Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15UTI (MU-4) 

The MiG-15UTI is a Soviet two-seat jet trainer of all-metal construction. The MiG-15 is the world’s most-manufactured jet aircraft, with 16,000 examples built in several different variants in the Warsaw Pact countries and China. The MiG-15UTI had its roots in the flight training system developed in the Soviet Union in the 1930s, in which a two-seat variant of a combat aircraft is used as the lead-in trainer before conversion to the single-seat version.

Finland ordered four MiG-15UTIs in January 1962 in conjunction with the purchase of the MiG-21 fighters. They were needed for fast-jet training since a two-seat version of the MiG-21 was not yet available. The aircraft were built in Czechoslovakia and flown to Finland by Soviet pilots in November 1962. The MiG-15UTI was intended as an intermediate type when moving from the Fouga Magister to the MiG-21. The aircraft was not fully suited to the purpose because the MiG-21 was in a completely different category in terms of performance and handling.

The MiG-15UTI had good flight characteristics, but the sluggish and inadequate pneumatic brakes caused ground handling problems, and the obsolete radio and navigation systems proved unreliable. The last flight of the type took place in February 1977 by MU-4, which is on display at the museum.