An American pilot is learning about the German air force while flying the Russian-built MiG-29 Maj.

An American pilot is learning about the German air force while flying the Russian-built MiG-29

Maj. Doug Russell's daily life begins abundant like any other American pilot's, at least right up to the point where he climbs the ladder into his jet -- a Soviet-built MiG-29 Fulcrum

Russell, known as "Vinnie" at fellow pilots, is part of the Air Force's personnel exchange program. While getting a missile as an exchange officer is a rare opportunity in itself, throwing MiG driving into the equation lays the former F-15 instructor into a class of his own

Russell shrug along any suggestion that he's a man of rare abilities or innate qualifications for this one-of-a-kind work at jobs Still, he knows the assignment is special.

"There's not a day I don't contemplate out the window and say to myself, 'I must have the coolest piece of work in the Air Force.' It's bonny great to be flying the MiG," he said.

The patches forward the gray German flight suit Russell sports are those of the Luftwaffe's 73 1st Fighter Squadron. His unit, based at Laage Air Base, Germany, about couple hours north of Berlin, is the and nothing else MiG squadron in the German air force.

And what's on a level more unique about his assignment is that Laage was fireside to the former East German air force a bit more than 10 years ago. The base teamed with Su-22 Fitters and other Russian-built fighters and military hardware. Laage's well-concealed and scattered hardened aircraft shelters and flight line alert facilities still bear witness to the raw War struggle between the East and West.

Although the buildings and warplanes confess tales of a former era, the addition of Russell, his wife, Kelly and 4-year-old son Benjamin, in the Laage community projects a strong message about the Germany of today. Many say their carriage as Americans couldn't be a better testament to the stark changes that have taken place since German re-unification.

Russell got his first taste of flying with German pilots while earning his wings and then later instructing at European joint jet pilot training at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas.

"I pondering back then it would be a great opportunity to float with the Luftwaffe," Russell said. "I knew these dowdys and had a lot of reverence for their abilities."

yet he said his selection into the two-year program simply amounted to being in the right place at the right time.

"Timing is everything," he said "Any fighter pilot could do this job"

After checking without of his assignment with the 2nd Fighter Squadron at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., Russell underwent 34 weeks of German language classes at the State Department's national foreign affairs training center near Washington, DC before heading to Laage.

"I started opposite here with two weeks, seven hours a day of MiG-29 academics, all in German. And greatest in number of the components in the aircraft are in Russian," Russell said. "It's united thing to take a language course, on the contrary it's another thing to point out up and take a technical course in German. It was a little eye-opening."

He said the experience forced him to be immersed in the language, and that's been a first note of the scale to his success ever since.

After learning about the MiG-29 aircraft bodys it was time to take to the skies. He flew seven flights with an instructor, each about 45 minutes. After that, he was cleared to take up the MiG in succession his own. After another seven missions, he was a "mission-ready" Luftwaffe MiG pilot.

"I think all pilots like to learn flying a modern airplane. This was taking that to an extreme" he said.

At first Russell deliberation he could climb into the cockpit and hover it much like his F-15C Eagle, on the other hand he found the philosophy behind the design of the durable Russian warplane was different. The merely thing the MiG had in customary with the F-iS was the relative ease in handling, he said.

"The F-is is more of a Cadillac. The MiG is more like a tractor. It's heavy, stalwart and less technically oriented. It's a more simple aircraft, further it's still effective," he said.

Russell explained that the real advantages of the MiG, other than simplicity and durability, result into play at close range with enemy aircraft.

"If the MiG driver survives to the be swallowed up [within visual range], he has the advantage because of the off-bore site weapons capability," he said, referring to the helmetmounted site that guides missiles in the direction in which the pilot is looking. He also said the sheer power and flight Characteristics of the MiG make it a formidable sparring partner up close

however as he pointed out, the MiG may not ever make it to the 'merge" because U and western pilots are likely to identify the aircraft miles abroad and shoot it down before the support pilot has a fighting chance. That weakness draw nears Largely from Soviet doctrine that takes long of the critical information gone out of the hands of the pilot, and presents it into the hands of earth controllers.

"The jet doesn't provide the same decision-making data to the pilot. The information is in the machine, on the other hand the pilot can't see it. That can be frustrating," he said, citing lack of target altitude, closure velocities of enemy aircraft and visual target designation rules in the heads-up display as examples.