The Yak 52
In the mid 1970’s Russia was in need of replacing its aging fleet of military trainers. Proposals were sent out to the various aircraft designer bureaus to come up with a rugged and versatile training aircraft. The Yakovlev Design bureau came up with what is now known as the Yak 52. The Yak 52 first went into production in 1979 and was built under the USSR licensing agreement until 1991, during that time more than 1800 Yak 52s were made.
The Yak 52 fulfilled many roles as a training aircraft, from training the USSR National Aerobatic Team; to providing a stable instrument platform; to providing an easy transition to military jets.
The cockpit of the Yak 52 has many attributes of the Russian Mig 17 and Mig 21, such as identical engine monitoring instrumentation, throttle quadrant and control stick. Similarities did not end with the cockpit. The Yak 52 was designed with a low aspect ratio and high wing loading to give a glide and approach profile similar to the Mig jets.
The Yak 52 has many unique attributes compared to the Western aircraft. One unique characteristic is that the prop turns in the opposite direction from what we are used to. A key feature and departure from most Western aircraft is the extensive use of pneumatics to operate a wide range of systems such as engine starting, landing gear, flaps and braking. The Yak 52 also has a very short range due to rather small fuel tanks. I have been told this was to discourage pilots from defecting.
The Yak 52 has served as a trainer for Air Forces of the Soviet Union, Armenia, Georgia, Hungary, Lithuania, Romania and Vietnam.