The Incredible Yak-52

The first aircraft to be featured in Flight Review is the incredible Russian built Yak-52. The Yak 52 is quite imposing as you walk around it on the ramp, after all the vertical stabilizer stands nearly nine feet above the ramp. The Yak stands tall on its landing gear in order to support its huge 360 h.p. supercharged nine cylinder radial engine and a mammoth 94 inch constant speed propeller. Taxiing, this lumbering giant lopes along sounding like the grand daddy of all Harleys. But perhaps the most beautiful attributes of the Yak-52, to the bystander, is the sound of its radial engine as it flies overhead.


The Yak-52 was designed to replace the aging Russian military trainers of the time. It was based on the single seat Yak 50 which was, at that time, a world champion aerobatic mount for Russia. The Yak-52 first took flight in 1976 and went into production in 1979 and ran till around 1999 with somewhere around 1800 Yak-52s being built. The Yak-52 filled multiple roles for Russia. It was used as a primary trainer, an instrument trainer, and aerobatic trainer, and was used to aid in transitioning into jets.

The Yak-52 is an all metal, two seat tandem military trainer that was built like a tank. Yet, as large as it appears, it is relatively light with an empty weight of only 2200 lbs. The cockpit is definitely a military cockpit that is laid out using some of the same instruments and equipment as the Mig-17 and Mig-21. The control stick is quite large and the rudder pedals are on a swing bar. The instruments are laid out in an efficient manner that is easy to adapt to. Besides the large radial engine up front, there are several unique traits the Yak-52 has that sets it apart from most modern Western aircraft. One of these traits, would be the extensive use of pneumatics throughout the systems of the Yak. The starter, brakes, flaps, and gear are all pneumatically operated. Oh, and the prop turns in the opposite direction too. So I am sure the Russian flight instructors were well versed in shouting LEFT RUDDER!!! (but in Russian)

I have been flying a highly modified Yak-52 known as "Bad Yak" at aerobatic competitions and air shows throughout the North West for the past five years and I absolutely love this aircraft. Bad Yak has had more than 240 lbs removed from its empty weight and it has 400 horse power hanging off its nose. It isn't the newest or the best aircraft made today, but it is unique, and we are a great match. You can't just pull a Yak out, walk around it, jump in and fire it up. It's a complex aircraft, systems have to be turned on, the prop pulled through a number of times to purge any oil that has accumulated in the cylinders. Then it's primed and then the prop is pulled through a few more times. Then you jump onto the wing, turn on a few more systems, climb in, prime some more, turn on a few more systems, then you get to fire it up. The Yak-52 looks like it came out of WW2 with its blunt round nose and rounded rudder. They say if a Yak isn't leaking oil, then it's out of oil. We prefer to say it's just marking its territory. But if you can start the Yak and get it taxied to the runway, it is a one of the easiest aircraft to take off and land. Anyone can land a Yak-52 and look like a pro.

My first experience flying the Yak-52 was like drinking from a fire hose. First of all, I was like a kid being allowed to sit in a fighter jet . Besides all the military style instruments, the control stick was huge, nearly chest high! Needing this much leverage, the aircraft had to be heavy on the controls, I thought. I had flown quite a few different aircraft but none as powerful and complex as the Yak. I could not believe the amount of acceleration nor the amount of left rudder required during the take off roll! Before I could get a handle on everything, we had blasted through pattern altitude. We went out to the practice area where I did a number of steep turns and was impressed how light the controls actually were. I then decided to do a series of Lazy Eights to get a feeling of the Yak at different airspeeds. I immediately became aware of the enormous amount of torque this aircraft produces and its effect at slower airspeeds. I then did a number of aileron rolls and remember laughing out loud. I had been used to rolling the Citabria which required both hands and a reasonable amount of strength and patience. The Yak required neither. Then we were going to do a loop. Bob talked me through it before, "180 mph, level wings and a give a good stiff pull, float over the top, then set the stick for rounding out the loop". So I dove a little to get the 180 mph, leveled off, hesitated a moment, then I yarded back on the stick... "Holy Crap!" As I was gaining some sense of awareness we were inverted and I was lost. I then brought the stick back a just a bit as we finished the loop. I started the loop headed South, and ended facing East, 90 degrees off heading. The huge amount of torque and me feeding in the wrong rudder caused us to fly almost a perfect quarter clover. Bob, the great sport he is, was laughing and told me to take a look at the G meter... I had pulled 7 Gs in probably what will be the smallest loop (quarter clover) that Yak has ever flown. I kept on muttering, "that's one big stick, that's one big stick". So as not to leave the ride like that, we did a couple, more gentle loops that left me happy.

Flying the Yak-52 is actually a pleasure. It has a nice harmony of controls which are well balanced. For me the Yak has the perfect amount of feel on the controls, not too light to be twitchy, and not too heavy to be numb. It is stressed to + 7 G and - 5 G and can perform any maneuver listed in the Aristi catalog, which is a list of all the maneuvers used in competition aerobatics from primary to unlimited. I have found the roll rate to be around 180 degrees a second. Having a non symmetrical wing, rolls require placing the nose a bit above the horizon when inverted to finish level. Stalls and spins are very predictable, in fact, I have found the Yak one of the easiest aircraft to consistently score well performing competition style spins. The Yak-52 has a Vne of 264 mph, higher than most modern aerobatic aircraft. At 180 mph the Yak-52 performs any looping or vertical figure with plenty of energy. The vertical line is very impressive, but has to be flown a bit to maintain.

Bad Yak has been modified to be more mission specific. With the increase in horse power and reduction in empty weight, we are able to achieve a max level airspeed of 195 mph, and a cruise of 170 mph. A sustained climb rate of 2750 feet per minute can be maintained to 3,000 feet. Below are some statistics for a stock Yak 52.

Yak-52 Stats

Length 25 ft 5 in

Wingspan 30 ft 6.25 in

Height 8 ft 10.5 in

empty weight 2200 lbs

Max T/O weight 2877 lbs

Powerplant Vedeneyev M14P 360 hp

Vne 264 mph

Max level Speed 177 mph

Cruise Speed 160 mph

Stall 55 mph

Service Ceiling 14,500 feet

Rate of Climb 1400 feet per minute