Special Sub-Topic: The alMiGhty MiG! Click Here To Play: The alMiGhty MiG!

What does the MiG abbreviation stand for?

Mikoyan-Gurevich. The name comes from the two founders, Artem Mikoyan and Mikhail Gurevich.

When was the company MiG founded?

1939. More exactly in December 1939, not long after the outbreak of Word War II.

What type of aircraft(s) does MiG primarily design?

fighter planes. They do produce non-fighter planes too, for example the MiG-23/27 is a ground-attack (Close Air Support) aircraft.

Who was the original designer of the I-200 (which later became the MiG-1) back in June 1939?

Polikarpov. Antonov founded his design bureau in 1946. Although Sukhoi was founded in 1939 they didn't design this fighter. Work on the model was started by Polikarpov in June 1939.

The first fighters designed by MiG were subsonic. They produced their first supersonic fighter in 1955. Which was it?

MiG-19. Actually the MiG-19 was the first supersonic fighter in the whole Soviet Union. Its top speed (in level flight) was 1,455 km/h (909 mph).

Belonging to the Eastern Bloc, MiG planes received NATO reporting names, starting with "F". One of the most famous is "Fulcrum"; but which 1980s fighter got this nickname?

MiG-29. This great plane, appeared in 1983, is comparable to the F-16 Fighting Falcon and the F/A-18 Hornet.

The MiG-21 has quite a peculiar NATO name. What could it be?

Fishbed. Farmer is the MiG-19, Fargo is the MiG-9 and Fagot is the MiG-15.

Which of the following is the last MiG fighter to have its air inlet opening in the aircraft's nose? (Hint: this fairly old model is still used in Romania.)

MiG-21. The MiG-21 entered service in the Soviet Union back in 1958. In its time it was one of the fastest planes around, being capable of speeds above Mach 2! Half a century later it's still being used for training... talk about durability!

MiGs used a large variety of air-to-air missiles, most of which also have nicknames. Three of the following are actual missile nicks. Which one isn't?

Arcane. The Aphid (R-60) is used by almost every MiG fighter (since 1974 til the present moment). The Archer (R-77) is the most modern short-range air-to-air missile the Russians have. The Apex (R-23) is out of service, being upgraded to R-24.

Which MiG has two seats, one for both pilot and operator?

MiG-31. The other models only have two seats in training versions, for pilot and student.