Aircraft

Barnstorming is rare at aerospace trade shows these days, but the thrust-vectoring RSK MiG-29M OVT fighter has rekindled the air display spirit with an arresting flying demonstration.

The double back-flips and controlled flat spins could be regarded as display gimmicks, but are designed to display the control power provided by the three-dimensional thrust vectoring nozzles on the Russian fighter's twin Klimov RD-33 OVT engines. In combat, that control power would translate into nose-pointing ability, said a US fighter pilot analysing the MiG's display.

While extreme pitch manoeuvres have been performed previously by Russian fighters with two-dimensional vectoring nozzles, the back flips and flat spins are only made possible by the OVT's all-aspect thrust-vector control. Driven by three hydraulic actuators mounted 120° apart around the engine, the nozzle can deflect the engine's full thrust by up to 18° in any direction.