Airworthy I-16!

[Sternjaeger II]

Originally Posted by PE_Tigar

Nice pics. Funny enough, it's much easier to get an I-16 (or I-15, or I-153) flying then, let's say, any Yaks or German warbirds, due to the wide availability of M-62 (ASh-62) engines... Must be fun to fly .

Yeah, well actually it's Chinese versions of the M-62 and similar that are easy to find, which are renown for two things: burning oil like mofos and being as reliable as Gary Glitter in a primary school..

The I-16 is pretty rudimental, and more than fun I would define flying with it challenging: manual landing gear operation, very short fuselage, massive torque to compensate with tiny wings, not particularly keen on spins.. yeah, doesn't sound like too much fun, but it's surely interesting to see in the air, the small size of it makes it look even faster than what it actually is.

[Jugdriver]

Originally Posted by Sternjaeger II

being as reliable as Gary Glitter in a primary school..

Sternjaeger you almost caused me to spit my coffee out with that… LOL


JD
AKA_MattE

[Sternjaeger II]

Originally Posted by Jugdriver

Sternjaeger you almost caused me to spit my coffee out with that… LOL


JD
AKA_MattE

lol well yeah, in both cases you know it's gonna fail

[Friendly_flyer]

Can't help loving thos little buggers! In IL2 they are a hassle to fly, but a joy when you manage to shoot something down with them!

[xnomad]

Eh?
"single-piston Soviet monoplane fighter-30s-16s"

[Sternjaeger II]

Originally Posted by xnomad

Eh?
"single-piston Soviet monoplane fighter-30s-16s"

that's correct, there's probably just one piston working correctly in that thing

[SG1_Lud]

Originally Posted by sternjaeger ii

that's correct, there's probably just one piston working correctly in that thing

lmao

[PE_Tigar]

Originally Posted by Sternjaeger II

The I-16 is pretty rudimental, and more than fun I would define flying with it challenging: manual landing gear operation, very short fuselage, massive torque to compensate with tiny wings, not particularly keen on spins.. yeah, doesn't sound like too much fun, but it's surely interesting to see in the air, the small size of it makes it look even faster than what it actually is.

Well for me challenging IS fun . On spins - I think that it will spin readily, though recovery might be iffy... BTW Ash-62 is still produced in Poland, AFAIK.

[Sternjaeger II]

Originally Posted by PE_Tigar

Well for me challenging IS fun . On spins - I think that it will spin readily, though recovery might be iffy... BTW Ash-62 is still produced in Poland, AFAIK.

when it's so challenging it can easily kill you I'd rather pass, there's no "Esc" button in the I-16 cockpit

surely an interesting machine that keeps you on your toes, but definitely a case of mother's love, I'd rather be in a 109 to be honest

The torque issues are evident at low speeds, the I-16 was built with the same mentality of Mosin-Nagant rifles: as cheap as possible, assembled with little care for finishing, but still capable of doing the job.

As for the engines yes, it's produced in Poland ASz-62, but it's more expensive than a cheap Chinese version, which comes at a very low price and with a "Russian Roulette" feature in it