MiG-25 has a huge water/alcohol reservoir that posed a quite challenge to
airbase commanders; the stuff was very..hm...potable. I think that Belyakov
(a head of MiG OKB) got a sort of "petition" from pilot and maintenance
gyus' wives about this, to which he answered something like "If it was
needed to fly our planes by the use of French Cognac, we would do it!". To
illustrate the proportions of this problem, when the plumbing of the filled
reservoir didn't produce effects (since the witty personell would drink it
after the flight), HQ ordered that MiG-25 pilots have to DUMP all
water/alcohol mixture before touchdown!

Nele

NULLA ROSA SINE SPINA


Vello wrote in message ...

"Steve Mellenthin" wrote in message
...
little use for titanium. Do anybody know the
reason?
whats really funnny is that the Titanium that was used to build the
SR-71 was exported from the then Soviet Union.

Russia has 75% of the world's supply of titanuim ore. We have been
buying
processed TI "sponge" from them since the 60s in spite of the cold war.


One anecdotical memory from soviet time (i live in Estonia). Hard to
belive,
but it is true. There was a hughe soviet military plant in Tallinn,
Dvigatel. Part of it was targeted on titanium structures. This times Kavor
Works in Tallinn was the sole distributor of formula racing cars in Soviet
Bloc. Cars went out of works with steel shafts etc parts, but teams taking
racing seriously get the same stuff in titanium from Dvigatel for
relatively
small bribe.

Best,
Vello