Kim Jong Kook shows interest in 20-billion-won armed helicopters, “I should ask Yoo Jae Suk to buy one”
“Authorized Personnel Only” Kim Jong Kook expressed his desire to purchase a small armed helicopter.
The July 6th broadcast of SBS’s program “Authorized Personnel Only” showed Kim Jong Kook, Yang Se Hyung, Lee Yi Kyung and Mimi visiting KAI (Korea Aerospace Industry), where dreams of soaring in the sky are turned into reality.
Here, the quartet met test pilots in the fighter jet hangar, where test flight planes are gathered, and delved into the world of fighter jets and pilots, which can be described as the real-life version of Tom Cruise’s “Top Gun”.
The members met pilot Go Hwi Seok and listened to his explanation about KF-21, the new supersonic fighter jet successfully developed with Korean technology that is currently in the testing phase.
Kim Jong Kook asked the pilot, “You must have driven many fighter jets. Then what are the advantages of the KF-21?”. In response, pilot Go proudly said, “It’s bigger in size, the seats are also larger. When I was on missions with the US military in the past, the US soldiers were taller than us and their planes were also larger. They don’t need to kneel when using our planes anymore”. In addition, the pilot revealed that the top speed of the KF-21 fighter jet is about 2,000 kilometers per hour and it takes about 15 minutes to travel from Sacheon, Gyeongnam to Seoul. Upon hearing that, the four were amazed by the world of fighter jets that surpassed their imagination.
Kim Jong Kook was curious about the gravitation force (G) of the KF-21, mentioning that he experienced up to 6G on a broadcast. The pilot replied, “Maximum is 9G. Your blood vessels will burst after experiencing that”.
Later, they visited the helicopter hangar and Mimi experienced boarding the small armed helicopter LAH.
The four met Ma Yong Nam, the team leader responsible for helicopter development and operations. Team leader Ma said, “Korea places 11th worldwide among countries that manufacture helicopters”, then introduced the first Korean-made helicopter Surion developed by KAI
He continued, “Don’t you think the small armed helicopter looks like a dolphin? It is said that the North Korean military couldn’t shoot it because it was too pretty”, drawing exclamations from the members.
As Lee Yi Kyung asked about the price, team leader Ma said, “It’s not available for sale anyway, but its price is over 20 billion won”.
Kim Jong Kook jokingly asked, “Can individuals buy it? I should ask Yoo Jae Suk hyung to buy one”. Hearing that, team leader Ma wittily responded, “Please introduce me as the pilot”, drawing laughter.
Source: Daum
