AP Photo/Gent ShkullakuIn
this photo taken on Monday, Feb. 15, 2016 Vasil Jangari, a former jet
engineer, climbs over an old Mig-19 fighter jet at the Rinasi air base,
near Tirana. If you want to buy a secondhand fighter jet, Albania is
the place to go right now.
The 40 obsolete Soviet and Chinese-made aircraft up for sale once
roared over what was Europe’s most exclusive airspace. The Albanian
pilots were members of an exalted military elite that had its own
food-tasters and was tasked by Communist Albania’s paranoid regime with
deterring countless enemies who never did come to this country on the
Adriatic Sea.
Now a NATO member, Albania is auctioning off the rusting jets to pay for modernizing its military and to save space in its air bases. The Socialist government says it has received strong interest from aviation collectors and museums abroad — so much that it pushed back the initial auction date and is considering raising the starting bids, first set at 1.1 million to 1.9 million leks (Cdn $11,700-$20,000).
“It was a surprise for us,” Defence Minister Mimi Kodheli said,
noting “a rush” of interest from prospective bidders in the United
States, Germany, France, Italy and other countries.
In a corner of the Rinasi air base outside the capital of Tirana, 11 decrepit MiG-17 and MiG-19 jets are parked in neat rows, guarded by two military officers. Their silver-grey paint with the distinctive red, black and red roundels is fading, their tires are flat, the guns are rust-flecked and some of their glass canopies are broken.
Former jet mechanic Vasil Jongari, 55, seemed almost ashamed to show the planes to visiting journalists.
“There is nostalgia always,” he said, running his fingers over the 32 millimeter gun on a MiG-19. “But they cannot be kept only based on desire. They need money, and money we don’t have.”
Ilirjan Kola, 61, who flew Albanian air force MiG-15 to MiG-19 jets from 1976 until 1991, said the planes were always so expensive to operate.
“MiGs were so costly,” he said. “A twin-engine MiG-19 consumed 52 litres of fuel a minute. With a normal flight of 30-40 minutes, imagine the expense … Better that they had sold them before.”
Albania’s air force was founded in 1951 and received MiGs from the
Soviet Union until 1962. After Communist leader Enver Hoxha broke with
the Russians, the country continued to be supplied with planes and
spares from Communist China — until 1977, when Albania also severed ties
with the Chinese.
About 160 Albanian pilots graduated from a military academy in southwestern Vlora, and used to clock up about 80 flying hours a year. Only five still serve — and now they all fly helicopters.
“We were privileged at the time, with specially chosen food, shelter, health care and vacations,” Kola said. He said the food came from a dedicated farm near the air base, which a doctor tasted for them on a daily basis.
Now a NATO member, Albania is auctioning off the rusting jets to pay for modernizing its military and to save space in its air bases. The Socialist government says it has received strong interest from aviation collectors and museums abroad — so much that it pushed back the initial auction date and is considering raising the starting bids, first set at 1.1 million to 1.9 million leks (Cdn $11,700-$20,000).
AP Photo/Gent ShkullakuIn this photo taken on Monday, Feb. 15, 2016 an old Mig-19 fighter jet is photographed at the Rinasi air base, near Tirana.
In a corner of the Rinasi air base outside the capital of Tirana, 11 decrepit MiG-17 and MiG-19 jets are parked in neat rows, guarded by two military officers. Their silver-grey paint with the distinctive red, black and red roundels is fading, their tires are flat, the guns are rust-flecked and some of their glass canopies are broken.
Former jet mechanic Vasil Jongari, 55, seemed almost ashamed to show the planes to visiting journalists.
“There is nostalgia always,” he said, running his fingers over the 32 millimeter gun on a MiG-19. “But they cannot be kept only based on desire. They need money, and money we don’t have.”
Ilirjan Kola, 61, who flew Albanian air force MiG-15 to MiG-19 jets from 1976 until 1991, said the planes were always so expensive to operate.
“MiGs were so costly,” he said. “A twin-engine MiG-19 consumed 52 litres of fuel a minute. With a normal flight of 30-40 minutes, imagine the expense … Better that they had sold them before.”
AP Photo/Gent ShkullakuIn this photo taken on Monday, Feb. 15, 2016, a Mig-17 and Mig-19 fighter jets stand at the Rinasi air base, near Tirana.
About 160 Albanian pilots graduated from a military academy in southwestern Vlora, and used to clock up about 80 flying hours a year. Only five still serve — and now they all fly helicopters.
“We were privileged at the time, with specially chosen food, shelter, health care and vacations,” Kola said. He said the food came from a dedicated farm near the air base, which a doctor tasted for them on a daily basis.
AP Photo/Gent Shkullaku In this photo taken on Monday, Feb. 15, 2016 old Migs fighter jets are stand at the Rinasi air base, near Tirana.
No comments:
Post a Comment