. . . might be a chimera. Fortunately, that is not necessary.A former fighter pilot told of an engagement he fought over Korea. It was the first that he, flying an F-86, had ever seen of the then-new MIG-17. He explained that the MIG-15s he was used to opposing were known to have superior thrust-weight ratio, and performance at high altitude. It was much safer to engage them in denser air at lower altitudes - and at high speed. If you saw a MIG-15 at high altitude, you let him be. And he would let you be, as well, if you maintained high speed.The reason for the latter, Don explained, was that the F-86 had hydraulic flight controls - “power steering” - and the MIG-15 did not. The result was that if the MIG dived down to tangle with the Sabrejets "it took two men and a boy” to operate the flight controls. Thus the MIG, although it had the advantage in wing area to weight ratio, could be outmaneuvered at the Saberjet pilot’s preferred flight condition.
But the MIG-17 did have “power steering” - and its pilot did come down to tangle with Don where a MIG-15 pilot durst not. Don was very experienced and confident, and the two planes took two passes at each other. Notwithstanding his own expertise, he found himself having gained no advantage at all after the second pass.
At that point, Don said, “We both got the same idea at the same time - this was too close to being a fair fight."