Yakovlev Yak-30 (1960) - Design and Development

Design and Development

In 1959 the Soviet Air Force held a competition for the first purpose built jet trainer to enter service with the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact nations. Prior to this time all Soviet jet trainers, such as the Yakovlev Yak-17UTI, had been modified from existing jet fighters. Since Yakovlev had produced most of the Soviet Union's trainer aircraft since World War II, winning the competition was extremely important, as the winner would be produced extensively for many years to come. Yakovlev's entry in the competition was the Yak-30. Surprisingly, it was the only competitor from within the Soviet Union.

The Yak-30 was an all-metal aircraft made entirely from light alloys. It was designed to be easy and inexpensive to build, the two wing spars being made from pressed-sheet ribs. The simple, elliptical fuselage housed the pupil and instructor in a single unpressurized tandem cockpit. Fuel was limited to 600 liters (132 gallons) in a bag tank located in the fuselage above the wing.

The engine was the Turmanskii-designed RU-19, made especially for the aircraft. Like the rest of the aircraft, it was simply-designed, a single-shaft turbojet with a seven-stage axial compressor, rated at 900 kg (1,984 lbs) thrust. Air was fed from very small inlets located in the wing roots, and discharged directly under the rear fuselage with no jetpipe. To ease servicing, the engine could be lowered straight down without disturbing the fuselage.

The tailplane was fixed halfway up the sharply swept fin, and all control surfaces were manually driven by rods which ran down a dorsal spine extending along the upper surface of the aircraft, ending at the rear of the canopy. The long, continuous canopy was of blown Plexiglas, and bulged to give a better view downward. It slid to the rear on long rails. The ejection seats could both be fired by the instructor, while the pupil could fire only his own seat. Both cockpit positions had a complete set of controls.

The tricycle undercarriage was retractable. The main units retracted inward, while the steerable nose wheel retracted forward into a bay covered by two doors. Though provisions were made for armament similar to the military version of the single seat Yakovlev Yak-32, no armament was placed on the four prototypes.

Technical manager on the program was K V Sinelshcikov. Chief engineers were V A Shavrin, V G Tsvelov and V P Vlasov.