{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Behind the Wings","title":"Maintaining America's Secret MiGs - Episode 73","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":2264,"description":"Jim “JB” Bell shares his story from inside one of the Air Force’s most secret Cold War programs, Project Constant Peg.In this episode, Host Rick Crandall talks with Jim, a retired crew chief of the legendary 4477th Test and Evaluation Squadron, about what it took to keep MiG fighters flying in the Nevada desert. From maintaining MiG-17s, MiG-21s, and MiG-23s at Tonopah Test Range to flying on unmarked C-5s into China and bringing home F-7 fighters, Bell offers a rare perspective on one of the most classified adversary air programs in U.S. Air Force history. This one is going to be cool!🎧 What you’ll hear:How Bell got recruited into Constant Peg: From a chance meeting in a bar at Nellis to joining the secretive 4477th Test and Evaluation SquadronFrom F-4 Phantom to MiGs: Why working on Soviet fighters was completely different from traditional Air Force maintenanceWhat Constant Peg was built to solve: How Vietnam exposed the need for American pilots to train against real adversary aircraftLearning to fix MiGs with no manuals: Trial and error, machine shops, scrounging parts, and building solutions from scratchMiG-21 vs. MiG-23: Why the MiG-21 was reliable and rugged while the MiG-23 became a constant maintenance challengeThe crew chief mindset: What it meant to fully “own” an aircraft and why trust between pilots and maintainers matteredChina missions and unmarked C-5s: Traveling to Beijing in civilian clothes to recover Chinese-built F-7 fighters for the programLife at Area 52: Working inside Tonopah Test Range alongside the early stealth programs and living inside a world of total secrecyHow Constant Peg changed air combat: Why Bell believes the program saved lives and gave American pilots a critical edgeThe end of the program—and why it still matters: Why Constant Peg ended and why Bell believes a modern version should still exist todayLearn More:Read the full show notes on the Wings Over the Rockies websiteDonate to Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/sRmrC6FuoNH3pWa6rkZLjBH-8M0Unad9ARZWGqJnqyY/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9zaG93/LzMxNDU0LzE2NTQy/MDAwNjgtYXJ0d29y/ay5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}