Testing
The Yak-25-I was given callsign "yellow 15", and had a number "2" painted on the airbrake rudder. It was flown in factory testing by Anokhin between 31 October 1947 and 3 July 1948.
Flight tests followed quickly, and showed that the Yak-25 was easy to fly, and had exceptional performance and maneuverability for a straight-wing aircraft. Unfortunately it soon became clear that the laminar flow section used for the tail unit was totally unsuitable, with extremely severe buffeting setting in at 500 km/h (310 mph). Test pilot L.L. Selyakov reporting that the buffeting was so bad that he was thrown about the cockpit, banging his head on the canopy, and the needles fell off all the flight instruments. To cure the buffeting the tail unit was replaced with one using a NACA 004 aerofoil section. Worse yet, both of its rivals, the Lavochkin La-15 and rival swept-wing MiG-15 had superior performance. The Mig-15 was selected for mass production. Yakovlev was never again to build a single-engine fighter superior to the rival aircraft coming from Mikoyan, though neither was Lavochkin. Development was halted, but two of the prototypes were used for test and development purposes.
Surprisingly, the Yak-25 never received an ASCC reporting name or USAF type number despite being known to the west at the time.
Read more about this topic: Yakovlev Yak-25 (1947)
Famous quotes containing the word testing:
“Now I see that going out into the testing ground of men it is the tongue and not the deed that wins the day.”
—Sophocles (497–406/5 B.C.)
“No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.”
—Bible: New Testament, 1 Corinthians 10:13.
“Traditional scientific method has always been at the very best 20-20 hindsight. It’s good for seeing where you’ve been. It’s good for testing the truth of what you think you know, but it can’t tell you where you ought to go.”
—Robert M. Pirsig (b. 1928)