Legenda živi! 60 godina G-2 Galeba! 60 Years of G-2 Seagull Jet Trainer - The legend still lives!

„Stari Galeb”, kako ga sa nostalgijom nazivaju svi piloti koji su na njemu leteli, delo je inženjera VTI u Žarkovu, dok je proizvodnja poverena fabrici „Soko” u Mostaru. Rad na projektu počeo je 1957. godine, završen 1959., a prvi od dva napravljena prototipa označen kao G-1 poleteo je 3. jula 1961. sa probnim pilotom Ljubomirom Zekavicom. Potom je poleteo i drugi prototip koji je bio donekle izmenjen u odnosu na G-1 pa je preoznačen u G-2 i koji je poslužio kao osnova za serijsku proizvodnju. Kada se pojavio 1963. godine na poznatom aeromitingu u Buržeu odmah je proglašen za najbolji mlazni avion za obuku pilota na svetu, a ujedno on je bio jedan od najboljih aviona domaće konstrukcije i proizvodnje koji smo ikad napravili! Za razliku od drugih aviona iste kategorije u svetu, Galeb je imao fiksno streljačko naoružanje u trupu čime je omogućena i borbena obuka pitomaca, a mogao je da poleće i sleće na travnate PSS. Deo svog uspeha Galeb može da zahvali i odličnom izboru mlaznog motora Vajper, koji je imao prvi stepen rotora kompresora napravljen od čelika tako da je bio otporan na manje nečistoće u usisanom vazduhu. Uvođenje u VVA JRV počelo je 30. jula 1965., a poslednji G-2 je predat 6. januara 1981. godine. Pored aviona za naše RV, rađena je i eksportna varijanta G-2A-E opremljena kabinom pod pritiskom za RV Zambije i Libije gde je bio izuzetno omiljen i među nastavnicima i među pitomcima. Jedan primerak Galeba isporučen je Indoneziji 1990. godine, a jedan je kupio i američki glumac Džon Travolta. Proizvodio se sve do polovine 1983. i ukupno je napravljeno 248 primeraka od čega je JRV koristilo 132 Galeba. Mada su zadnji primerci zvanično rashodovani sredinom 1999., jedan primerak ovog izuzetnog aviona i danas leti u VOC. Danas ovaj avion često se može videti na aeromitinzima kod nas u svetu kao „oldtajmer”. “The old Seagull“, as all the pilots who flew on it nostalgically call it, is the work of a VTI engineer in Žarkovo, while the production is entrusted to the “Soko“ factory in Mostar. Work on the project began in 1957, was completed in 1959, and the first of two prototypes marked G-1 took off on July 3, 1961 with test pilot Ljubomir Zekavica. Then another prototype took off, which was somewhat modified in relation to the G-1, so it was renamed the G-2 and which served as the basis for serial production. When it appeared in 1963 at the famous air show in Bourges, it was immediately declared the best jet aircraft for pilot training in the world, and at the same time it was one of the best domestically designed and manufactured aircraft we have ever made! Unlike other planes of the same category in the world, Galeb had fixed small arms in the fuselage, which enabled combat training of cadets, and he could take off and land on the grassy PSS. Part of its success, Galeb can also thank the excellent choice of the Viper jet engine, which had the first stage of the compressor rotor made of steel so that it was resistant to minor impurities in the intake air. The introduction of the JRV into the VVA began on July 30, 1965, and the last G-2 was delivered on January 6, 1981. In addition to the aircraft for our RV, an export variant of the G-2A-E was made, equipped with a pressure cabin for the RV of Zambia and Libya, where it was extremely popular among teachers and cadets. One copy of the Seagull was delivered to Indonesia in 1990, and one was bought by the American actor John Travolta. It was produced until the middle of 1983, and a total of 248 copies were made, of which 132 seagulls were used by Yugoslav AF. Although the last copies were officially scrapped in mid-1999, one copy of this exceptional aircraft still flies in the VOC today. Today, this plane can often be seen at air shows in our world as an “old-timer“. Video credit: Personal library Audio credit: › audiolibrary #g2galeb #60godina #rvipvo #aerodromecka #zrenjanin #serbianairforce #vojskasrbije #sebianarmy #jna #jrv #galeb #jettrainer #topgun #ratnovazduhoplovstvo