| Yak-36 | |
|---|---|
| Yak-36 undergoing a demonstration flight before the Domodedovo Air Show in 1967 | |
| Role | Experimental VSTOL aircraft |
| National origin | Soviet Union |
| Manufacturer | Yakovlev |
| First flight | 9 January 1963 |
| Primary user | Soviet Air Force |
| Number built | 12 |
The Yakovlev Yak-36 (NATO reporting name 'Freehand') was a Soviet technology demonstrator for a VTOL combat aircraft.
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As early as the late 1950s, the Yakovlev Design Bureau began work on a VTOL system, using the compact and lightweight P-19-300 turbojet engine. In 1960, Yakovlev drafted a proposal for the Yak-104, a design with two vertically mounted engines for lift, and one for forward thrust. The government issued a contract to develop a single-seat fighter bomber in February 1961. The Yakovlev design evolved into a two engine design, whereby the engines would drive fans in the wings for lift, combined with a rotary engine nozzle. The design was further influenced with the development of the British Hawker Siddeley P.1127, which used a single engine and four swivel nozzles. However, Yakovlev maintained its two engine design, two vectored thrust engines mounted side-by-side in the forward fuselage. The exhaust exited through vectoring nozzles in the center of gravity which were vectorable through about 90°. The airframe had a semi-monocoque fuselage with bicycle-type landing gear.
Four prototypes were completed, one of which was used only for static testing. The second was used for takeoff and landing tests, including free hovering. The third incorporated improvements found in testing, including an improved autopilot which automatically selected optimal air flow for hover stability. This prototype crashed, but was later rebuilt. The fourth prototype crashed in February 1971 and was not rebuilt.
The first tethered hover flight took place on 9 January 1963. There were initial problems with the intake of exhaust into the engines, suction effect of the exhaust on the ground (which made a higher engine power needed) and problems with control system. After modifications, the first untethered flight was made on 23 June 1963, followed by the first full transition to horizontal flight on 16 September 1963. On 24 March 1966 was the first complete flight VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) was made. The first public presentation of the Yak-36 was on 9 July 1967 at an air show in Moscow-Domodedovo marking the 50th Anniversary of the October Revolution.
The Yak-36 had two underwing stations for bombs, machine guns and rockets, but the range of the machine was too small to be able to use them effectively with full combat load. The next development step was the Yak-36M which flew for the first time in 1971.
The second Yak-36 prototype, b/n 35, is now on display at the Central Air Force Museum at Monino, outside of Moscow, Russia. [1]
Data from Air Vectors ,[2]
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
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