Yakovlev Yak-52

what is it?

The Yakovlev Yak-52 (Russian: Яковлев Як-52) is a Soviet primary trainer aircraft which first flew in 1976. It was produced in Romania from 1977 to 1998 by Aerostar, as Iak-52, which gained manufacturing rights under agreement within the former COMECON socialist trade organisation. The Yak-52 was designed as an aerobatic trainer for students in the Soviet DOSAAF training organisation, which trained civilian sport pilots and military pilots.

🔎How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · low wing · retractable tricycle gear · 9.3 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 285 km/htop speed
• range 550 kmwithout refuelling
• size 1,305 kgmax take-off weight
• built 1,800made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 50 years ago, in 1976.
• 🏎️Top speed is 2.2× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 9.3 m: about 2 cars parked nose to tail.

piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.

spec sheet

first flight

1976

introduced

1974

status

still flying

number built

1,800

role

trainer, coin

origin

🇷🇺 Soviet Union

makers

Yakovlev, Aerostar

engines

1× Vedeneyev M-14P / Vedeneyev M14P

crew

2

length

7.8 m

wingspan

9.3 m

height

2.7 m

max take-off weight

1,305 kg

top speed

285 km/h

cruise speed

190 km/h

range

550 km

ceiling

4,000 m

wings

low wing

landing gear

retractable tricycle gear

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.