There's only one place in the whole world where it's legal to carry out MiG-29 flights with civilians on board: The SOKOL Airfield in the Russian city Nizhny Novgorod. This city is an essential component of the Russian military-industrial complex and has only been accessible without special authorization for a very short time. The Gromov Flight Research Institute in Zhukovsky near Moscow doesn't conduct such flights anymore since January 2006.
Only in Nizhny Novgorod, flights with the MiG-29 Fulcrum are at this time possible - and we are proud to have been the first western provider to have conducted flights there.
A comfortable domestic flight takes you to the airfield
The exact airfield needn't be your concern: The transfer to the airfield from Moscow and our translator, who will escort you on your way there are already included in our price! And this is going to be your day:
Early in the morning, our translator picks you up at the hotel. Subsequently, you drive to the airport Moscow-Domodedovo with the comfortable Airport-train where you'll fly to Nizhny Novgorod with a Boing 737 of S7 Airlines at 9:10 am. After the short flight, our driver awaits you in Nizhny Novgorod and immediately takes you to the airbase.
The pilot informs about the air route
After the verification of your documents, you get entrance to the military area. In one of the buildings, you meet the pilot and the doctore who will do your medical checkup. If your physical condition is okay, things can get started. The pilot, an experienced test pilot, discusses with you the flight program. Many or few maneuvers, fast climbing to high altitudes or reckless maneuvers above the airfield - four different flight programs are available and can be further modified to suit your individual taste.
Final instructions before take-off...
A transport vehicle takes you to the nearby airfield where the MiGs are stationary. Several MiG-31 and MiG-29 are on the field, one of them prepared and refueled for your flight. The pilot guides you around the plane where you get the chance to examine closely every detail while he explains its systems. After this round tour, you climb into the cockpit and buckle up. The pilot himself climbs up to you, as well, to give some final advice about the instruments and the flight itself. He then enters his own cockpit, closes the canopy and things get going. After an already speedy taxiing, the runway lies ahead. The two engines with a total thrust of more than 5000 kg accelerate the plane to over 250 km/h and you take off.
After the successful flight: A handshake with the pilot and a souvenir photo with the wife.
The next 20-40 minutes belong to you - experience the full power of the two potent engines! The thrust of the MiG-29 is greater than her weight. You're pushed into your seat and experience rolls, loopings, immelmans, tailslides and further maneuvers with a power only a plane as the MiG-29 can sustain. Still, you're allowed to fly the aircraft yourself during parts of the flight!
After touchdown with the brake parachute, engineers help you out of your seat in order for you to have stable ground below your feet once again. You can now talk about the flight with the pilot and pose in front of the plane for a handshake.
We then invite you to a lunch in the canteen of the base where you can once again recall your flight. A certificate is made for you which will remind you for the rest of your live of this - at any rate unforgettable - adventure.
In the evening, there's some time left for sightseeing in Nizhny Novgorod after you return to Moscow with another S7-flight and our employee takes you back to your hotel.
For more information about the MiG-29 Fulcrum click here.
