An Algerian Mig-29 made an extraordinarily low pass over Mecheria airfield a few days ago. If he’d towed a lawnmower behind him, I reckon he’d have got a full bag of grass cuttings in no time at all . . .
The heavy smoke from the engines is a hallmark of the Mig-29, just as it was for the F-4 Phantom II. The later development of the MiG-29, the MiG-35, is better in that respect, but the smoke is still visible.
Peter
Lex and the rest of the pilots used to wonder at the fascination by some pilots in achieving a tie in the lowest altitude contest.
You're probably aware of the English Electric Lightning that scraped its conformal fuel tank on the runway and lit itself on fire. This is the boundary case, and an important lesson.
Honorable mention also goes to the guy who brought his B24 back from Ploesti with corn stalks wedged in the aircraft. (It’s reported, so it must be true.)
There isn't a winner in a contest for the lowest flight level……
Actually, the record for the lowest flight can only be tied, and if you do it out at Edwards, they sometimes name a street after you.
I read a story somewhere about the Thunderbirds, back in the days they flew the F-100… A team member wanted to make a low-level supersonic pass of the audience, at an airshow at Edwards AFB. Was told negative – not allowed in CONUS…
So, being a tad irritated, he came down low on the chalk – line on the desert, barely sub – Sonic, and kicked it in and out of afterburner, blowing the chalk line off the desert at show center. ( Supposedly, movie film of the pass over runway markers showed he was 3 ft. off the deck! When you .Consider the F-100's landing gear holds it 6ft. off the ground….)