Air Power Series>1:72 die-cast display model>MIG-21>HA0142

General Background

The Mikoyan-Gurevich Mig-21 is probably the world most widely used supersonic fighter. It was used by over 30 countries and 56 air forces. An estimation of over 10,000 units was produced for the Soviet Union alone.

The MIG-21 has a top speed of Mach 2 and it is famed for its ease of maintenance and effectiveness during air combats. It first achieved renown in the Vietnam War where it posed itself a challenging adversary for some more technological advanced aircrafts like the F-105 and F-4 Phantom. The Mig-21 is certainly one of the most famous aircrafts in the world for all times.

The Aircraft

The MiG-21 was the most important aircraft of the Fortele Aeriene Romane. It was during 1985 – 86 that the Mig-21s started to receive its new paint scheme. The color was similar to “ghost grey” and the aircraft were given a 4 digit serial. In the mid 1990’s Romania’s economy was improving so it was decided to upgrade 114 Mig-21s. This upgrade would re-designate 6807 as a Mig-21MF-75 LanceR C series and the aircraft would receive the grey white and light blue paint scheme it wears today.

Specifications :

Dimensions:
Power Plant:	One 41.55kN (9,340lb st) or 64.73kN (14,550lb st) with afterburner Tumansky R- 13-300 turbojet
Wingspan:	7.15m (23ft 5½in)
Length:	15.76m (51ft 8½in) - incl pitot boom
Max T-O weight:	9,400kg (20,725lb)
Wing area:	23.00 m2 247.5 sq. ft
Max speed:	Mach 2.1 (2,230km/h - 1,385mph) above 11,000m (36,000ft)
	Mach 1.06 (1,300km/h - 807mph) at low level
Range:	1,100km (683 miles) - internal fuel only
	1,800km (1,118 miles) - with three external drop tanks, one under fuselage, one under each wing
Armament	One 23mm twin-barrel GSh-23 cannon with 200 rounds in belly pack
	Various air-to-air and air-to-ground stores carried on four under wing pylons including:
	K-13A "Atoll" or "Advanced Atoll" a-a missiles,
	UV-16-57 rocket packs,
	S-24 a-s rockets,
	250kg and 500kg bombs
	Eventually Sidewinder missiles