Jim “JB” Bell shares his story from inside one of the Air Force’s most secret Cold War programs, Project Constant Peg.


In this episode, Host Rick Crandall talks with Jim, a retired crew chief of the legendary 4477th Test and Evaluation Squadron, about what it took to keep MiG fighters flying in the Nevada desert. From maintaining MiG-17s, MiG-21s, and MiG-23s at Tonopah Test Range to flying on unmarked C-5s into China and bringing home F-7 fighters, Bell offers a rare perspective on one of the most classified adversary air programs in U.S. Air Force history. This one is going to be cool!


🎧 What you’ll hear:

  • How Bell got recruited into Constant Peg: From a chance meeting in a bar at Nellis to joining the secretive 4477th Test and Evaluation Squadron
  • From F-4 Phantom to MiGs: Why working on Soviet fighters was completely different from traditional Air Force maintenance
  • What Constant Peg was built to solve: How Vietnam exposed the need for American pilots to train against real adversary aircraft
  • Learning to fix MiGs with no manuals: Trial and error, machine shops, scrounging parts, and building solutions from scratch
  • MiG-21 vs. MiG-23: Why the MiG-21 was reliable and rugged while the MiG-23 became a constant maintenance challenge
  • The crew chief mindset: What it meant to fully “own” an aircraft and why trust between pilots and maintainers mattered
  • China missions and unmarked C-5s: Traveling to Beijing in civilian clothes to recover Chinese-built F-7 fighters for the program
  • Life at Area 52: Working inside Tonopah Test Range alongside the early stealth programs and living inside a world of total secrecy
  • How Constant Peg changed air combat: Why Bell believes the program saved lives and gave American pilots a critical edge
  • The end of the program—and why it still matters: Why Constant Peg ended and why Bell believes a modern version should still exist today

Learn More:

  • Read the full show notes on the Wings Over the Rockies website
  • Donate to Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum
  • Subscribe and leave a review to support the show


This episode is supported in part by United Airlines.

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