to eject at Mach 1.78. The cause of the crash was disk destruction of the sixth stage of the compressor.
Mosolov lay in a field not far from Moscow for three hours until found by a farmer. Despite massive injuries to his head, left arm and leg which would leave him hospitalized for a year, he had the farmer memorize all the details of the flight so the information could be passed back to the MiG design bureau in case he died. He died in early 2018 at the age of 92.
Paint is Alclad white aluminium. Green and blue and red are Vallejo acrylics. Nose is Tamiya paint bomb. The base is 100 small rectangular magnets painted to resemble concrete blocks. The canopy is coated with future floor wax.
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| MiG E-8/2 |
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| MiG E-8/2 |
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| MiG E-8/2 |
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| MiG E-8/2 |
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| The actual MiG E-8 at the Zhukovsky test facility at Ramenskoye airfield near Moscow in 1962 |
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| Georgy Konstantinovich Mosolov (1926-2018), Hero of the Soviet Union, and Honoured Master of Sport of the USSR, shown in 1960, and recently in Moscow. |
