I Bought A REAL Fighter Jet For $60,000 

I’m just sitting in my recliner, sipping coffee and petting the cat when all of a sudden, the earth shakes, (might have been the massage feature on my recliner….naaaa) the room suddenly became dark (light turned off?…naaa) and the swirling fog came shooting out from RU-vid! YES it is JIMMY’S WORLD! Incredible, another lesson on how to go broke in aviation by buying, fixing, flying, and fixing again! What could possibly go wrong?

I’ve seen these jets tons of times when I was a kid growing up behind the Iron Curtain. Poland was full of them…I sat in one at an air show when I was like 9! The Soviets made a few good machines and this one was one of them!

You are correct about mechanic's cars. Been a mechanic for over 40 years. The reason is, after working on other people's stuff all day, the last thing we want to do is work on our own stuff.

And this right here is why I'm a subscriber. Jimmy is an honestly good guy, shows all the oopsie's and let's us know everything right down to what he pays for things. Not to mention his entertainment value! Keep up the good work and thank you for posting such great content! 😎

Jimmy, you are a brave young man! Keep doing what you are doing! All the best to you and your family!

60k for a vintage MiG in working condition sounds like a great bargain. Well done!

"Mig in American air space" lol Its so awesome watching you do this stuff Jimmy, Stay safe bro!

Thanks for the update Jimmy. You have so many projects going on right now. I'm amazed how much you are doing. Glad you found a partner for the Mig. Already looking forward to your next video.

One thing about Russian/Soviet designed military equipment, they designed things to be simple, durable, and easy to maintain. That's important when you have lots of unimproved landing strips and crews that are not as highly trained and educated as those in the west. Not trying to belittle those in the eastern block, it's just that they had to keep it simple and durable.

So happy the Mig went to someone who was able to do all the work that was needed to get that old bird flying again! I'd love to see your partner's Mig 15, Mig 17 and Mig 21. It's crazy to think your partner has a larger airforce than some countries!

Jimmy - Wow what a find...and in that condition with all the fixtures as well!! Had seen couple of these rascals approachin' Cuba in '61 during period where Castro said all approaching Cuba to be shot down. These guys fellow aviators, had never seen single engine DC-6 with fire damage on both wings, so made us their project. We didn't have enough engine to make Miami, they didn't have nuff gas to make Miami and return to Cuba. They got in Conga Line just ahead of us letting us draft them rest of the way. We landed on threshold & bounced up sitting on end of runway...then they swooshed over us to land as out of gas! Lan Chile had 'em gassed up while us thankful passengers pressed the flesh with 'em as owed 'em our lives! Only the Russian also spoke English, but the Cuban Pilot spoke the Espanol to converse with rest of us. No International Incident there folks, as just aviators helping aviators!! Too bad International Negotiators of today can't learn how to get along with each other as well as these four Pilots!!!

Very exciting! I'm loving all of your projects so far. Thanks!

Now this is how you boost your channel to the next level! Well done Jimmy!

Hello from Brazil, Jimmy! New subscriber here. It occurred to me that under Siberia’s freezing conditions the hydraulics may be hindered by the cold if the fluid gets super viscous or frozen. Using nitrogen would address this problem. Good luck with the plane! Looking forward to seeing it flying again

Morning Jimmy , I'm glad to see you got the two seat trainer version of this very rare cold war fighter , besides having a two place cockpit what other obvious differences are there from the single place version ?

Jimmy, you are awesome, every week I can't wait to see what you have next. Love the jet.

I am all up into seeing a series on this MiG. Excited !! I had mentioned before about Matt Guthmiller video getting some instruction in a two seat -15 somewhere out west. Cool video.

Hey from Australia Jimmy, love your vids and am always anxious to see what is next.

So glad you pulled the trigger been watching this journey since the start loving it.

dad used to say, it's not the price of the elephant, it's the cost of the food. yeah the plane cost $60k but it needed $135k in repairs and parts.probably only co$t$$$$, about $350 an hour to operate? what could go wrong? lol

I never thought you'd actually fly that mig. It's not like turn the key and go. I've always been very excited seeing that plane in any circumstance, starting my fondness back in Chuck Yeagers flight simulator on a very old desk top computer ( 32 mgs hard drive, ran off of an actual disc). That mig having 2 different size guns was really unbeatable ( I never lost unconscious at high dives or ran out of those bullets ( unlimited ammo). I hope to see more of that jet, and maybe you can go for a ride too!

Thanks Jimmy and the mad Lad partnering in this project to bring it back into the air

Look forward to seeing the Mig fly. Now you need to buy a F86 to round things out.

your enthusiasm is contagious, lol, all the best wishes for your projects and future projects, knowing you its going to be good, fair weather and light winds to you.

So. Very. Cool. Jimmy, you are a beast. Safe flying !

I'm excited for you, and will be looking forward to the videos of it. Thanks, Jimmy.

You are a very interesting dude, Jimmy. I know I would like hanging out and learn about flying and the mechanics of airplanes. Keep doing what you do and more power to ya.

Cool video Jimmy thanks for the update on the mig can't wait to see it fly

Man, I had dreams every night of owning one of those when I was a kid. Then I learned how those worked and even I was like, yeah nope! This doesn't sound like a good idea! But congratulations to you! I know you're in for a hell of a journey!

Jim! Larry from JetWarbird Training Center, Santa Fe NM, has a Mig-15. He actually has many jets. He does conversion, upset recovery and fun flights with all his jets. He can complete your training and do your Checkride. I used to work there for the local FBO and helped Larry spool up his Mig.. what an amazing experience!! Goodluck and Godspeed. Joseph

Jimmy! I have to chime in. Mechanic here. 36 years at the least. Boy. I'm here to tell ya, we are not all the same. It's my passion. This concept is based on a simple assumption (there is truth in it for some) that a mechanic will tolerate issues knowing it's no big deal. Well, in my case, it is a big deal. Never have, and never will, compromise. It must be right. I treat everything I work in like an aircraft. Either it's right, or it's a piece of shit. Nuff said, man. Truth, I deal with about as much documentation in my work as filing with the FAA. I do it by the numbers. Friends have long asked me why I don't just switch to an A&P. Well, I just might. Been spinning wrenches for a long time. It's in the blood, man. Keep on doing what you do, Jimmy. Love every last minute of it. Bobby

This is incredible! Love your content Jimmy!

Please please please do a cost of ownership video on this thing once you get it in the air. While at Oshkosh, I decided owning a fighter jet would be a prudent thing to add to my bucket list and look forward to learning what it'll take so that I can make it happen sooner than later.

Wow, I always loved the look of the air intake of the Mig. Awesome Plane

Love your video’s Jimmy!! What could possibly go wrong?

Hey Jimmy, great update! Cheers from Australia mate, keep up the good work!

Thank you for posting this jimmy. I have an rc jet turbine model of the mig 15. She really is a beaut

Jimmy, I'm so glad to see you so excited about this purchase, the mig looks great. Good luck with the project and the next one could be an f-104g starfighter... maybe they don't mind flying it

You have at least, a robust compressor on that motor, (essentially a RR Nene) it being a centrifugal comp, rather than axial. As long as it doesn’t swallow a bus, ‘it’ll be fine’.

Can’t wait for the T6. My father-in-law was an instructor in T6’s in San Antonio many decades ago. Always a favorite of mine.

Nice update! The Mig at OSH was fun to watch, if you saw that I imagine you were thinking of your own taking to the sky someday soon.

Yay! I’m currently in Florida watching this! Makes a difference to sitting in grey old England!

I'm happy the Mig is being finished and I can't wait to see it fly!!!

Thanks Jimmy for bringing us along on this journey

One of the better air show acts I've seen was a mig 17 at Wings over Camarillo a couple years ago and admittedly the afterburner was a huge part of it and something I don't think the 15 has but still a pretty freaking cool airplane!

Good deal Jimmy , best of luck with the Mig .

Jimmy, you are having waaayy too much fun! Thanks for sharing.

I fell in love with an old warbird once Navion L-17 and discovered I couldn't afford the 10 gallons an hour. You are really going to spend between 12 and $1500 an hour to fly this thing! Wow talk about money to burn 🔥

Have you heard of the company Air USA? I know they have some later model migs and used to have more older cold war stuff. I live in the area and its really neat to see a whole row of old com block stuff sitting in a rural airfield.

Love your escapades and attitude! I'll bet your kids have a blast & have lots of show & tell for school.

LOL Love the line " What Could Possibly Go Wrong "

Now that is a serious project! Good on you mate, for having a go!

Maybe it's the Sully moustache but I think you've had a safe landing on that one. Partnership on the fuel to noise converter is definitely the best option

Hey jimmy, I’m a crew chief on HC/MC-130Js and in the military kinda struggling for motivation to work on planes in the civilian world but watching your videos you make it look so fun, just not sure where I’d start and don’t have much advice on how to get started to learn a different aircraft. Would love some advice, you do some pretty cool stuff

The metal on the F-4 Phantom is super thick too. They were designed to never need a major servicing.

Hi, that is one cool jet! My grandmother used to be responsible for installation of electrical components in those during the 60s. Who knows you might have the one she worked on)

They did a nice job with the cockpit and markings!

before the war started in Europe these planes could be bought very cheaply, the advantage of this is that there are tons of spare parts for it

I’m pretty sure I saw this MIG at an air show at Sheppard AFB a number of years back. Pretty cool to see these things fly.

This is the content I subscribed for!

I've seen drop tanks on Mig-17s that are wood. Basically wood laminate to save sheet metal for the important stuff

Awesome find Jimmy! Can't wait to see it fly!

Now that you have that Mig out of the way i really am looking forward to the Trainer...that should be really fun and a LOT cheaper to fly

It will be fine. Lol. Thank You Jimmy!! A bright spot in the day for me. # save the 310.

Jimmy: I bought a fighter! Cool where did you buy it from? Jimmy: Facebook *jimmy took off and was never seen again*

Mr. MiG seems like a cool dude with that shop setup

I checked to day on silver dollar. Going up some.

You will get it man... you can do it. It's really just a much faster version of the glassair.

Alright I am late to the party but wished to bring my two cents about the wing thickness. The reason behind the thick metal on the wings was because back in the 1950s when this bird was made, guns were still the norm in dogfights so the designers needed more metal on the wings so an enemy gun burst would not easily shred them off.

Wooow ! You buy it ! 🤪 I want to see more about this plane 🤩

Fun videos . Thanks for sharing !!!

There's nothing like starting-up these old jets. 😍 You need to get ahold of an old 23/24/25 Learjet... next. Lol.

I saw one of these flying above Albuquerque a few days ago. Very cool.

Absolutely beautiful man, hopefully you kept the T-6!

This is the one video I have been waiting for.

Man this video has soo much Tyler Hoover vibes, 😁 keep up the excellent work brother! We're along for the ride

That video of the jet in action was at Dunsfold Wings and Wheels in the UK just up the road from my home was ammazing display to watch!

many years ago, maybe 1980s, I stopped at a dirt field which had several WW II aircraft - C117, B17 and a few more. Field was 30 some miles directly south of Rochester NY. now, probably National airplane museum in Geneseo. Someone had a Mig in parts bought from a semi Russian country. He bought several and was putting one together (in the hangar next to the b17) to fly at air shows. When I was there, he was making a fuselage belly/wooden support prior to attaching the wings.. .And they were putting in a repaired wing spar into the right wing of the b17 some years later I saw it fly at an air show.... He liked the Mig cause they were easy to maintain, simple tools,and built to operate from grass fields.

Most people don't know what living is but Jimmy doesn't know what anything else is. Rock on brother.

There was always a Mig15 flying here in OKC back when we had the Aerospace America air show. I think the airshow stopped around the early 00's if I recall correctly. So cool that this Mig is most likely the one that I saw.

One of my favorite subscriptions…I mean, What could go wrong, it’ll be fine!

That's awesome! Looks like the one I have seen at an Airshow in Ft. Worth about 15 or so years ago. Sadly I do not currently have pictures of it as they are still at my ex wife's house in GA. If I ever go back to Florida I would definitely love to come say Hi!

Go and bay in ALBANIA , there are a lot . MIG 15-17-19 for sell

You are quite a character love your videos ....how much did you pay for the AT6 ?

Congrats on the Texan condolences on the MIG ;)

Thats awesome Jimmy thats a cool russian fighier jet you got there your projects are the coolest project iv ever seen keep up the good work jimmy!👏👍

Jimmy with this air-o-plane you might be valuable to the resistance. LOL!

You'll love flying the jet. I am not a pilot but when I was in the Air Force I got to ride in a T-38. The pilot let me fly it for about 1 hour. It was s ok much fun. He let me do some algernon rolls. The first one I hit my helmet on the canopy but I got better. He said go back to the base. I made my turn and he asked if I had ever flown before? I said once in a piper. He said that I was a natural and wanted to know how I knew what direction to go to get to the base? We were flying over Grenada Lake Mississippi and I had a camp on that lake since 1975 so I knew where we were the whole time we'd been in the air. He told me to land it when we were coming in on approaching the runway about 8 miles out. I told him hell no you're aircraft and told him I was removing my hand from the stick. I was very happy until he said for me to land it. Scared the crap out of me.

So excited to see the MIG up in air!

So happy for your success!!!

I remember when I saw the MIG-15 as a kid at an air show, I never knew it was a Soviet plane. I always thought the red star on it was possibly the old Texaco logo

I love following these smaller channels hoping I get to see some cool stuff. Paydirt! $1500/hour in fuel is not bad if your rich buddy is paying for it.

I can't wait for the mig build I can't wait to see its power bud

Your Mig 15, question? Does your Mig have the landing indicators showing that your landing gear is up or down. They are really simple candy striped rods that pop up throw the wings on both sides when the landing gear is down. There’s also a small one that’s to the left front of the cockpit. They are mechanically attached to the landing gear

Awesome....you best vid yet!!!

so cool i got to see it fly go for it

6:22 this sneaker is sick! alright continue the vid

Are you sure that coin hasn't got chocolate inside? Flying a MIG, "what could possibly go wrong", well you won't walk into the prop anyway :-)

Where do you get parts??? Where do you get service manuals (assuming you read Russian)? Where do you get fuel compatible to a MIG 15? The fact you have it is amazing! The fact that it flies is more amazing! AMAZING!

Albania has dozens of Mig-15,17 and 19 for sale from bad condition to perfect starting from 10.000 euros :)