The LARGER SPINE houses.. more fuel (like in Mig-21 Bis..) and some extra electronics.. And besides being beautiful.. it its also POTENT and POWERFUL.. If flown by a PILOT who knows what he is doing it is more than match for US types.. especially in close range AAC.. only Israeli F-15/16 with DASH HMS / Python 4/5 comes even close to this dog fighter.. and still Mig has the advantage of being more agile..

I have to agree with seeker on this one, the mig-29 came into being as a counter to the F-14, 15, 16, and the then YF-17 that lost its contest to the f-16.
The whole Mig design philosophy has been driven in the last 50 yrs by the desire for strong, simple, easy to fly, and very agile aircraft, what they lack in finessé, Mig certainly make up for in agility and raw performance.
My personal opinion of the spine, is that it provides symetry to the design, and in practical terms..extra fuel and avionics....a win win situation.

Regards

Spear

Very nice plane indeed.. Much to liking!

Btw.. YF-17 did "lose" nothing, i became F/A-18 A/B/C/D/E/F Hornet..

yea that plane is awesome but im going to have to say that i dont believe it has much in the way of stealth capabilities. one of the best dogfighters around. Now, if only i could get my hands on one........

Originally posted by ItchyPikachu
yea that plane is awesome but im going to have to say that i dont believe it has much in the way of stealth capabilities. one of the best dogfighters around. Now, if only i could get my hands on one........

Yeah, the LARGE AIR IN TAKES alone make it a good radar target.. But.. it has some RAM used and RA paint also?