Soviet jet lands itself on Trade Me

Soviet jet lands itself on Trade Me

It gets close to the speed of sound and it could be yours for a measly $179,000.

Canterbury man Rob Young is selling one of his two Soviet L-29 jet fighters on Trade Me, opening the door to thrill seekers with a little bit of extra cash.

"Some people say I have half the air force in the country, that is to say the jet aircraft, because the air force don't have them anymore," he says.

"It's a two-seat jet aircraft, it's an ex-military plane. It's pretty quick, it's thirsty on the juice, but it's a hell of a lot of fun."

The two planes, which weigh two tonnes each, were used as a trainer for MIG fighter pilots in Soviet countries during the 1960s and 1970s. It can reach a top speed of around 820 kilometres an hour and is still used by a few militaries around the world.

"Once you're up there, it's actually smooth as silk, it's only when you start throwing it around like a hotshot fighter pilot would be that your back starts to go through the floor," Mr Young says.

"It's only since the Berlin Wall came down and the Soviet aircraft - and by the way, in my opinion, they're far better built than most others around the world - came onto the market, that people had that opportunity."

Mr Young wasn't sure which air force the plane came from but says it was sourced from somewhere behind the Soviet bloc. When the Berlin Wall came down in 1989, cash-strapped Soviet countries started selling the planes.

"If you want to fly a genuine military aircraft, this is it," he says.

"You just put the fuel in, light the match and go."

Newshub.