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Joined: Fri Feb 27, 2009 11:56 am
Posts: 91
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Here is my take on training on Yak 52:
-The aircraft is operated under Special C of A/ Limited in Canada, and under Experimental Exhibition category in the US. Neither allows it to be used by a flight school. However it is perfectly legal to buy or borrow one and hire a freelance instractor, as long as there is an arm length relation between the two. So, yes, you can get trained on one legally. BTW, you don't have to be an instructor to teach aerobatics, as long as you have a required experience.
-If it is your first aerobatic aircraft, training with somebody experienced on type is mandatory, IMHO. Yak 52 is a quite capable aerobat in the right hands, but has somewhat vicious flat spin and tumble characteristics. The type killed some very experience pilots, even Russians, hence the bad reputation. The problem is not some design flaw, but rather relatively high weight (for an aerobatic aircraft), long fuselage (= high bipolar moment of inertia), and relatively small control surfaces. I don't claim to be an expert on type, but I have flown it in all flight regimes, and trained some guys on it. I also had long discussions with Sergei and Nicolai, beforehand.
- If you hire somebody to train you on it, insist on exploring fully developed flat spins. That usually is the maneuver ending in the smoking hole, if you are low or inpatient. So climb very high - 8000ft AGL would be nice for the first attempt. Once you are in a flat spin, wait for two turns, or so, and try to recover. You will be overwhelmed by the rate of rotation. Make sure you use FULL opposite rudder, and stick all the way to the white mark on the panel. The white mark is very important, and if the cockpit had been repainted, make sure the mark is still there. If the stick is even a little bit to the outside of rotation, the aircraft will not recover. It is natural for most non aerobatic pilots to feed some outside stick in the spin in unconscious attempt to control roll with the ailerons- DON'T. Also different C of G location will play role here.
You will also be surprised that despite your spin recovery inputs, seemingly nothing would be changing. That's where patients comes in. Don't start reinventing the wheel. Just wait. Eventually the rotation will slow down and stop, but it will take 2 or more turns, feeling like eternity. So, again, make sure you have lots of water under the kill, use proper recovery technique, and be patient. Also, as with any aerobatic flying, have and altitude in mind, when you get out and pull the rip cord.
Somebody mentioned above that -52 and Nanchang are similar. They are not. The -52 was developed from WAC winning Yak -50. The Nanchang is a Chinese development of Yak-18. I have no experience on the Nanchang, but I have flown Yak 18 many decades ago, and I remember it being very docile. Or maybe I was just braver then. Anyway, don't hire Nanchang guy to teach you on a Yak.
If you can't find anybody in Ontario, jump on WestJet, and visit us in Alberta. We can probably sort you out.
Regards
Jerzy |
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