Mikoyan-Gurevich Ye-3 (NATO 'Filbert'): the third MiG-21 wing planform prototype

[Dizzyfugu]

Some background:
Military aircraft development made huge leaps in the 50ies, and it was around 1955 that the successful, transsonic MiG-19 was soon to be replaced by a next generation fighter. This new type was to attain more than Mach 2, but, at that time, these speed and performance figures were terra incognita. However, OKB Mikoyan responded to the official request for a new light tactical fighter which was primarily intended to be used against high flying bombers, guided by ground radar.


1:72 Mikoyan-Gurevich Ye-3/1 MiG-21 prototype [NATO Code 'Filbert']; "31 Blue", Soviet Air Force/IA PVO, early 1957 (Whif/Kit-bashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Since it was unclear which basic wing design would be most appropriate for the new high speeds, OKB MiG hesitantly brought forth several test aircraft which sported different wing shapes, so that direct comparison could be done.
These were the Ye-1, which featured 57° swept wings, much like the MiG-19's, the Ye-4, which featured a delta wing with an identical sweep, and finally the Ye-3, which featured a very thin but only moderately swept wing, certainly inspired by the contemporary development of the radical F-104 Starfighter in the USA, which had a very simlar duty profile to the new Soviet tactical fighter's requirements.


1:72 Mikoyan-Gurevich Ye-3/1 MiG-21 prototype [NATO Code 'Filbert']; "31 Blue", Soviet Air Force/IA PVO, early 1957 (Whif/Kit-bashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


All three aircraft did not go unnoticed from NATO intelligence, and since it was not clear whether these machines would eventually end up in front service, all received code names, which were, respectively, 'Faceplate', 'Fishbed' and 'Filbert'.
As a side note, NATO expected the 'Faceplate' design to be the most likely to enter front line service - but eventually it became the 'Fishbed'!


1:72 Mikoyan Gurevich Ye-3/1 MiG-21 prototype [NATO Code 'Filbert']; "31 Blue", Soviet Air Force/IA PVO, early 1957 (Whif/Kit-bashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The original Ye-3 used a fuselage and tail of the other prototypes. Beyond the different wings, it featured a modified landing gear which had to be completely retracted into the fuselage, due to the wings' thinness. Since the internal space inside of these thin wings also restricted internal fuel capacity - compared to the Ye-1 and Ye-4 - the aircraft carried drop tanks on its wing tips, while the armament, two IR-guided short range missiles, would be carried under the wings on two hardpoints. These could alternatively carry pods with unguided missiles or iron bombs of up to 1.100 lb calibre. Two NR-30 30mm guns with 50 belt-fed RPG in the lower fuselage complemented the missile ordnance.


1:72 Mikoyan Gurevich Ye-3/1 MiG-21 prototype [NATO Code 'Filbert']; "31 Blue", Soviet Air Force/IA PVO, early 1957 (Whif/Kit-bashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The original Ye-3 prototype was powered by an AM-11 engine rated at 8.580 lbf dry thrust and 11.200 lbf at full afterburner. It was the last of the test machine trio to fly: aptly coded "31 Blue" it made its maiden flight on 4th of April 1956 with OKB Mikoyan's chief test pilot Gheorgiy K. Mosolov at the controls. It was immediately clear that the aircraft had poor directional stability. It tended to spin at lower speeds, and at higher speeds the tailplane became ineffective. Handling was hazardous, and after just four test flights the aircraft had to be grounded.


1:72 Mikoyan Gurevich Ye-3/1 MiG-21 prototype [NATO Code 'Filbert']; "31 Blue", Soviet Air Force/IA PVO, early 1957 (Whif/Kit-bashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


It took until December 1956 that a satisfactory control surface solution could be found. Wind tunnel test had suggested that the horizontal stabilizer had to be moved much higher - higher than on the other prototypes, which already progressed in their test programs.

The reworked Ye-3/1 featured a completely new T-tail arrangement with trapezoidal stabilizers. This new tail had little left in common with the other test types and made the aircraft look even more like a F-104 copy. In order to enhance stability further, the ventral strakes had been enlarged and the fin chord slightly deepened. This new configuration was successfully tested on 21st 1956 of December.


1:72 Mikoyan Gurevich Ye-3/1 MiG-21 prototype [NATO Code 'Filbert']; "31 Blue", Soviet Air Force/IA PVO, early 1957 (Whif/Kit-bashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


At that time, a second Ye-3/1 was close to completion. Featuring the tactical code "32 Blue", this aircraft was powered by the new R-11 engine, an uprated AM-11 rated at 8.536 lbf dry and 12.686 lbf with afterburner. The same engine was soon re-fitted to "31 Blue", too, and during 1956 and 1957 both machines took part in the extensive trials program for the MiG-21, how the new fighter should be known in service.


1:72 Mikoyan Gurevich Ye-3/1 MiG-21 prototype [NATO Code 'Filbert']; "31 Blue", Soviet Air Force/IA PVO, early 1957 (Whif/Kit-bashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


"31 Blue" crashed on 30th of May 1958 due to hydraulic failure, even though the pilot was able to escape unharmed. This accident happened just one day before another test aircraft, a Ye-6/1 (a modified swept-wing aircraft) crashed, too. Anyway, it was already becoming clear that the delta wing offered the best overall performance, being slightly superior to the swept-wing design. The straight, thin wing, though, was considered unsatisfactory and a dead end.


1:72 Mikoyan Gurevich Ye-3/1 MiG-21 prototype [NATO Code 'Filbert']; "31 Blue", Soviet Air Force/IA PVO, early 1957 (Whif/Kit-bashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The Ye-3/1 remained a touchy aircraft and was not popular among the test pilots. Compared to the swept or delta wing, the aircraft's agility was good, but it did not offer any significant benefit in speed, rate of climb or range and its poor directional stability was the biggest shortcoming.
Additionally, the fact that starting and landing from improvised air strips was much more hazardous than with the other design types (if not impossible with the small wings and tires), the Ye-3 was axed in January 1960 with no further development perspectives.

"32 Blue" survived the test phase, but eventually ended up as an instrcutional airframe at the Kharkov Aviation Institute without wings and fin.


General characteristics:
Crew: One
Length (incl. pitot): 16.05 m (53 ft)
Wingspan (incl. drop tanks): 8,18 m (21 ft 6 in)
Height: 3.81 m (12 ft 6 1/3 in)
Wing area: 18 m² (196,1 ft²)
Aspect ratio: 7.3:1
Empty weight: 4.820 kg (10.617 lb)
Loaded weight: 7.844 kg (17.277 lb)
Max. take-off weight: 8.625 kg (19.000 lb)

Powerplant:
1 × Tumanskiy R-11F-300 turbojet, rated at 3875 kgp (8.536 lbf) dry and 5.760 kgp (12.686 lbf) with afterburner

Performance
Maximum speed: 725 mph (1.167 km/h) at sea level, 1.190 mph (1.917km/h) at 13.000m (42.640 ft)
Combat radius: 450 km (245 nm, 280 mi)
Range: 850 ml (1.370 km)
Service ceiling: 19.000 m (62.320 ft)
Rate of climb: 38 m/s (7.480 ft/min)

Armament:
2× Nudelmann-Richter NR-30 30mm cannons with 50 RPG;
1.500 kg (3.300 lb) of payload on four external hardpoints, including:
- 2x PTB-350 wing tip drop tanks (fitted as standard)
- 2× K-13/R-3S (AA-2/"Atoll") AAMs on underwing pylons
- Alternatively, the two underwing pylons could carry pods with unguided missiles or iron bombs of up to 1.100 lb calibre.



The kit and its assembly:
A classic whif, based on vague indications that this Starfighter-like design was seriouly considered at OKB MiG in the early 50ies because there exists a (crude) desktop model which shows a MiG-21 fuselage with F-104 wings and tail:


A future project inspiration: MiG-21 with T-tail (based on this desktop model) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


With the MiG-21's slender fuselage and central air intake, this is an appealing design and offers a good story to tell with a model. Anyway, AFAIK the 'Ye-3' designation was never used in the MiG-21 development phase or anywhere else at OKB MiG, so I borrowed it for the kit. The NATO code 'Filbert' is also a fantasy product.

Basically, this model is a kit-bashing. It consists of a Hasegawa MiG-21F-13 fuselage with new wings. The Hasegawa kit is ancient, I guess it is from the early 70ies. It has several flaws, so it is good fodder for such a project. For example, the MiG-21 lacks any serious interior, the landing gear is not even a joke and the prominent Soviet Red Stars have been molded onto the parts as raised panel lines! The area-ruled fuselage is pretty, though, very sleek.


1:72 Mikoyan-Gurevich Ye-3 prototype (Whif) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Much room for improvements and improvisation, though. Hence, I built a cockpit interior from scartch and added an Airfix pilot, since these figures look very Soviet. As a side benefit, the figure is rather voluminous, so it covers much of the primitive cockpit interior...

Another modification is the landing gear - I wanted to incorporate much of the aforementioned F-16's landing gear, so that new wells had to be cut into the fuselage. This turned out to be easier than expected, and I did not waste too much effort on it. The F-16 landing gear is shorter than the MiG-21's, so the Ye-3 is closer to the ground than its real world cousins.


1:72 Mikoyan-Gurevich Ye-3 prototype [NATO Code 'Filbert'], around 1956 (Whif) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Mikoyan-Gurevich Ye-3 prototype [NATO Code 'Filbert'], around 1956 (Whif) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Mikoyan-Gurevich Ye-3 prototype [NATO Code 'Filbert'], around 1956 (Whif) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Mikoyan-Gurevich Ye-3 prototype [NATO Code 'Filbert'], around 1956 (Whif) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


For the new thin wings I considered at first butchering an Airfix F-104G Starfighter as donation kit, but eventually found the wings being simply too small for my taste and for what the desktop model paradigm shows. I eventually ended up with wings from an Italeri F-16, which - believe it or not - have the SAME leading and trailing edge angles as the F-104, you just have make angled cuts at the wing tips and the wing roots... I just had to cover up the original flap engravings and fit them to the fuselage. The F-16's horizontal stabilizers were taken, too, but shortened in order to match the smaller dimensions for a Starfighter-like look.


1:72 Mikoyan-Gurevich Ye-3 prototype [NATO Code 'Filbert'], around 1956 (Whif) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Mikoyan-Gurevich Ye-3 prototype [NATO Code 'Filbert'], around 1956 (Whif) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The fin was clipped on top and a new upper end created from the single MiG-21 under-fuselage stabilizer. The latter was replaced by two splayed fins, an arrangement which was featured on the original Ye-prototypes but were later replaced by the single fin.

The missiles and their launch rails are leftover pieces from my recent MiG-21G conversion (from a Hobby Master kit), they were painted orange as dummies, according to Soviet practice.

As extra equipment for a test airfcraft, a small camera pod (based on real life picture of other MiG prototypes and test aircraft) was added under the front fuselage - for recording live missile launch tests.


Painting:
I wanted, according to the background story, keep this a prototype aircraft. Unfortunately, this means that I'd be limited to a natural metal finish - and I hate such surfaces, because they are a great challenge, esp. with the manual brush technique I use...

But I tried to make the best of it and painted the model with a plethora of metal tones - ranging from Testors/Model Master Metallizer (Polished Aluminum, Polished Steel, Titanium, Exhaust) through Humbrol enamels (Aluminum, Gun Metal, Chrome Silver) up to Revell Aqua Acryllics (Aluminum). Additionally, some service flaps were painted in light grey (Humbrol 64), the nose cone (which would have been a metal piece, not a plastic radome) was painted in Humbrol 140.


1:72 Mikoyan-Gurevich Ye-3 prototype [NATO Code 'Filbert'], around 1956 (Whif) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The kit also received a wash with black ink - not to make it look worn, but to add to a "metallic" look with more contrast at edges and raised panel lines. To enhance this metallic look further, the kit received a treatment with a 'graphite rubbing'.

To make the machine look even more interesting (but not out of style), I added some phototheodolyte calibration markings on fuselage and fin: simple, black stripes, but, again, based on real test aircraft of that era. Additionally, "31 Blue" received four stars under the cockpit as mission markers - not for shot-down aircraft, but for successful live missile launches.
After the decals were applied - puzzled together from the scrap box and several aftermarket sheets for Russian/Soviet aircraft - everything was sealed under a coat of semi-matte acryllic varnish (Tamiya TS-79).


1:72 Mikoyan-Gurevich Ye-3 prototype [NATO Code 'Filbert'], around 1956 (Whif) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Mikoyan-Gurevich Ye-3 prototype [NATO Code 'Filbert'], around 1956 (Whif) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr



In the end a rather simple conversion, but quite effective and convincing. I think that this potential MiG-21 layout does not look out of place - but there certainly were reasons why the thin, unswept wings did not make it to the hardware stage at OKB MiG...


1:72 Mikoyan Gurevich Ye-3/1 MiG-21 prototype [NATO Code 'Filbert']; "31 Blue", Soviet Air Force/IA PVO, early 1957 (Whif/Kit-bashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Mikoyan Gurevich Ye-3/1 MiG-21 prototype [NATO Code 'Filbert']; "31 Blue", Soviet Air Force/IA PVO, early 1957 (Whif/Kit-bashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Mikoyan Gurevich Ye-3/1 MiG-21 prototype [NATO Code 'Filbert']; "31 Blue", Soviet Air Force/IA PVO, early 1957 (Whif/Kit-bashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

[PR19_Kit]

CRACKING piece of work there Thomas! 

Wonderful plastic bashing but he NATO code name is a total hoot! 

[McGreig]

Excellent work.    And I think that you're right about the wing - some years ago I combined an Airfix MiG-21 and F-104 and it just didn't look right (and was too obviously a MiG with an F-104 wing). Your solution is much better.

[Dizzyfugu]

Excellent work.    And I think that you're right about the wing - some years ago I combined an Airfix MiG-21 and F-104 and it just didn't look right (and was too obviously a MiG with an F-104 wing). Your solution is much better.

Yes, totally agree - when I held the F-104 to the MiG-21 fuselage, it did not look right. They looked too small, what is confusing when you consider that the F-104 is actually bigger than the MiG... nevertheless, I was suprised when I held the F-16 wings next to the Starfighter's to see that they were relatively close in depth and size, and that even the leading and trailing edges would fit - except for the wing root angle. But with some surgical cuts the F-16 wings could be used, and they' even offer some millimeters more of wing span, which would look much more plausible on the MiG. And that's what I ended up with. I think the desktop model shows even less wing sweep, but I am happy with the outcome.  Hey, it's a whif!

Many thanks for the feedback so far

[NARSES2]

Yet another nice one for the collection 

[Jay-Jay]

just +1 ...

[Weaver]

Nice job - I like it! 

Experimental aircraft are always fertile ground for "credible whiffs" since so much wierd stuff got tested but not produced.

Under the Soviet system, basic aerodynamic shapes were worked out by TsAGI (Central Fluid Dynamics Institute) and then passed on to the OKBs, which is why you so often got Sukhoi and MiG prototypes that looked like big and small versions of the same basic aircraft, for instance the Su-9 and the MiG-21, or the Su-27 and the MiG-29. That begs the question of what Sukhoi's "big" version would look like: Su-9 or Su-7 fuselage with 1/48th F-104 wings perhaps?

[Tophe]

Great model!
I would love to see a triplex F-104/Filbert/Fishbed to feature the evolution. No need to build it, imagination is enough.

[James]

That is wonderful. Well done. 

[Mossie]

Very nice work and believable too.   I think the use of the F-16 wing was a good idea, makes it less obviously a Starfighetr copy.

[Dizzyfugu]

Thank you all for the feedback!