Yak-40: The Soviet Union's Workhorse of the Skies

Video from the channel Altitude Addicts about Yakovlev Yak-40, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 15:01. Language: English. Video type: Documentary.

Documentary about the Yak-40, a jet passenger aircraft developed in the Soviet Union in the 1960s for local air routes. It covers its conception, design, technical features, commercial career in the USSR and the attempts to sell it abroad.

The prototype took off on 21 October 1966 from the Zhukovsky aerodrome, near Moscow. The Yakovlev design bureau, until then devoted to military trainer and sport aircraft, conceived it to replace piston aircraft on domestic routes; the project was led by deputy chief designer Adler. Series production began in 1968 at the Saratov factory and continued until 1981, with over a thousand units built, more than a hundred of them exported. In 1972 it obtained airworthiness certificates in Italy and Germany, the first Soviet aircraft authorised to operate with airlines in capitalist countries; the sale in Colombia failed, and in Latin America only Cuba, Bolivia and Guatemala certified it.

A high-aspect-ratio straight wing, three AI-25 engines at the tail, a T-tail and large-diameter wheels for operating from unpaved runways; the centre engine had thrust reversal, and boarding was via a rear ramp. The cabin grew from 24 to 27 passengers. Its high fuel consumption earned it the nickname "kerosene fighter". As of 1 January 2006, Russia had 265 registered, of which 138 were in service, and in February 2020 at least 50 were still flying.