The Yakovlev Yak-55 is a single seat aerobatic aircraft. Pilots flying the Yak-55 have won several world aerobatic championships.

Development

The Yakovlev Yak-55 and Yak-55M (short wing version) are aerobatic aircraft designed in 1980 by V.P. Kondratiev and D.K. Drach. The project director was S.A. Yakovlev.

The aircraft design had almost nothing in common with the preceding Yakovlev Yak-50 except the 360 hp Vedeneyev M14P engine and V-530TA-D35 propeller. The Yak-55 has a thick (18 percent) mid-mounted symmetrical wing with one main spar. The aircraft is of a conventional semi-monocoque all-metal construction. The cockpit is positioned above the trailing edge of the wing, and is covered with a sliding teardrop canopy. The seat is positioned below wing level. The undercarriage is fixed with titanium sprung main gear and tailwheel

Conventional landing gear

thumb|The [[Piper PA-18|Piper Super Cub]] is a popular taildragger aircraft.thumb|right|A [[Cessna 150]] converted to taildragger configuration by installation of an after-market modification kit....

.

Series production was planned to begin in 1982. A serious delay occurred when the wing was found to suffer from structural failure. This forced a redesign, resulting in a thinner but stronger wing. Series production finally began in 1986 at Arsenyev

Arsenyev

Arsenyev is a town in Primorsky Krai, Russia, located about northeast of Vladivostok. Population: -History:The history of Arsenyev begins in 1895, when the settlement of Semyonovka was founded. The first settlement dwellers were the Old Believers. In 1901 the migrant peasants from what is now...

, with 108 aircraft being delivered by 1991.

Operational use

The prototype Yak-55 first flew in May 1981 and was shown to the rest of the world at the World Aerobatic Championships in 1982. Unfortunately, structural failures in the wing slowed the aircraft's introduction to competition. The Soviet aerobatic team first used the aircraft in 1984 when they won the World Aerobatic Championship

Competition aerobatics

Competition aerobatics is an air sport in which judges rate the skill of pilots performing aerobatic flying. It is practiced in both piston-powered single-engine airplanes and gliders....

. That same year the Soviet woman's aerobatic team took first place flying the Yak-55, Kh. Makagonova winning individual gold.

The aircraft has been relatively free of Service Bulletins and Airworthiness Directives and has proved exceedingly effective in competition at all levels. The obvious capabilities of the aircraft and its success in use, together with the relatively large numbers built (some 250) have meant that owners make relatively few modifications and that few are needed.

Variants

Yak-55M
The Yak-55M was developed to meet a demand for an even more rapid rate of roll and to counter competition from the rival Sukhoi

Sukhoi

Sukhoi Company is a major Russian aircraft manufacturer, headquartered in Begovoy District, Northern Administrative Okrug, Moscow, famous for its fighters...

 design studio. First produced in 1989, the aircraft features a more tapered wing of reduced span and area. Additional fairings were added to smooth out the tabs and balances. The canopy was given a fixed rear section, and the spinner was omitted. The project director was Yu. I. Yankevich, whicle V.M. Popkov was the chief engineer.

The Yak-55M was selected for use by the Soviet aerobatic team for the 1989 European Championships. Series production began in 1990 at Arsenyev

Arsenyev

Arsenyev is a town in Primorsky Krai, Russia, located about northeast of Vladivostok. Population: -History:The history of Arsenyev begins in 1895, when the settlement of Semyonovka was founded. The first settlement dwellers were the Old Believers. In 1901 the migrant peasants from what is now...

, and by the end of 1993 a total of 106 had been built, though few have been built since.

SP-55
The SP-55 is a development of the Yak-55 and was released in the late 1990s. The SP-55 incorporates all of the proven structural components of the Yak-55, but, amongst other changes, uses composite flying controls and has a lighter weight giving improved manoeuvrability. When equipped with the M14PF 400 hp engine, the SP-55 has been said to surpass the performance of the Sukhoi Su-31

Sukhoi Su-31

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. The SP-55 is manufactured at the Arsenyiev factory in the far East of Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

.

Yak-56
The Yak-56 was to be a two seat trainer based on the Yak-55M, but with a low wing and retractable undercarriage. Power was to have come from a 300hp VOKBM M-16 eight-cylinder radial engine driving an AV-16 three-bladed propeller. The prototype was expected to fly in 1992, but development was halted when Yakovlev decided to produce the Yak-54 instead.

Specifications (Yak-55M)

See also