Yakovlev Yak-40 - Operational History

Operational History

The first of five prototypes made its maiden flight on 21 October 1966, with production being launched at the Saratov Aviation Plant in 1967 and Soviet type certification granted in 1968. The type carried out its first passenger service for Aeroflot on 30 September 1968. In the 1972 version, a tailspin was removed. In 1974, new version was introduced, with non-stop flight distance increased. Also, the forward door on the right side of the fuselage change its place - it was located together with the sixth window.

In 1975, the last upgrading of Yak-40 took place - the number of cabin windows on the right side changed from 9 to 8.

By the time production ended in November 1981, the factory at Saratov had produced 1,011 aircraft. By 1993 Yak-40s operated by Aeroflot had carried 354 million passengers. As well as being the backbone of Aeroflot's local operations, flying to 276 domestic destinations in 1980, the Yak-40 was also an export success. More than this, Yak-40 became the first Russian/Soviet aircraft getting flying certificates of Italy and West Germany. It was demonstrated in 75 countries of the world, including the USA, where orders on Yak-40 were made.

A total of 130 were exported to Afghanistan, Angola, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Germany, Honduras, Hungary, Italy, Laos, Madagascar, Philippines, Poland, Syria, Vietnam, Yugoslavia and Zambia.