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Yakovlev Yak-50

1975 COLD WAR

History of Yakovlev Yak-50

High-performance trainers with a focus on aerobatics have long been a staple of professional military flying services and a favorite at civil air shows. During the second half of the Cold War (1947-1991), the Soviet Air Force adopted a new single-seat, single-engine, basic aerobatics trainer in the Yakovlev "Yak-50".

Production of this type ran from 1975 to 1986, with 314 units completed. The series went on to serve in the air services of Lithuania and Ukraine, as well as the Russian Air Force, which was reborn after the collapse of the Soviet Empire in 1991.

The Yak-50 series was developed from the existing Yak-18 (NATO codename "Max"), which appeared in the post-WWII world in 1946 (detailed elsewhere on this site). This two-seat, single-engine platform was widely exported to the Soviet Union during the airborne period, and was also locally licensed in neighboring countries such as China (it became the "Nanchang CJ-5").

Externally, the aircraft has a slender, aerodynamically refined fuselage, with engines neatly streamlined in the nose area to drive the forward-most twin-bladed propeller unit. The cockpit is placed directly amidships and has all the essential instruments an instructor would expect in a neat layout, with prominent dials, gauges and appropriate lettering. Considering the cockpit is placed in the center of the design, visibility is good due to the use of a lightweight frame. The canopy is placed on a track that rolls back along the frame for getting on and off.

The main plane is a straight monoplane shape with a truncated tip, positioned forward of the center of the boat to properly balance the plane. The rear wing is in a traditional single-fin arrangement, with the horizontal plane set low. All control surfaces are covered with fabric to reduce weight.

The retractable landing gear uses a basic "tail" support structure.

In terms of size, the aircraft has a flight length of 25.6 feet, a wingspan of 31.1 feet, and a height of 10.5 feet. Curb weight reaches 1,655 lbs, and maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) approaches 2,005 lbs.

The typical engine configuration is the air-cooled 9-cylinder radial-piston engine Vedeneyev M-14P with 360 hp, although this can be replaced by models of the M-14PF or M-14R series, which have increased hp power is 400 hp and 450 hp respectively. The extra power, in turn, improves performance. Performance specs include a top speed of 250 mph (never over 280 mph).

The range is 310 miles, and the plane's service is capped at 13,125 feet. At full takeoff power, the rate of climb is rated at 3,145 feet per minute.

In practice, Yak-50 trainers perform well because their sturdy airframes can be pushed to the extreme, and the handling characteristics of light aircraft are considered excellent. The success of the design was so great that the series twice won the world championship in aerobatics.

The Soviet military model was pushed to the limit, so much so that the failure of the main aircraft wing spars became a problem - leading to a number of policies aimed at strengthening these members for the remainder of their lives in the Soviet Air Force.

Although the aircraft is now (2018) out of service globally, it can still be found in the hands of private pilots, mainly in the West. Over time, the Yak-50 was eventually replaced by other more modern basic trainer forms, such as the Yakovlev Yak-55 series in the 1980s.

The Yak-52 is a single-engine, two-seat branch of the Yak-50 family. This version appeared in 1976, but was not officially adopted until 1979, and became the standard trainer of the Soviet Air Force for decades (until today, 2018).