Flying the Saab Viggen | Mikael "Duke" Grev (Part 1) 

Growing up in Sweden in the 80´s i was always amazed when they came roaring in the skies. It was the sound of freedom.

As an Englishman this is my favourite ever aircraft. Fond memories of watching one reverse down the Finningley runway in 1994 then blast off. Fell in love from then.

I first saw the Viggen at the moment of my entry to the 1977 Paris Airshow. It was amazingly agile and kept low and in view of the appreciative crowd. I think it was then I ran thru the sea of people to get a better view and almost knocked into the president of France, whose security men had created an open space I mistook as a shortcut.

I saw a Viggen at an air show when it did a 3 point turn after landing on a runway. Then I took off with full after burner. The ground was shaking and the the noise was unbeliveable.

Nothing defines my childhood in the 80's more than the Viggen..... I would make cardboard models, draw pictures, I loved it so. I remember a cereal box had a cut-out model of it, i treasured that for a very, very long time.

I have actually been in the Viggen siumlator in Östersund (F4 Frösön) in 1988. Me and two other boys from school spent a week at the base and where shown a lot of things. So I have actually started a JA37 Viggen (in the simulator) from Frösön with afterburner and flew a few minutes before my friend was taking over. A memory for life for a kid growing up just a few miles from the base watching these aircraft almoust every day.

I’m from the U.S.,I’ve always loved Swedish aircraft like the Tunnan, Draken, Viggen and Gripen.

The Viggen is a freaking spaceship. Love it. Great interview!

One of the most amazing fighters ever, thank you for this!

When I was a kid in the 90s I got to see and feel a Viggen do a low level pass at an airshow, I can remember the intense vibrations in my chest as it passed. None of the other planes at the event felt like that flying by. There were west german mig-29s present aswell, but for some reason they weren't allowed to fly at the event.

Thanks for your channel, it is always a pleasure to lesson and watch an interview.

I remember when my Windows shaked at early 90s and a roar from hel, then silence. A dot appeared above Mountains. Flew right above me. Maybe 12 Viggens. That waked me up for sure. XD. Great intervju.

Love the Saabs, and thanks for the questions about the 105. It's good to hear more about the training aircraft. I also liked the placement of the "how well did it prepare you" question later in the interview when you were talking about the operational aircraft. That was a nice touch. Cheers.

Great interview! I also love the Viggen and I'm always seriously impressed that a country of just 10 million or so can have such a great aviation heritage. 🙂

A great first part .... looking forward to part two 👍😎

Nice to see our western neighbors tell about their toys :) Draken is one of my all time favourites but Viggen has always been kind of a forgotten plane before they made one for DCS simulator which has made people more aware of it internationally... Thanks to "Duke" for all the insights and Mike, if you ever have the chance, might I suggest another finnish pilot interview maybe on the Hornet?

Great interview! The Viggen is such a unique aircraft, it's nice to see it having so much interest these days.

Surprised the Viggen is made from steel! I'd have naturally thought mostly aluminium. Fun fact: Clint Eastwood wanted to use the Viggen as the basis for the fictional MiG-31'Firefox'. Great interview as per usual.

I loved the Viggen, took part in the Swedish Airforce Youth Program, got me a ride in the 105. Later mechanic working on the 37.

One of my favorite aircraft to watch on airshows! Always fun to see peoples surprise, when the display Viggen landed mid display and did a "J-turn" on the runway! What surprised me in this interview was the thing mentioned at 3:36 about the Saab 105 /SK60: Austrias airforce had an airshow display formation using those exact aircraft between 1975 and 1984. They managed to score 2nd place at a trophy for best formation display at the RIAT two times. (After hearing what Mr. Grev mentioned, that sounds even more like an accomplishment to me than before)

The boom was probably extensive, but we as Swedes love it. That’s why nobody complained 😀👍

What a episode 😍

I remember when the first time I saw the Viggen in a military aviation book. It was an absolute beautiful fighter with hints of F-106 combined with something even more futuristic in nature. Later, I saw a documentary on Swedish military equipment and doctrine… it became clear that the Swedes were far more realistic in their understanding of how a war with Moscow would be fought. Dispersed aircraft capable of using roads throughout Sweden or even Norway is just common sense. We all know, even today that a war with Russian, China and their allies will not be started by NATO by rather it would come as a surprise attack with little to no warning.

This is awesome!

The cockpit shown at 13:41 is the strike version (AJ37), not the fighter (JA37).

A forward thinking European design. Super interview! Big thanks to Duke for taking the time to share his experiences. Love the anecdote! I found it really interesting that the Swedish pilots went straight to jets. How unusual is this in the European context?

Swedish aircraft are brilliant! Love the Draken and the Viggen

Growing up in Östersund av serving at F4 I have seen most "modern" swedish fighters (and driven pilots from Murklan to the hangars;) ).

Cool aircraft. Always liked it. Had canards before they became the fashion everywhere (except the US).

The correct way to spell the name! 😁

Actually, Draken is named after a bird, that lives in lake, like a male duck.

the store is down

Would have been more interesting with another Gripen-pilot than the same from other shows and papers.. Duke is a bit weird, Draken doesn´t mean "dragon", or it does, but it also is "the kite" and that is the real meaning. Because of its silouette resembling a kite... The Viggens have a lot of of aluminium as well.. Titanium as well.. Not just steel.. WTF?