Top Gear In Albania

[NeoMorph]

So why am I talking about Top Gear when that is a car show and this is a flight sim site.

Well at one point they found an old cold-war airbase... and after they had done some drag racing on the runway they were driving off and came across LOADS of old Migs at the side of the road... I'm talking Mig 15's and Mig 17's and Mig 19's just sitting there, rusting away. I was amazed at how tiny they were. I remember seeing the US version (the F86 Sabre) in Fallout 3 and thinking "Why couldn't they make them to scale". Now I'm thinking that they probably WERE to scale...

I wonder why no military flight sim fan has gone over to Albania and bought the old jets considering they are just rusting away. The small size would mean they are probably easier to move than a 737 cockpit (and seeing some of your pics on how you moved those has got me going "WOAH!").

[jskibo]

I thint BHawthorne over at the Nthusim board has a F86 cockpit.  There's pics of his purchase next to his house

[jackpilot]

The worst is that Russian airplanes are built like tanks (sort of) and they probably would be restorable to flying status in no time, assuming you own an oil well and a refinery !.

[NeoMorph]

What made me laugh was all the dents in the things... there were dents all over the chuffing things.

Oh and then there was that comment by Clarkson...

Jeremy Clarkson: "Well at least the flaps still work!"... after climbing all over them...
James May: "Ailerons dear boy!"... in a superior voice...
*Cue Clarkson looking at camera as if to say "What a nerd!"*

[Joe Lavery]

Clarkson is a peasant, if not an amusing one... of course he's absolutely nuts as well.

What a sad sight to see al those MiGs lying unloved and forgotten. I'm sure there are flight sim fans out there that would give them a home. 

Joe.

[NeoMorph]

Imagine getting half a dozen of them and then using them in a combat flight school. You would need to get some old American or other Nato planes to go with them but most likely those haven't just been thrown away like those old Migs. But you are right in that it is sad that those planes are just sitting there falling apart.