by Dan "Crash" Crenshaw

Nick Grey, the Director of The Fighter Collection and I were able to spend an afternoon at the Lukovitsy Machine Building Plant and Moscow Aircraft Production Organization (MAPO) facility where the MiG-29 is manufactured. It was their "Open House" which featured a brief airshow and a reception afterwards. We were able to see several demonstrations of both military and civilian aircraft that are manufactured at Lukhovitsy.

It was very impressive and we were able to spend some quality time with some of the top MiG designers. We also were treated to an excellent spread of Russian food. There was also much vodka, that was used for the very Russian tradition of toasting. We drank many a toast and by the end of the day, Nick and I were feeling no pain (until the next day! ). All and all, a once in a lifetime experience and I am grateful to our fine hosts.

Flanker 2 Producer Sean Decker

Executive Producer Carl Norman in Red Square

I'd also like to take a moment and thank all of our Testing Team on Flanker 2.0. We have a very dedicated and loyal group of people that put many hours of their time into testing Flanker 2.0 and we are very grateful for their support. We couldn't do it without their support. Thank you also to the many Flanker Faithful online that have support us through the good, the bad, and the ugly. You know who you are.

My appreciation to my colleagues Sean Decker, Producer, Charles Harribey, Associate Producer, Russ Brown, Technical Director, and Kevin Hicks, Production Assistant. Of course I have to also mention Mr. Nick Grey, who's passion for all things aviation is a big part of why Flanker is such a success. If Flanker has a Father, his name is Nick Stephanovich Grey.

Thanks to Dan and Len at COMBATSIM.COM™ for the chance to do this interview.

Thanks for the interview Carl! We are all looking forward to the release of FLANKER 2.0.

Click to continue

Mindscape's Technical Director Russ Brown with Tatiana "Tanya" Gusseva (the voice of "Nagging Nadia") pose outside the Kremlin.

Russ Brown and Sean Decker at St. Basil's

The flightline at Lukhovitsy.

MiG 29s and a MiG 23 in formation.

More Photos:

MiG29 - One of the MiG-29s following the airshow.

MiG23 - A MiG-23 following the airshow.

Mi6hook - An Mi-6 helicopter on display in Moscow with Igor Tishin, Russ Brown, and Sean Decker.

Oldstuff - A MiG-21, MiG-27, 2 MiG-23s, and a MiG 25 on display in Moscow.

Su27(p-type) - The T-10 prototype of the Su-27 on display in Moscow.

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