starfighter2

You should contact PappyChkSix - he have excellent skin for same modell, with very good high rez decals.

Well yea... 1. Looks really amazing. 2. Dave upgraded computer (all max settings with no glitches)

Hey Bobrock - please make AV-8B for "True Lies" movie look and feel :yes:

Love makes world go around - not money. Go for it X Ray :yes: and... if I'm in your "skin" I wouldn't share anything to this bunch of gangsta' - forum members :yes:

76.IAP - PM sent

Pasko says Ok if I do so. So ask me. :yes: What do you need?

:yes: Looking forward to finished birds :yes:

You waited several years for bubble-top F-84 to release? Shame on you :yes: BTW - Thx - please release some other "hidden" stuff like post War B-17. Cheers BTW2 - Did you read last PM from me? Not very helpful PM but still maybe you can find some things of your interest there :yes:

Yes Jimbib - but have several limitations

Farposst is good enough :scout:

Nope Wrench - we don't get all books from Betah - there are much better and much more equipped sites for that :yes:

As I say before....with every new picture - looks better and better :yes:

Hey Kukulo - nice work - :yes:

...if you wanna real precise bombing :yes:

Thank you Kess very much !!!

Maybe I'm more stupid then wingmen...sometimes

Well it was usually mounted under right wing in asymmetric way - to use most of the other pylons for "smarter" ordinance: :yes: BTW - this is the game - a bit of "artistic freedom" even in loadout it's fun

...sorry - can't find any upgraded 23's Angolan pics... ...this view from Mirage F-1 is not promising one for Angola pilot :yes:

If you wanna more: :yes: The MiG-23 was designed as a response to the F-4 Phantom II, the first MiG-21s were basically second generation fighters, they lacked the missile armament and avionics associated with the third generation. The best MiG-23 variants can hold 8.5Gs below the speed of Mach 0.85; the F-4E Phantom II barely can hold a max of 7.6Gs in operational service. The MiG-23ML load factor is 8.5Gs below Mach 0.85 and beyond Mach 0.85 is 7.5Gs, The MiG-23MF has a slightly lower load factor of 8Gs at Mach 0.85 and a load factor of 7Gs above Mach 0.85, note that the IAI Kfir had a maximum load factor of 7.6Gs, this factors made the MiG-23 more than a match for the F-4 and Kfir, this forced in 1982 to the Israeli air force to rely on F-15s and F-16s as the main Israeli fighters since the MiG-23 clearly out machted the IAI Kfir in the air to air arena and was slightly better than the F-4. The MiG-23 was also a fast design slightly faster than the F-4 Phantom and much faster than the Mirage III, Mirage F1 and MiG-21. When the MiG-23M faced the F-4E in an air battle at the speeds of 800-1100 km/h at low and medium altitudes with the overloads at their max limits and close to the maximum of the thrust, MiG-23M in the horizontal maneuver exceeded the F-4E, however the MiG-23 was inferior to the F-4E in the vertical maneuver. Analysis of the F-4E and MiG-23ML manuals shows that both aircraft are quit comparable, the F-4E holds a max sustained turn rate at sea level of 14.7 degrees/second, however it drops to 11.7 degrees/second at 10000 feet/3040 meters of altitude, however analysis of their turn radius shows that the MiG-23ML has a slight advantage over the F-4E at heights from 1000 meters to 5000 meters of altitude at speeds between Mach 0.5 to Mach 0.9 The IAI Kfir used to simulate the MiG-23 for the US navy TopGun Program, despite the Kfir is as fast as the MiG-23 it is not as agile in terms of Max sustained turn rate however it has a better Max instantaneous turn rate here some data for the IAI Kfir: Typical combat weight with half of internal fuel and two Shafrir missiles – 9,390 kg. Wing/canards loading at combat weight (9,390 kg) – 257.5 kg/sq.m. Thrust/weight ratio at combat weight (9,390 kg) – 0.91. Max rate of climb at sea level – 14,000 m/min. Turn performance at 4,600-meter altitude and combat weight (9,390 kg): Turn rate: sustained – 9.6 deg/sec; instantaneous – 18.9 deg/sec. As we can see the Kfir performance is quit comparable to the MiG-23 except in the fact its delta wing bleeds energy faster and can not keep a sustained turn with a MiG-23, because the MiG-23ML has max instantaneous turn rate of 16.7 deg/s and a max sustained turn rate of 14.1 deg/s The MiG-23M against the Mirage F1 Practically in the entire altitude range at the speeds of 700-1100 km/h, the MiG-23M surpassed the Mirage F-1 on maneuverability and rates of climb. At speeds more than 1100 km/h at average and high altitudes, the MiG-23M had lower sustained turn rates than the Mirage F1. The late MiG-23 versions was armed with superb weaponry , it was equipped with the R-73 from the mid 1980s, and could fire its AA-8/R-60MK and R-73 cued by the TP-23/26 IRST systems, this type of armament was absent from most of the third generation fighter aircraft and even fourth generation fighters until the late 1990s. It had a Doppler radar with look down/shoot down capability. Its best versions had a radar that detected targets at a range of 90km and IRST systems that can detect targets at 50km of range. The MiG-23MLD was the most perfect modification in the MiG-23 family. This aircraft has an optimum aerodynamic configuration, ensuring an essential improvement in maneuverability, this was achieved with a slight modification of its airframe aerodynamics. The MiG-23MLD has the much more improved radar Saphir-23MLA (N-008), this radar is capable of a searching and tracking of up to six aerial targets. The early radar weapons system of American fighter F -15 did not possess this capability. The MiG-23 was not as agile as the MiG-29, Su-27, F-14, F-15, F-16, F-18 or Mirage 2000 but undoubtedly if it is armed with modern missiles such as the R-73 and R-77 and upgraded with modern avionics is not defenseless against any contemporary fourth generation fighter, this combined with its fast speed and acceleration allows it to be more or less as good as any other modern fourth generation fighter at beyond visual range combat. Helmet mounted sights also gives it a certain degree of capability to fight more agile fighters specially if it carries the R-73, however few countries have upgraded their MiG-23 fleets to MiG-23-98 standards. Several Angolan MiG-23MLs were upgraded to MiG-23-98 standards and can fire more modern missiles such as the R-73 and R-77 and probably are fitted with helmet mounted sights. The IRST system was quite immune to electronic jamming and chaff/flares, this system could also cue air to air missiles such as the R-23/24, R-60MK and the R-73 The MiG-23 could engage and dogfight with third generation fighters such as the F-4 or Mirage F1 in equal terms but it could not do it likewise with fourth generation aircraft such as the F-16, F-15 and F-14. The MiG-23 could fly at the angles of attack to 24-26 deg., which ensured it the definite advantages over the western fighter aircraft of the 2nd and 3erd generations. But with the advent of the aircraft of the 4th generation this superiority was lost (F-16 of different modifications they had a limitation on the angle of attack of 26-28 deg; a F-15C could sustain an angle of attack of 30 deg.) However at high angles of attack the MiG-23MLD creators attained the stability parameters and controllability, comparable with the flight AoA characteristics of the F-16. At the speeds of 900 km/h and 1200 km/h the F-15 has better turn rate than the MiG-23 at different heights. The F-16 also is far more maneuverable it has a Max instantaneous turn rate of 26 deg/sec while the best MiG-23 max instantaneous turn rate is 16.7 deg/sec, other turn parameters are the sustained turn rate and load factor at a turn but again the F-16 is superior to the MiG-23 in these too, the F-16 has a Max sustained turn rate of 21.5 deg/sec while the MiG-23ML has a Max sustained turn rate is 14.1 deg/sec However the MiG-23 still could fight the F-16s with some advantages on its side at least from the 1970s to the late 1980s, when the F-16s lacked BVR (Beyond Visual Range) air to air missiles, this was just until the late 1980s before the AIM-120 and AIM-7 became part of the F-16 operational armament in the early 1990s. From the 1970s to the late 1980s, the MiG-23 could simply rule the engagement and engage and disengage at will when it faced the F-16 in air combat. it could fly fast and do swifts attacks and disengage quickly avoiding getting involved in a dog fight with the F-16. The MIG-23ML still can fly at Mach 2.35 even armed with two R-24s, this means that swift attacks against the F-16 would be very likely successful and even more in the 1980s when the F-16 lacked any BVR armament and only relied in the short range AIM-9 Sidewinder, and in conditions with very bad European weather when chaff/flares would not make big difference. The Soviet Aggressor MiG-23 unit used the same tactics when they played the role of aggressor aircraft in mock air combat training exercises against Soviet MiG-29s at the Marii air base in the former Soviet republic of Turkmenistan throught out most of the 1980s The MiG-23 played the role of aggressor aircraft in the Soviet counterpart to the US Naval Fighter Weapons School located at the NAS of Miramar, popularly known as TOPGUN. A well flown MiG-23 could achieve excellent kill rates against MiG-29s, in fact the MiG-23 aggressors achieved kill rates in mock combat versus inexperienced MiG-29 pilots of 1:2 in their favour. An interesting anecdote about the MiG-23 agility was given by the Dutch pilot Leon Van Maurer who had more than 1200 hrs flying F-16s and flew against MiG-23ML Flogger Gs from air bases in Germany and the USA as part of NATO`s aerial mock combat training with Soviet equipment; he said the MiG-23 has superiority on the vertical plain over the F-16A, and horizontally is just slightly inferior to the F-16A, he also said the MiG-23ML had better BVR capabilities. This was confirmed by the Israelies too when they obtained a Syrian MiG-23MLD that was flown to Israel by a Syrian defector and tested its flying characteristics, they were impressed with the quick acceleration the MiG-23MLD had, they even claimed that the MiG-23 has better acceleration performance than the F-16 and F-18.

BTW - sorry for "messing up" in Polish forum - but I'm from Serbia and understand you quite a bit :yes:

The idea that there was a big market for MiG-23 upgrades turned out to be quite an illusion. MiG-23-98 went only on "paper". The problem was that most MiG-23 users were too strapped for cash to afford an upgrade with all the latest gadgetry. A much more modest upgrade was more realistic and there are rumors of such efforts in progress. Another rumor is that FANA(Angola AF) have 3 upgraded MiG-23's - military journalists are not sure which "98" upgrade it is actually.(BTW Angola have 28 operational MiG-23's in several versions)

Np - anytime :yes: