Well, This Sukhois (May 2, 2006)

[Bandit LOAF]

Phoenix has a correction to our Ghost Recon story.

Hey guys, just wanted to lend a little suggestion to the news about the
junkyard contents. Those forward fuselages do not appear to be from
MiG-21 aircraft. The cockpits are well too far forward, the canopies too
bulbous, and the air inlets not tapering enough toward the forward
opening. Also, the variable-position cone inserted in the intake is not
the proper shape; it's too blunt and curvy, and doesn't fit the intake
properly, to be from a standard MiG-21.

My guess, without pulling out references from my library, are that they
may be from Su-22 Fitters attack aircraft.

http://www.hunterteam.com/sukoi-22-M4_tech_specs.htm

The moral is simple: when you slice the front off of a Cold War-era jet to use as a prop, people will always get confused. From left to right: a striped SU-22 Trainer, the Ghost Recon junkyard fighters and the original Wing Commander movie Lightning cockpits when they arrived in Luxembourg.

​

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Original update published on May 2, 2006

 

[st3lt3k]

Very interesting points.

I thought thtat the "variable-position cone" was a fixed radome which is prominent in the MiG-21SMT

 

[OriginalPhoenix]

You are correct. The cone is indeed a radome for the MiG-21's small air-to-air system. However, the radome moves forward and back to vary the airflow into the aircraft's engine, depending upon what is necessary for the specified speed. Nevertheless, the cone itself is not shaped like a MiG-21 cone.

For the record, I'm not entirely certain that the fuselages depicted are from Su-22's; I haven't had time to really research it beyond that one page I linked to. But based on my many, many years of interest and research in military aviation, I'm nearly positive that they are not from MiG-21s, either.

Any other aviation buffs have some input?

 

[ChrisReid]

Glad to see you logged back in Phoenix. Any chance you'll be updating Acenet Central or at least the reference to the script there?

 

[st3lt3k]

For the record, I'm not entirely certain that the fuselages depicted are from Su-22's; I haven't had time to really research it beyond that one page I linked to. But based on my many, many years of interest and research in military aviation, I'm nearly positive that they are not from MiG-21s, either.

I think you're right, they do not depict Mig-21 fuselages.

Maybe the artist wanted to create interesting cold war flavored relics and drew inspiration from a number of planes?

 

[OriginalPhoenix]

Glad to see you logged back in Phoenix. Any chance you'll be updating Acenet Central or at least the reference to the script there?

I haven't been involved in much of anything Aces-related for a couple of years now -- real world kind of steals the thunder of fantasy universes and game playing. Heck, I haven't even touched anything WC-related other than a daily visit to wcnews for as long as I can remember.

The AceNet Central site has been all but dead for even longer than that. I don't even think I have access to it anymore. Several people proposed taking it over and offering replacements, but I don't guess anything ever came of any of it. *shrug*

 

[ChrisReid]

I haven't been involved in much of anything Aces-related for a couple of years now -- real world kind of steals the thunder of fantasy universes and game playing.

Everyone should have hobbies, and nothing about getting older should prevent you from picking and choosing fantasy or games if that's what you like.

Heck, I haven't even touched anything WC-related other than a daily visit to wcnews for as long as I can remember.

The AceNet Central site has been all but dead for even longer than that. I don't even think I have access to it anymore. Several people proposed taking it over and offering replacements, but I don't guess anything ever came of any of it. *shrug*

I've got a new Aces story chapter in my email inbox now. We should figure out who all is still active and give them access I suppose.