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ClockThis clock is the successor of the MIG-15’s Wostok, made by the brand Molnia. It equipped practically all of the planes from the Pact of Warsaw during the Cold War. Although the dial is very similar to its antecessor’s the movement is completely different.
It has two barrels that can be winded up for 3 days. It has 21 rubies, and ,like all Russian clocks, inside heating, gives time, time of flight and has chronograph.
Plane
The MIG-21 is after the C-130 Hercules, the most constructed military plane since the Second World War, surpassing the number of 13.500 planes, and being used by more than 56 countries.
Capable of reaching MACH 2 in leveled flight stands out its great maneuvering, especially at high altitudes, and its simplicity to be maintained. The armament, a 30mm cannon and IR missiles, were clearly insufficient. Another disadvantage was it was only good for fair weather operations, limited radar with an effective reach of 15 miles, and its short autonomy, with launchable external tanks it reached an hour of flight at most.
The MIG-21 is still flying nowadays in actualized versions, made especially by Israelis. It has been used in the last 30 conflicts, such as the Gulf War or in Yugoslavia. In the Vietnam War the MIG-21, taking advantage of its easy maintenance, was used from small auxiliary airports or from roadways, using rockets to take off. They surprised the American bombers, attacking and fleeing quickly.
CockpitThe narrow cockpit of the MIG-21 didn’t have a place to rest the arms or hands. The seat was very deep in and its height couldn’t be regulated giving a limited visibility. The temperature control had to be regulate before take off in one of three options: 61ºF, 68ºF or 77ºF, after take off, it couldn’t be changed.
During the interceptions missions and dogfights, a lot of work had to be done inside the cockpit. Apart from flying the plane, the pilot had to operate the radar, manage the fuel (it had 7 tanks), manipulate the weapon selection and activation system, which had many buttons distributed all around the cockpit, which made, in some cases, the pilot switch hands while flying.
