Yak-18 (Як-18)
Polish Air Force Yak-18 in the Polish Aviation Museum
Role	Training aircraft
Manufacturer	Yakovlev, China Nanchang Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation, China Nanchang Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation
First flight	1946
Introduced	1946
Primary users	Soviet Air Force DOSAAF People's Liberation Army Air Force Polish Air Force
Variants	Yakovlev Yak-18T Nanchang CJ-6

The Yakovlev Yak-18 (Russian: Як-18, also transcribed as Jak-18, NATO reporting name Max) was a Soviet tandem two-seat military primary trainer aircraft. Originally powered by one 160 hp Shvetsov M-11FR-1 radial piston engine, it entered service in 1946. It is also produced in China as the Nanchang CJ-5.

[edit] Design and development

A member of the second generation of Russian aircraft designers, and best known for fighter designs, Alexander S. Yakovlev always retained a light aircraft design section. In May 1945, Yakovlev initiated design of the Yak-18 two-seat primary trainer. He designed it to replace the earlier Yakovlev UT-2 and Yak-5 in service with the Soviet Air Forces and DOSAAF (Voluntary Society for Collaboration with the Army, Air Force and Navy, which sponsored aero clubs throughout the USSR). The new aircraft flew a year later, powered by a Shvetsov M-11 five-cylinder radial engine and featuring a retractable tailwheel landing gear. The design proved exceptionally easy to build and maintain, and it continues in production today, 55 years later, in two of its many variants, the four-seat Yak-18T and two-seat Yak-54. The CJ 6a, produced in China, is sometimes quoted as a variant but is a completely different aircraft but uses some Yakovlev features such as the undercarriage from the tricycle version of the Yak 11.

[edit] Operational history

The Yak-18 became the standard trainer for Air Force flying schools and DOSAAF, is in wide use in China, and in many other countries.

[edit] Variants

Yak-18T at Borki airfield

Yak-18A

Yak-18, commemorated on the 1986 USSR stamp

Yak-18

The original production version.

Yak-18A

Re-engined version, powered by a 194-kW (260-hp) Ivchenko AI-14 FR engine. Built in large numbers.

Yak-18U

This version was built in small numbers, but it had retractable tricycle landing gear.

Yak-18P (NATO reporting name

Mouse)

Single-seat aerobatic aircraft for use by flying clubs. Adaptation of Yak-18 two-seat trainer.

Yak-18PM

Aerobatic aircraft.

Yak-18PS

Aerobatic aircraft with retractable tailwheel.

Yak-18T

Aeroflot training aircraft. The Yak-18T is also a light passenger transport aircraft, with a 4-seat cabin for one pilot and three passengers.

Nanchang CJ-5

The Yak-18 was built under licence in China as the CJ-5.

[edit] Operators

Yak-18 operators

 AFG

• Afghan Air Force - 14 acquired from 1957 and retired by 2001.

 Albania

• Albanian Air Force - 43 (including Chinese CJ-6 variants).

 Algeria

 Bangladesh

 Bulgaria

 Cambodia

 China

• People's Liberation Army Air Force - see also Nanchang CJ-6

 Czechoslovakia

 East Germany

 Egypt

 Guinea

 Hungary

 Iraq

 Laos

 Mali

 Mongolia

 North Korea

 Poland

• Polish Air Force

 Romania

 Somalia

 Soviet Union

• DOSAAF
• Soviet Air Force

 Syria

 Turkmenistan

 Vietnam

 Yemen

 Zambia

[edit] Specifications (Yak-18A)

General characteristics

• Crew: two, student and instructor
• Length: 8.35 m (27 ft 5 in)
• Wingspan: 10.60 m (34 ft 9 in)
• Height: 3.35 m (11 ft 0 in)
• Wing area: 17.8 m² (191 ft²)
• Empty weight: 1,025 kg (2,255 lb)
• Loaded weight: kg (lb)
• Max takeoff weight: 1,320 kg (2,904 lb)
• Powerplant: 1× Ivchenko AI-14RF radial, 224 kW (300 hp)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 300 km/h (187 mph)
• Range: 700 km (436 miles)
• Service ceiling 5,060 m (16,596 ft)
• Rate of climb: m/s (ft/min)
• Wing loading: kg/m² (lb/ft²)
• Power/mass: kW/kg (hp/lb)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Description page on aviation.ru

[edit] See also

Related development Nanchang CJ-6
Comparable aircraft Zlin Trener - LWD Junak - De Havilland Chipmunk - Percival Prentice

The initial version of this article was based on material from aviation.ru. It has been released under the GFDL by the copyright holder.