For this week's Mega I will be sharing one of my all time favorite fighter planes: the MiG-23. This was the last single engine fighter of the USSR I believe. I will add some information about it each day.
Day 1: Origins
The MiG-23 had the unenviable task of replacing the MiG-21. The MiG-21 was fast, maneuverable, it the most produced supersonic fighter jet of all time, and had an impressive service record with the Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF) against the US air force. However it would need to be replaced eventually. It was a fairly small and short range fighter, and the nose intake limited the size of the radar that could be installed. It soon became clear that a new design would be needed to effectively take advantage of the new technology and manufacturing capabilities that the USSR had developed.
The MiG-23 was designed from the beginning to carry brand new technologies, even some that would not be available when the initial variants of the MiG-23 were produced. It would ultimately carry a larger and more power radar with look-down shoot-down capabilities, along with the first medium range air to air radar guided missile of the USSR: the Vympel R-23. It also featured a swing wing, allowing it to change the wing geometry in flight to suit supersonic speed and acceleration with the wings folded back, or low speed maneuverability and take off and landing performing with the wings all the way forward, or anywhere in between. A high degree of automation for the time allowed the pilot to focus on combat. One of the coolest features in my opinion though was the integration of an IR search and track system (IRST) which would allow the pilot to find and lock onto airplanes without ever turning on the radar, preventing the enemy from detecting that they're being targeted. The MiG-23 could even launch missiles from beyond visual range (barely) without ever turning its radar on, or only briefly to verify that the plane it was locking was an enemy, using the combination of the IRST and the IR guided variant of the R-23: the R-23T.
Join our public Matrix server!
https://rentry.co/tracha#tracha-rooms
As a reminder, please do not discuss current struggle sessions in the mega. We want this to be a little oasis for all of us and the best way to do that is not to feed into existing conflict on the site.
Also, be sure to properly give content warnings and put sensitive subjects behind proper spoiler tags. It's for the mental health of not just your comrades, but yourself as well.
Here is a screenshot of where to find the spoiler button.
spoiler

i brought this up to my partner since i felt similarly when we were cuddling recently and they yelled at me “i like tall girls, i’m tired of all these short removed so i guess that’s my answer lmfao. doesn’t solve our dysphoria but i’m glad someone appreciates my height lol
Yeah, like, I know im attractive and people are into me, I just, idk.
I want to...
I want to fit in a chair. I want to sit down at a dining room table and not have to sit sideways cause my legs won't fit under it. I want to lay in any old bed without my feet hanging off. I want to have clothes that actually fucking fit me (this is the hardest part.... Like, even before the clothes look good or bad, I have to find ones that fit. I love skirts and dresses, but I also hate pants specifically because they will never fit me. Maybe I can take in the jeans I have, ive got the one pair that pretends to fit me, but I have to use a belt and theres so much material bunched up around my waist that its not even funny, it's just uncomfortable). I want to not have to do shower yoga. I mean fuck, I went to someone's house and they had gotten a new couch, and congrats to them! But, I literally can't sit on it. Its literally too small for me. I could feel as soon as I sat down, this will destroy my back. I want to not hit my head on the ceiling (ive sent myself to the ER that way. Turns out heads bleed a lot). I want to sit in a car and not feel like a clown at a carnival doing a bit. I want to go out in the world and not have everyone's eyes upon me, not cause theyre being transphobic or clocking me (I mean, they are clocking me I dont try to hide) but literally just because I'm tall.Just, idk, I just feel too big for society. I'm really tired of it. Can't go a single day without the reminders of my height being ever present, and some are fine, but a lot are really othering. Im tired.
It's really a struggle. I'm sorry
height dysphoria
I'm near 2m tall and I do take consolation in being attractive but I really wish I could just be smaller sometimes. I want to be held, picked up, I want to look up at people. I want to be able like sit in chairs rather than on them.samesies
I'm also near 2m tall, just a couple cm short. Big big big mood, I want to be picked up and held. Even being held, it often makes me feel more disconnected because it highlights just how much taller than them I am. Idk maybe one day I'll meet a gal whose 195-220cm tall, and she'll sweep me off my feet and I hers. Won't happen but is a nice fantasy. And as long as I'm in fantasy land, we would have a ton of money to get a custom made house and custom made furniture and tables and whatnot thats the same as normal just taller/made for tall people.
big mood considering this was my first post with this account
That... That sounds so wonderful..... You get me. Just, big chairs and beanbags and all the joyous things
that’s real as fuck, i’m sorry. it’s bad enough feeling like everyone’s watching you for gender reasons that adding height on top is insult to injury
Thankies, and idk, its fine ig, I just gotta learn to be ok with it