Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 - Palm Springs Air Museum - Palm Springs, CA
N 33° 49.958 W 116° 30.305
11S E 545794 N 3743709
This static aircraft display is one of many displays at the Palm Springs Air Museum in Palm Springs, CA.
Waymark Code: WMKMAE
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 05/01/2014
Views: 6
Visitors to the
Palm Springs Air Museum might see this fighter aircraft located inside one of two hangers, the Asian-Pacific Aircraft Hanger. Near this static aircraft is a placard that reads:
MIKOYAN-GUREVICH MiG-21
OPERATIONAL INFORMATION
Combat experience during the Korean War demonstrated to the Soviet Union its need for a short-range air-superiority fighter. The delta-wing MiG-21 met these requirements and through many variants and upgrades has become the world's most used fighter aircraft. It is best remembered as the tenacious foe of the F-4 Phantom during the Vietnam War.
During 1955, the MiG bureau designed the prototype E-50 in an effort to keep structural weight to a minimum for better performance. Multiple prototypes followed before this small, daytime interceptor began flying with frontline Soviet units in the late 1950s. Given the NATO reporting name "Fishbed," the MiG-21 easily matched the performance of Lockheed's F-104 Starfighter. A two-seat variant version, the MiG-2 / UM, was dubbed the 'Mongol' by NATO. The MiG-21PF was the second production version built, and had all-weather interception capability. Later variants saw increased fuel capacity and heavier armament, along with better avionics. At the same time, increasingly powerful Soyuz engines were incorporated to compensate for the increasing weight.
Czechoslovakia, the Soviet Union, and China all manufactured the MiG-21, and they were exported to various Soviet satellites during the Cold War. India also produced the type under license until 1988. The Chinese F-7 variant is still in production. The MiG-21 flies with more than 50 air forces today. Several MiG-21s of various versions are owned and flown by private individuals in the United States, and at least one (a MiG-21UM trainer) is owned by a private operator in Australia.
ORIGIN OF THE MiG-21 AT PALM SPRINGS AIR MUSEUM
27 March 2012 was a banner day at the Museum with the delivery of a MiG-21 aircraft. Orchestrated by Dick Hunter, a Museum Volunteer, the MiG-21 arrived on two flatbed trucks, the fuselage on one, the tail and wings on another. As it arrived from Thermal, Dick told the story of his "dream find". He was at the Jacqueline Cochran Airport (in Thermal) and there sat this plane - "I just stood there and stared at it for at least 20 minutes". As he looked at the MiG, a man approached and handed him a cell phone with a lady on the line who said she would like to donate it to the Air Museum. The caller was Libuse "Lilly" Hornak, widow of Stefan Hornak, a MiG collector and founding owner of Aviation Museum, Inc. of Thermal
Clicking this link will open an article highlighting the donation and arrival of the MiG to the Museum.
*NOTE* I was told by volunteer staff that many planes and historical items (like this display) often move around inside the hangers and outside on the tarmac, BUT they always stay within the museum, unless they are part of a visiting exhibition. Waymarkers should keep this in mind when searching for a particular waymark that I or someone else has posted on Waymarking.com. If, by chance, you cannot locate a particular waymark within the museum, please let me know and I'll contact the staff and inquire to its whereabouts. Thanks.