As civil war rages in Libya, at least hotshot flyboys are finding ways to have a little fun. In this video, found over in the incredibly entertaining r/MilitaryGfys, a Libyan MiG-23 roars by so close to the ground it’s probably an overstatement to call it “overhead.” Just how close are we talking here? Check out this still image:Media Platforms Design TeamThe full video gives you an even better sense of the speed involved—and as a bonus, you can hear the Doppler shift of a plane coming at the camera at an ungodly rate of speed.View full post on YoutubeEstimates say Libyan forces have just a handful of MiG-23s still in operation, but this pilot isn’t the only ace doing some low-altitude maneuvers. As pointed out by Tyler Rogoway over at Foxtrot Alpha, doing extremely low flybys in the aging Soviet jets seems to have to have become a bit of a pastime for Libyan pilots.Example 1:Media Platforms Design TeamExample 2:Media Platforms Design TeamFor Libyan pilots, the question seems to be: How low can you go? (Answer: incredibly, absurdly, suicidally low.)Jake SwearingenDeputy EditorJake Swearingen is deputy editor at PopularMechanics.com. Previously he worked at The Altantic and was digital director at Modern Farmer. He lives in Queens and really wants to talk to you about what’s going wrong in his dwarf fortress.
