Technical Fridays: The MiG-21, "Best and Worst fighter you would've ever seen to fly" |
Technical Fridays: The MiG-21, "Best and Worst fighter you would've ever seen to fly" |
26 Jul 2013, 14:26
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Group: Members Posts: 392 Joined: 19 May 2013 From: Mountains of Asia Member No.: 9942 |
NATO Designation: Fishbed Flight Range: 1,210 km (751 miles) Service Ceiling: 17,800 m (58,400 ft) G-forces limit: 8.5Gs Note: Originally 7Gs Personal analysis: This is one of the best combat flyers available to any second-rate country. A design from the rocking 50's, it is still being improved upon, and it could effectively fight an F-16A or a Block 52 F-16 version adequately, assuming the fight isn't BVR. It's delta wing allows it to have a very high speed (maximum of Mach 2.00) and a very high service ceiling, even exceeding the specified service ceiling of an F-16 Block 30. It's worst weakness? Lack of endurance. In Vietnam, several Navy pilots that flew there commented that although the Fishy is a very capable opponent (even eclipses the venerated F-4 Phantom, even in select missile engagements), the Achilles' Heel of the fighter is that its combat radius (the amount of space it could fight on with complete ordnance) is just 400 miles, or a flight time of an hour at most when defending a city airspace like Hanoi. Another strange characteristic of the Fishy is that the centre of gravity (the heaviest part of the aircraft) shifts when a significant amount of fuel has been burned, further reducing its actual combat time to an estimated 40 minutes. -------------------- |
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26 Jul 2013, 21:22
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Group: Leader Posts: 272 Joined: 3 June 2009 From: Loznica, Serbia Member No.: 13 Projects: SWR Productions |
Here is a interesting version of the MiG-21MF which is equipped to use the American made LORAP (Long Range Aerial Photography) recon pods. Back in the 2006, while I was in the army I've actually served in the unit which operated these airplanes, sadly last one of these MiGs was retired latter that year.
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27 Jul 2013, 5:37
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#3
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Group: Members Posts: 392 Joined: 19 May 2013 From: Mountains of Asia Member No.: 9942 |
Here is a interesting version of the MiG-21MF which is equipped to use the American made LORAP (Long Range Aerial Photography) recon pods. Back in the 2006, while I was in the army I've actually served in the unit which operated these airplanes, sadly last one of these MiGs was retired latter that year. Recon versions of the MiG-21. Best source of info for any battlefield commander. -------------------- |
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