$25,000 can buy you a mig 21

[satori]

Hell, this is cheaper than a Honda Accord...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4962466.stm


Chinese man buys MiG through eBay
MiG-21 fighter jet as used by the Indian Air Force
The MiG-21 has seen service in air forces all over the world
A Chinese businessman has bought an old MiG-21f fighter jet for nearly $25,000 (£14,000) on eBay to decorate his office, a Chinese newspaper reports.

Zhang Cheng bought the Soviet-made jet from a seller in the United States, where it is said to be in excellent condition though last flown in 1995.

"I have the buying power and my company has an empty space where I can display the plane," he told the Beijing News.

But it was not immediately clear if Mr Zhang needed a permit to import it.

According to the new owner, the jet was retired by the Czech air force.

"I don't know if this jet plane is a banned item," Mr Zhang said, adding that one Chinese company had bought a retired Soviet aircraft carrier to convert into a theme park.

A note on the eBay site said the plane, which is currently located in Lewiston, Idaho, had been inspected by a museum and found to be in excellent condition.

The first MiG-21 prototype flew in 1956 and came into service with the Soviet air force in 1959, becoming one of the most mass-produced combat aircraft since World War II.

The name of the seller was not given.

[Ad1tu]

Oh I would so buy a jet if I had $25K...... that'd be so freakin' sweet.

[Zn]

Our airforce uses those things.

[ahluka]

I'd love to learn to fly a copter - it's on the list of things to do before I die.
Where the hell does he work if he's got enough room in his office for a (what I presume is big) fighter jet?

[Malchik]

Oh I would so buy a jet if I had $25K...... that'd be so freakin' sweet.

Yah then pay the same amount of its fuel. Besides you have to be a certain height to properly fit in a jet. Also he has no equipment to run this machine. He might as well gut it and use it as a lawn ornament.

[satori]

Oh I would so buy a jet if I had $25K...... that'd be so freakin' sweet.

Yah then pay the same amount of its fuel. Besides you have to be a certain height to properly fit in a jet. Also he has no equipment to run this machine. He might as well gut it and use it as a lawn ornament.

you take all the fun out of dreaming.  

[Ad1tu]

Ya know what... I don't like height limits... screw them... hehe, I would just use it as a lawn ornament though... or a garage ornament, somebody might steal it if I left it in the lawn.

[satori]

someone should run a hot dog stand out of the cockpit.  

[Ad1tu]

hahaha that would be amazing... you could make back all the money you spent on it! ... eventually... maybe... lol

[Stage-It]

OH MY GOD I WANT THAT FUCKING MIG!

[Malchik]

I want a pinball machine.

[satori]

OH MY GOD I WANT THAT FUCKING MIG!

It's the same plane that was in Battlefield Vietnam that could fly circles around the American planes. It was the absolute top fighter of it's time, like the Russian Flanker is today. Even with the fall of the Soviet empire they still have the most maneuverable and fastest fighter planes in the world. I would of loved to of bought this just for bragging rights.

[Zn]

Ughh..those jets shouldn't fly anymore, they're really old junk. Our airforce must've had like three of them crash in the last two years and it probably wasn't the pilot's fault. I'm sure these jets pretty much aren't dangerous anymore to any airforce, they're pretty useless.

Most maneuverable and fastest planes in the world? You have got to be kidding. Most of what  the soviets ever did was copy, copy, copy western technology and you can trust me, because I grew up in a soviet republic. Tech companies would steal and reverse engineer a lot of western technology - computers, home electronics, military technology etc. And the end products are usually shit quality. Well, maybe they made some improvements, and invented some stuff, like the staged rocket, but they stole a lot of tech.

The russians have it really bad, I remember there was this terrorist attack somewhere in Asia and the russian soldiers didn't have enough ammo to fire - they had to borrow some from the locals.

To stay on topic - I'm not sure what you'd be bragging about, satori, because those jets were probably mostly used for shooting down U.S. bombers, and shooting bombers is a pretty cowardly task. Ahh, those fucking evil communists.

[JURIJ LOM]

Tech companies would steal and reverse engineer a lot of western technology - computers, home electronics, military technology etc.

The fact is, that everybody steals!
When I was a kid (I grew up in USSR, as well), I loved that electronic handheld game- called "Eggs"-- it was a total copy of "Nintendo Game & Watch"...
so you'll say USSR were thieves...

...But, as well, US stole "reactive armour" system from USSR which is widely used in tanks...

It's more efficient to steal(tech) than to "waste" Your money researching/inventing something!

Even nowadays, lots of countries and companies are performing technological espionage.

[Zn]

I'm not talking here of mere scientific exchange, I'm talking about reproducing western foreign products and calling them yours in a really evil way. Of course everyone steals, and I already said the Soviets made some more or less important improvements in technology. It isn't more efficient to steal than to research, at best you have to do both. If you don't research at all you don't know what the hell you are doing. I find it curious that many people from the western part of the world seem to think eastern technology is "better" after the easterners stole, bought or were donated large ammounts of western technology that they almost entirely reporduced. The U.S. may have stolen some things, I'm sure, but they invented and applied millions of technological assets that everyone is using, even if we realize it or not.