March 29, 2024

In late 2007, a MiG-23MF was installed at the Kamalnayan park in Khadki area of Pune. The aircraft, bearing serial SK-423  was an ex-224 Squadron aircraft - and wore an all Tipnis-Grey scheme. The aircraft was in impeccable condition at the time of installation in the park. Praveen P Sathaye provides some excellent photographs of this aircraft from the time it was newly installed!

In late 2007, a MiG-23MF was installed at the Kamalnayan park in Khadki area of Pune. The aircraft, bearing serial SK-423  was an ex-224 Squadron aircraft – and wore an all Tipnis-Grey scheme. The aircraft was in impeccable condition at the time of installation in the park.

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 MiG-23MF [SK423] as installed in the Kamalnayan Bajaj park on NH4. The park is at a prominent junction in Khadki area of Pune 

The Kamalnayan Bajaj park is a small triangular park at the intersection of the National Highway 4 and the Mula Road. It is about a kilometer south on the Mula Road from the Khadki War cemetary maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. It should not be difficult to locate this warbird – though the webmaster himself got lost one dark evening trying to locate it in 2008!

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Looking at the photographs, it was nice to observe that the aircraft was installed on a simple platform with jacks supporting the wheels at the axles. Pole mounting would surely have destroyed the public access to these intricate details – not to mention, spoil the aircraft structural integrity while it was prepared to be mounted.

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It has been nearly four years since the aircraft was installed. Recent photographs show that the paint has faded and some of the gloss has worn away. Still the aircraft is walled off from public access and this has kept away vandals.

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Close up of SK423’s forward fuselage, intakes, undercarriage  shows the intricate mechanics. Note the gun fairing in the top right photograph. Certainly the Cannon would have been removed at the BRD in Nasik.  

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All photographs on this page are Copyright of Praveen P Sathaye. Praveen had sent these photographs in late 2007, and it took us four years to update them on this site! Our sincere apologies to Praveen for not using these excellent photographs earlier on. 

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