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The Yakovlev Yak-30 (NATO reporting name Magnum), originally designated Yakovlev 104, was Yakovlev's entry in a competition for the first military jet trainer aircraft designed for Warsaw Pact nations. Designed to succeed the Yak-17UTI, it also led to the development of the Yakovlev Yak-32 sport jet. The Yak-30 lost to the L-29 Delfin, and neither it nor the Yak-32 entered production.
The Yakovlev Yak-32 (NATO reporting name Mantis) was claimed by the OKB to be the world's first sporting aircraft with an ejection seat. This version was designated Yak-104PS. Neither the Yak-30 nor the Yak-32 entered production.
In 1959 the Soviet Air Force held a competition for the first purpose-built jet trainer to enter service with the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact nations. Prior to this, all Soviet jet trainers, such as the Yakovlev Yak-17UTI, had been modified from existing jet fighters. Since Yakovlev had produced most of the Soviet Union's trainer aircraft since World War II, winning the competition was extremely important, as the winner would be produced extensively for many years. Yakovlev's entry in the competition was the Yak-30. Surprisingly, it was the only competitor from within the Soviet Union.
The Yak-30 was an all-metal aircraft made entirely from light alloys. It was designed to be easy and inexpensive to build, the two wing spars being made from pressed-sheet ribs. The simple, elliptical fuselage housed the pupil and instructor in a single unpressurized tandem cockpit. Fuel was limited to 600 liters (132 gallons) in a bag tank located in the fuselage above the wing.
The engine was the Turmanskii-designed RU-19, made especially for the aircraft. Like the rest of the aircraft, it was simply designed, a single-shaft turbojet with a seven-stage axial compressor, rated at 900 kg (1,984 lbs) thrust. Air was fed from very small inlets located in the wing roots, and discharged directly under the rear fuselage with no jetpipe. To ease servicing, the engine could be lowered straight down without disturbing the fuselage.
The tailplane was fixed halfway up the sharply-swept fin, and all control surfaces were manually driven by rods which ran down a dorsal spine extending along the upper surface of the aircraft, ending at the rear of the canopy. The long, continuous canopy was of blown Plexiglas, and bulged to give a better downward view. It slid to the rear on long rails. The ejection seats could both be fired by the instructor, while the pupil could fire only his own seat. Both cockpit positions had a complete set of controls.
The tricycle undercarriage was retractable. The main units retracted inward, while the steerable nosewheel retracted forwards into a bay covered by two doors. Though provisions were made for armament similar to the military version of the single-seat Yakovlev Yak-32, no armament was placed on the four prototypes.
The technical manager on the program was K V Sinelshcikov. Chief engineers were V A Shavrin, V G Tsvelov and V P Vlasov.
The OKB built a single static/fatigue test airframe, as well as four flying prototypes (callsigns 30, 50, 80 and 90). Two Yak-32's were also assembled at the same time.
Factory testing took place from 20 May 1960 through March 1961. A total of 82 flights were made with 43 hours 36 minutes of flight time. No difficulties in operating the aircraft were found. The competition ultimately came down to three aircraft, the rivals being the Czechoslovak L-29 Delfin, and the Polish TS-11 Iskra. The Iskra was quickly eliminated and sent back to Poland, leaving the Yak-30 in a head-to-head competition with the L-29, in which the Yak design showed far better performance, including lower weight, better maneuverability and lower production costs. However, in the end, a political decision was reached to select the more robust Czechoslovak L-29 in August 1961 to serve as the primary jet trainer for all Soviet and Warsaw Pact nations except for Poland. Immediately after this decision OKB pilot Smirnov set several official light jet world records in the Yak-30. These included speed over a 25 kilometer course (767.308 km/h), and maximum altitude of 16,128 meters. One of the surviving prototypes is on display at the Central Air Force Museum, at Monino, outside of Moscow.
Developed concurrently with the Yak-30, the Yak-32 was a single-seat aircraft designed as both a sporting jet, and a light military ground attack aircraft. The airframe of the Yak-32 was that of the Yak-30, but modified to include only a single seat. Yakovlev had intended to market the aircraft as a sporting jet at a time when no other single-seat jet aircraft were being marketed for civilian use. In fact, it would not be until the introduction of the jet version of the Bede BD-5 in the 1970s that another sport aircraft like the Yak-32 was offered. Even in the 21st century, single-seat sporting jets are rarely offered by manufacturers.
The light attack version of the Yak-32 was designated Yak-32Sh, and was planned to include more sophisticated avionics than the Yak-32. It could also carry external fuel and weapons loads, including a ZB-500 or ZB-360 external fuel tank, bombs of up to 500 kg, up to four rocket launchers (the largest being the UB-32/S-5), up to four K-13/R-3S missiles, four ARS-240 rockets, or four AOI-9 or UKP-23 gun pods, each with 250 rounds.
On 5 August 1971, one of the Yak-32s was ordered to be equipped with RU19P-300 which has been modified to permit longer inverted flight. The aircraft received the designation Yak-32P. Flight evaluation of the aircraft was just as good as the original Yak-32.
Three Yak-32 prototypes were built in 1960-1961 at the same time as the four prototype Yak-30s trainers. They had callsigns 32, 60 and 70. The aircraft 30 and 70 gave aerobatic demonstrations at the 1961 Aviation Day at Tushino. They went on to set several world class records (their thrust being misreported to the FAI as 800 kg).
The ASCC allocated the name "Mantis" to the Yak-32/Yak-104.
One Yak-32 was preserved by Yakovlev and is on display at Khodinka, displayed in the OKB's house colors of red and white.
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