The author is certainly not a great museum fan and prefers to experience aircraft "in the wild". But every now and then a museum still inspires him with the loving and knowledgeable design of its exhibition or with the scope and condition of its exhibits. Both apply to the Reptár aviation museum in Szolnok, Hungary, which the author visited in January 2026, as the museum shows what is possible when individual enthusiasm and a state commitment to one's own heritage meet. The result is a modern museum without frills which, to the author's great delight, shows the complete range of Hungarian MiG-21 versions in excellent condition alongside many other exhibits – something that is unfortunately unimaginable in Germany. For this reason, and so as not to go beyond the scope, the following report is limited to exhibits relating to the MiG-21.
The exhibits in the modern, spacious exhibition hall include, besides a MiG-21UM, numerous equipment and armament components of various MiG-21 versions, such as ...
... the RP-22 radar of the MiG-21bis, ...
... the R-3S missile, ...
... the UB-16 rocket pod with S-5 unguided rockets, ...
... the R13 (pictured) and R25 engines as cutaway models, as well as ...
... a complete R11 ...
... and also the SK ...
... and KM-1 ejection seats.
No fewer than two MiG-21 simulators are shown, ...
... which, like all exhibits, impress with their completeness ...
... and good state of preservation.
A real treasure of the collection – unfortunately hidden behind other exhibits and therefore difficult to photograph – is an almost complete set of training boards on the individual systems of the MiG-21: compressed air system, ...
... intake cone control and automatic control linkage adjuster, ...
... flight control system, ...
... cockpit environmental system, ...
... hydraulic system, ...
... SPS boundary layer control system and ...
... fuel system.
Further exhibits relating to the MiG-21 can be found in the exhibition rooms, such as a GSh-3 pilot's helmet, ...
... an R-60 missile as a cutaway model and ...
... a VKK-6 pressure suit.
With the exception of the MiG-21UM already mentioned, examples of all MiG-21 versions (and sub-versions) of the Hungarian Air Force are in the open-air area: MiG-21bis SAU, ...
... MiG-21bis LASUR, ...
... MiG-21MF, ...
... MiG-21U-600 with ...
... A-12.7 machine-gun pod, ...
... MiG-21U-400, ...
... MiG-21PF and ...
... MiG-21F-13.
Two further MiG-21s in the open-air area stand out visually: a MiG-21MF realistically displayed in an open revetment ...
... and the MiG-21bis in the "Camel" special colour scheme.
And because it is so nice, here is the MiG-21 row at a glance.
