MiG-9 – the Soviet fighter

After the war two jet aircraft projects with two BMW-003A engines were constructed at Mikoyan TKB. The first of these, the I-260, had a similar layout to the Me-262, with two engines, mounted under the wing. The second - I-300 - was redan schemes, where the engines are mounted in the fuselage. I-260 was later abandoned in favor of a second project. This was put into serial production and adopted by the USSR AF arsenal, where it received the designation "MiG-9". This fighter became the first Soviet fighter with a turbojet engine to take to the air. He did this just a couple of two hours earlier, than his main competitor - the Yak-15. In June 1945 TKB-155 (Mikojan) began the construction of a fighter with two BMW-003 jet engines, the total thrust of which reached 1600 kg. The aircraft received the designation I-300 and the factory code "F". At that time, KB already had considerable experience in high-speed aerodynamics and aerodynamic composition. Thanks to this, the initial project ended with the innovative decision to place both engines side by side in the fuselage. This configuration, according to CAGI wind tunnel tests, kept the wing aerodynamically clean, reduced frontal drag, and improved the airplane's handling, especially after ditching one of the very unreliable engines. According to the feedback of the pilots, who performed the tests of the plane, the MiG-9 was stable during the take-off after taking off from the ground, and obeyed the rudders well. Adding the chassis did not change the balancing. In flight transverse stability is constant. It is possible to fly with one working engine, both when the landing gear is retracted and retracted, which increased the safety of the flight. There was only one note about the armament: it is easy to adjust in flight, when the speed is up to 550 km/h, it is recommended to shoot in short bursts. It was recommended to rework the plane a bit and start serial production of the I-301. The factory code, that the new fighter received, was "FS", the military designation remained the same - "MiG-9". Soviet RD-20 engines, which were copies of the BMW-003, manufactured at the Kazan Engine Plant, were installed on serial planes. Improved wheels, soft fuel tanks made of special rubberized tank fabric are used in the fuel system. Armament consisted of one N-37 cannon with 40 rounds and two NS-23KM with 80 rounds each.

A well-designed and richly detailed jet fighter model of medium complexity, that will assemble for modelers of all experience. Only advanced beginners and low-experience modelers are recommended to work under the supervision of a more experienced colleague and make the model in flight phase (no cabin interior, with opaque cabin hood, landing gear intake) and it should not be one of the first, more complex models in your modeling career.