What's the mirror in the flight-deck for?

Question

What's the mirror in the flight-deck for? I've seen them on some old MD80's. There's a small, approximately 1.5" high by 4" wide mirror on top of the glare shield. If you look close you can see it at 00:50 in this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJLlflDqq34

It reminds me of the rearview mirrors on the old Shelby Cobras that were mounted on top of the dash. http://www.cobracountry.com/cobra4salefolder/cobra-blum-on-cockpit.jpg

Answer 1

They are for the pilots to see the standby compass which is located behind the Co-Pilots. There are two mirrors, one for each pilot.

Answer 2

doug is exactly correct it is to view the standby compass which is in the rear of the flight deck on an md-80 series aircraft.

Answer 3

Could it be a "security" thing, so the pilots can see what's happening behind them, e.g. the flight deck door?

Answer 4

The DC-8 also had the compass mirror setup as well.

Answer 5

idk maby the pilot was  agirl