MiG-21 Full Display RIAT 2019
Video from the channel PlanesTV about Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 9:18. Language: English. Video type: Air show.
Event and crew
Full display of a Romanian Air Force MiG-21 at the 2019 Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT), recorded for the show's official broadcast and accompanied by its commentators.
What is seen
The aircraft strings together passes and loops that, according to the commentators, take up about 6,000 feet, compared with the under 3,000 an F-18 needs for its square loop. The characteristic bang of the Tumansky R-25 engine's afterburner lighting is audible, reaching full power in about three seconds, followed by a fast landing at around 160 knots.
The aircraft on display
The commentators recall that the MiG-21 first flew in 1956, that more than 11,000 were built, and that it was operated by around 60 countries. Romania has flown it since 1962 and received its last examples in 1982; ten years later it launched the LanceR modernization with Israel's Elbit and Romania's Aerostar to make it NATO-compatible. The first upgraded aircraft flew in August 1995, and 110 were updated in three versions: A for attack, B a two-seat trainer, and C for air superiority; with the A retired, the C now also takes on the attack role. It carries a head-up display, color multifunction screens, a new radar, a radar warning receiver, and a helmet-mounted sight.