Yefim Gordon

From developed countries In the world, only a few could afford the development of vertical takeoff and landing aircraft and conducting research on this topic. Among them was the Soviet Union. Allocating large financial resources for the development of weapons, he could not allow a lag in this area.

The first works of Soviet scientists in the field of vertical takeoff date back to the end of the 1940s. In the mid-50s, practical research began with the help of a controlled stand, called the "Turbolet". The stand was manufactured at LII and was a truss structure on four suspension struts with a vertically mounted RD-9B engine. Jet rudders for jet control of a flying platform were installed on four consoles. The cockpit housed the usual aircraft controls (handle, pedals, throttle). The fuel system consisted of two tanks with a total capacity of 400 liters. Takeoff weight"Turbolet" was 2340 kg, dimensions 10 * 10 * 3.8 m, engine thrust 2835 kgf. The platform was tested by LII test pilot Yuri Garnaev. In good calm weather, the Turbolet was quite easy to control. With winds up to 12 m / s, takeoff and landing were somewhat complicated, since there was nothing to fend off the demolition. But this problem was also solved by tilting the stand in the direction of demolition. Garnaev concluded that with a well-trained pilot, even with the wind, flying on the Turbolet is not difficult. Usually the landing was made on a large metal sheet, but once the platform was landed on a good grassy ground in Tushino. The first in the Soviet Union automatic flight control was also installed on the Turbolet, but it did not significantly fly around the pilot’s work and, according to Garnaev’s recall, it could well have been excluded from the platform control system. In addition to Garnaev, other LII pilots also flew on the stand - F. Burtsev, G. Zakharov and S. Anokhin.

At the same time (1955-1956) other works on this topic were carried out at the FRI. At the MiG-15 flying laboratory, the controllability of the aircraft was studied at low speeds in vertical lift modes (“candles”). The influence of the jet stream on the soil and concrete pavement of the runway was studied using a MiG-17 aircraft with a VK-1 engine installed in a vertical position.

After the British company Short tested the SC-1 vertical take-off aircraft, the Yakovlev Design Bureau received the task to develop a similar experimental machine. The minimum period for construction and testing was 4-5 years. The problem was complicated by the fact that for vertical takeoff and landing, the thrust vector of the aircraft's power plant had to pass through the center of mass of the machine. The only acceptable option then turned out to be the placement of the engine in the forward fuselage. In this case, it was necessary to use special nozzle rotary nozzles, which made it possible to change the thrust vector from a horizontal to a vertical position and vice versa.

For the power plant of the first Soviet vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, called the Yak-36 or product "B", they chose two R27-300 engines with a thrust of 6350 kgf each, developed at the Tumansky Design Bureau for the promising Mi G-23 fighter. The problem of aircraft control at low speeds and hover modes was solved as follows. In addition to the main rotary nozzles, the machine had several jet jet rudders, which received compressed air taken from the engine compressor. Moreover, one of the rudders was moved forward on a long nose beam mounted above the air intake, the others were on the wings of the aircraft and in its tail section.

The unique design required extensive laboratory research. Four prototypes were laid into the building, one of which was intended for static tests. After the manufacture of the first prototype (tail number 36), it was transferred to TsAGI for purge with running engines in a wind tunnel. Flight tests were planned to be carried out on the second and third copies (tail numbers 37 and 38).

Rice. 2. Yak-36 in the TsAGI wind tunnel

Rice. 3. Preparation for the flight of the Yak-36 No. 2

Rice. 4. Yak-36 No. 3 in flight

Rice. 5. Test pilot V. Mukhin at the Yak-36

Ground tests of the Yak-36 began in 1962. Yury Garnaev, who worked at the LII and had extensive experience in flying the Turbolet, was appointed the lead test pilot. Initially, the aircraft was fixed on a specially built stand at a height of up to 5 m. Thus, without risking the pilot and the machine, they were looking for technical solutions to reduce the harmful effects of hot gases on the airframe and power plant.

In January 1963, the Yak-36 was ready for flight tests. The first flight on it was made by Garnaev. At first, the experimental machine made small runs along the strip and vertical approaches to low altitude. Unexpectedly, in the midst of the tests, Garnasva (as a good helicopter pilot) was sent to France to put out fires from a Mi-6 helicopter. A pilot from the Design Bureau Valentin Mukhin was appointed test pilot on the Yak-36. After the tragic death of Garnaev, Mukhin had to shoulder the brunt of the tests of the “vertical line”. And it took time to master it. The first flight on the product "B" Mukhin performed July 27, 1964.

In April-August 1965, the hover mode of the aircraft was practiced. The machine was controlled in vertical takeoff and landing modes both using the automation system and manually. It turned out that in case of failure of the automated control system, manual control allows you to balance the aircraft. The full test program for the Yak-36 lasted nine months. During this time (as well as during tests on the stand), the machine was repeatedly refined. To prevent hot gases from entering the air intake under the fuselage, a large-area protective shield deflected during takeoffs and landings was installed. However, this problem could not be completely solved on vertically taking off aircraft of later designs.

The demonstration of the third prototype of the Yak-36 at the aviation parade in July 1967 in Domodedovo turned out to be sensational. Mukhin, having performed a “vertical dance” in front of the audience and a horizontal circular flight, softly landed the car, causing delight among those present and unprecedented interest among numerous foreign guests. However, few people knew that the day before the parade, during the dress rehearsal, the same pilot suffered a minor accident on the second prototype. The organizers of the holiday and the companies provided for this option and prepared two cars for public display. A few days before the rehearsal, a pair of Yak-36s with tail numbers 37 and 38 were transported to Domodedovo and parked at a remote airport parking lot.

For the parade under the wings of the Yak-36, two blocks of NURS UB-16-57 were suspended. According to the project, it was supposed to install a twin gun GSh-23. But the plane was purely experimental and could not be used for military purposes. Flight characteristics the machines turned out to be low, and the power plant did not allow to establish a normal combat load. With a takeoff weight of 11,700 kg (without combat equipment), the maximum speed was 1,009 km / h, the ceiling was 12,000 m, and the flight range was only 370 km.

Flight tests of the Yak-36 showed that with the chosen scheme of the power plant, it was still too difficult to balance the aircraft in the vertical takeoff and landing mode, as well as in the transition mode to horizontal flight. Therefore, after the demonstration of the car at the parade in Domodedovo, further work on it was stopped (the first prototype was subsequently transferred to the museum exhibition in Monino), and since 1968 they began to develop a new aircraft with a combined power plant.

This time the work was exclusively targeted. New aircraft-carrying cruisers were included in the construction (this is how the Soviet Union decided to call aircraft carriers), and by the time the first of them was launched, an experimental batch of carrier-based attack aircraft was to be built. The OKB brigade, which started developing the new VM product, was headed by S. Mordovia, who at that time held the position of Deputy Chief Designer. The aircraft was named Yak-36M. Among the employees of the Yakovlev Design Bureau there is no unambiguous confirmation of what the “M” index stands for. Most believe that this symbol corresponds to the "marine" version. However, there is also an opinion that the "M" in the name of the aircraft and the product is traditionally deciphered as "modernized".

Rice. 6. Scheme of the Yak-36 aircraft

Rice. 7. Demonstration of the Yak-36 aircraft during the air parade in Domodedovo

Rice. 8. Stand for testing the power plant

Rice. 9. First prototype VM-01

Rice. 10. VM-02 at the stand

The new power plant of the VM product had a fundamentally different scheme. The engines were divided according to the direction of thrust. The main lift-and-flight engine participated in the take-off and landing mode by turning special nozzles on the nozzle into a vertical position. In the same mode, two lifting engines were also turned on, located one behind the other behind the cockpit at a slight angle to the vertical axis with an inclination forward. After vertical take-off, during the transition to normal aircraft mode, the thrust of the lifting engines was reduced to a complete shutdown (in level flight), and the rotary nozzles of the lift-cruise engine nozzles were gradually transferred to a horizontal position. Due to the fact that it was quite difficult to achieve normal balancing of the aircraft with manual control of the power plant in takeoff and landing mode, it was decided to automate this process using a specially developed automated control system SAU-36.

It was decided to use the modified R27-300 as the main lifting and sustainer engine, which, after modernization, became officially known as the R27V-300 (product "49"). It had a twin-shaft layout and consisted of an eleven-stage axial compressor (five stages of a low-pressure rotor and six stages of a high-pressure rotor), an annular combustion chamber, a two-stage turbine with cooled nozzle vanes and first-stage rotor blades, and a curved jet nozzle with two rotary tapering nozzles, driven by two hydraulic motors. Initially, during tests, the bench thrust slightly exceeded 6000 kgf, later (during the serial production of Yak-38 aircraft) it was brought up to 6800 kgf.

Lifting engines of the RD36-35 type were created at the Rybinsk Engine Design Bureau (RKBM) under the leadership of P. Kolesov and passed a large test cycle at the T-58VD flying laboratories (reworking the first prototype of the Su-15 interceptor and an experimental short takeoff and landing aircraft), " 23-31 "(experimental MiG-21 with additional lifting engines, created for the same purpose) and an experimental Mikoyan Design Bureau fighter "23-01" with a combined power plant. RD36-35 had a six-stage compressor and a single-stage turbine. With their own weight of 176 kg, they provided maximum take-off thrust up to 2350 kgf.

Rice. 11. VM-02

Rice. 12. VM-02 with Kh-23 missiles

Rice. 14. Tests of the Yak-Z6M at the stand

Rice. 13. The fuselage of the Yak-Z6M, suspended under the Tu-16 flying laboratory

It took almost a year to develop a new project and prepare the first working drawings. On January 10, 1969, at the pilot production of the Design Bureau, the construction of a flying laboratory DLL began, designed to test the power plant in flights with a hook under a specially equipped Tu-16 laboratory aircraft. The DLL fuselage was supposed to be manufactured by the Saratov Aviation Plant.

In the same month, on January 23, the fuselage of the first prototype of the “VM” product was laid in the slipway (in the Design Bureau, the first prototype of the Yak-3bM was called “EVM”, as well as “VM-01”).

The construction of the DLL lasted until the end of May, and on May 28 it was transferred to CIAM (Central Institute of Aviation Motors) for ground testing. They lasted six months (from the end of 1969 to June 1970), and in July 1970 the laboratory was transferred for flight tests to the FRI.

April 14 next year completed the construction of the first prototype of the new aircraft. The car was immediately transported to the OKB flight test complex in Zhukovsky. From the middle of 1970, ground finishing work on the aircraft began, which lasted almost a year. In May-July, the car was lifted above the ground with the help of a cable-crane and thus the power plant and the aircraft were tested in hover mode. On September 22, the first independent vertical approach of a computer (VM-01) took place, which was made by the chief pilot of the company V. Mukhin. The second approach was made a week later - on September 29th.

During 1970, intensive construction of the second experimental machine VM-02 was going on. On October 5, the assembly of the aircraft was completed, and 10 days later the second prototype was transported to Zhukovsky. On November 24 and 25, Mukhin performed the first high-speed taxiing and runs along the LII runway on it, and on December 25 (according to V. Mukhin's flight book on December 2), he also made the first approach. In the same year, construction began on the third prototype of the Yak-36M.

In 1971, the first two prototypes were being finalized, and on March 29 the construction of the third machine was completed (they were transported to Zhukovsky on May 17). The first horizontal flight of VM-01 was performed on May 25. Three weeks later, on June 16, pilot Shevyakov lifted the VM-03 into the air, also performing a “horizontal”, but the plane turned over during landing and was under repair until June 1972.

In the first half of 1972, intensive factory tests of the Yak-Z6M were underway. By the summer, two experimental cars had to be presented for state tests. On February 25, the first flight in a full profile (as the design bureau calls a flight with a vertical launch, horizontal flight and vertical landing) was performed by VM-02, and on March 20 the same program was carried out on a computer (VM-01). Since the end of spring, the first prototype began to be modified for a new air intake, and this, in turn, required a re-testing of the aircraft control system.

By the summer, the third prototype VM-03 was also restored. On June 19, he made his first vertical takeoff, and on August 1, a full profile flight. At the end of February of the same year, the fourth prototype VM-04 was put into construction.

State joint tests (GSI), conducted by the customer (Naval Aviation), the Ministry of Aviation Industry and the Yakovlev Design Bureau, began in the summer of 1972. They were divided into two stages - "A" and "B". Stage "A" tests were to be carried out with a simplified set of equipment. Each of the presented cars had to pass both stages. VM-02 began to pass the GSI on June 30 and completed the "A" stage on March 20, 1973. The VM-03 entered the tests in September 1972 and completed the "A" stage on March 10 of the following year. Built at the end of January 1973, VM-04 was transported to the flat-testing station in Zhukovsky in March, and on April 1, state tests also began to be carried out on it. Connected to the state tests and the first experimental machine. Stage "A" for computers (VM-01) and VM-04 ended on September 30th. At this time, the tests of stage "B" on the second and third prototypes, which began on April 11, 1973, were already in full swing.

The main event of the tests of stage "A" was the first landing of the Yak-36M aircraft in the history of Soviet aviation on the deck of the large anti-submarine ship-helicopter carrier "Moskva", which was in the open sea. It was completed on November 18, 1972 by test pilot Mikhail Deksbakh on the second experimental machine VM-02. And on November 22, on the same plane, he landed in a full profile, i.e. with. with a vertical launch from the deck of the ship and a vertical landing on the deck.

Rice. 15. Yak-36M on the hangar deck of the aircraft-carrying cruiser "Kyiv"

Rice. 16. Dashboard of the Yak-38 aircraft

Rice. 17. Scheme of the Yak-38 aircraft

Rice. 18. English vertically taking off carrier-based fighter British Aerospace "Sea Harrier" FRS.1

Figure 19. Yak-38 above the deck of the ship

Rice. 21. "Sea Harrier" before landing on the deck of an aircraft carrier

Rice. 20. English carrier-based fighter "Sea Harrier" - the closest "relative" of the Soviet Yak-38

Rice. 22. Vertically taking off aircraft of the US Marine Corps AV-8B

Rice. 23. Aircraft Yak-38 on the deck of the aircraft-carrying cruiser "Minsk"

For designers, testers and naval aviators these days have become a great holiday. Many of them believe that November 18 was the birthday of Soviet carrier-based aviation.

On November 1, 1973, tests began at stage “B” of VM-04, and on September 30, 1974, state tests of all four experimental machines were completed at this stage. Preliminary conclusion recommending the Yak-36M for launch in mass production, was signed in 1973, but the Saratov Aviation Plant began preparations for the production of these machines back in 1970-1971. in the process of building the fuselages of the third and fourth prototypes at this enterprise.

Three Yak-36M aircraft of the first series were built by the end of 1974. In the spring, the first production aircraft was sent to the Air Force Research and Test Institute in Akhtubinsk, the second to the finishing base of the shipyard(the plant was building aircraft-carrying cruisers of the "Kyiv" type), the third - in LII. The second series released later already consisted of five aircraft, and starting from the third, each subsequent series included 10 aircraft. They were equipped with lifting engines of the type RD36-35VF (product "24").

Rice. 24. Yak-38 aircraft on deck

Rice. 25. Ejection from the Yak-38 aircraft

Figure 26. Vertical launch Yak-38

Rice. 27. Yak-38 takes off after a short run

The first serial Yak-36M during 1975-1976. were mostly ground tested. Instruments, rifle sights, and other on-board equipment were tested, and aircraft armament options were also tested. So, for example, the ASP-17BMTs rifle sight was debugged on the second serial machine in 1976, and the eighth machine of the third series was intended for testing another model of the sight - ASP-PDF21 (from the MiG-21PF aircraft).

Almost from the very beginning of the design of the “VM” product, the development of its two-seat training version, the “VMU” product, began. The construction of the Sparka was set by a government decree of December 28, 1967. The working drawings of the VMU were put into production on June 30, 1971, and the first prototype was transferred to the flight test station in Zhukovsky on March 24, 1972. From April to March 1973 ground testing of aircraft systems was carried out, and on March 23 the car took to the air for the first time. Stage "A" of state joint tests ended on October 24, 1974, but in the spring the technical documentation was transferred to the Saratov Aviation Plant for the construction of the first two serial training machines by mid-1975.

Two machines of the first series were manufactured on time and in June 1975 they were already in the test center of the Aviation of the Navy in the city of Saki (Crimea). In 1976, the first "spark" of the second series passed the state joint tests of the "B" stage, and the second was sent for static tests. In total, the second series of "VMU" consisted of three aircraft, and starting from the fourth, each series of training aircraft consisted of five aircraft.

After the start of production of the Yak-36M at the Saratov Aviation Plant, each of the serial aircraft underwent short control tests, and then either sent for special tests (testing various systems, equipment and weapons), or was used to train naval aviation pilots. So, for example, three cars of the second series in November 1975 were at the base in Saki. Pilots of the naval aviation regiment that was being formed were trained on them. An experienced pilot Feoktist Matkovsky, who had previously flown fighters and helicopters of the Navy aviation, was appointed commander of the regiment.

By the spring of 1975, the first Soviet aircraft-carrying cruiser "Kyiv" was prepared for deck tests of the Yak-36M attack aircraft. The first deck of "Kyiv" was mastered by factory test pilots on VM-02. The practice of takeoffs and landings in the open sea was carried out from March to October, and on December 15, 1975, the regiment commander F. Matkovsky made the first landing on the Kiev. The process of commissioning an aircraft carrier began.

Rice. 28. Start Yak-38 from a mobile platform

Rice. 29. Two-seat combat training aircraft Yak-38U

Rice. 30. Two-seat combat training aircraft Yak-38U

Rice. 31. Two-seat combat training aircraft Yak-38U

In the summer of 1976, the first formed squadron of Yak-36M carrier-based attack aircraft was relocated to Kiev. In the same year, the aircraft was put into service under the designation Yak-38, and its training version became known as the Yak-28U. More than 20 vehicles were housed in the cruiser's hangar below deck. The delivery of aircraft prepared for flight was carried out by lifts. After the flights, the wings of the cars were folded and one by one they were lowered into the hangar.

The Western press began to write seriously about the Yak-38 after the aircraft-carrying cruiser Kiev crossed the Bosphorus Strait on July 15, 1976 and entered the Mediterranean Sea. The aircraft, which was given the NATO code name "Forger", was called the Yak-36MP, which was not far from the truth. Observers believed that the Kiev-class ships (Minsk, Novorossiysk, Baku) were capable of carrying 12 vertical take-off and landing combat vehicles. The real capacity of Soviet aircraft carriers was much higher. "Kyiv" went out into the world's oceans to "show itself" - to demonstrate the capabilities of the Soviet fleet. However, they were much lower than the Soviet leaders wanted.

The operation of Yak-38 aircraft by aviation of the Navy began during the testing of the first production aircraft. Serial carrier-based attack aircraft were sent from the factory to two air bases - in Saki and Severomorsk. Severomorsk was the main base of the Northern Fleet, which was going to include an aircraft-carrying cruiser. In addition, it was necessary to test the aircraft in the conditions of the Far North - a zone with low air temperature and unsuitable for the construction of a large network of airfields. The ability of the Yak-38 to launch from small platforms or mobile platforms meant its use not only on a ship, but also as a coastal defense aircraft.

Almost all of the first serial attack aircraft went to Saki. In the mid-70s, they also appeared at the base in Severomorsk. In August - September 1977, eight aircraft were already in operational testing. In December of the same year, nine aircraft were already flying at low temperatures.

Western firms that created vertical take-off and landing aircraft learned from their own experience the difficulties of testing these machines, which often ended in accidents. The Yak-38 was no exception. The first serious accident occurred in Saratov at the factory airfield on April 4, 1975, when test pilot Mikhail Deksbakh flew over the third aircraft of the second series. The landing was made with one engine running, as the second did not start. The aircraft was so badly damaged that it was never repaired.

March 4, 1976 in the same place, in Saratov, crashed Yak-38 military pilot Colonel Khomyakov. The SK-EM ejection system spontaneously worked. On April 9, 1977, an accident occurred with the first serial machine at the Air Force Research and Test Center in Akhtubinsk.

piloted by Colonel Peshkov. A year later, on June 6, 1977, the first catastrophe occurred in Severomorsk due to the breakdown of one of the rotary nozzles of the lift-and-flight engine nozzle. The next day, in the city of Saki, Captain Novichkov was forced to eject from the second car of the third series - one of the steering pipes burst. Many accidents, starting from October 1978, occurred on the Minsk cruiser. From January 1979 to September 1980, seven aircraft crashed. They were operated not only by military pilots, but also by the company's pilots. On December 27, 1979, while taking off from the deck with a short takeoff, due to the non-rotation of the nozzle of the lift-and-flight engine, a two-seat Yak-38U piloted by Dexbach and Kononenko fell into the sea. After bailing out of the water, Dexbach was more fortunate - he landed right on the deck. Kononenko had to use rescue equipment.

However, for objectivity, it is necessary to compare the accident statistics of the English Harrier aircraft and the Soviet Yak-38. From 1969 to 1980, 241 Harriers entered service. During this period, 83 crashes occurred, in which 57 aircraft were completely destroyed and 25 pilots died. From 1974 to 1980, 115 Yak-38s were in the aviation units of the fleet, of which 16 crashed (four pilots died). Therefore, it is better to draw a conclusion about the reliability of the Soviet carrier-based attack aircraft with an eye on the Harrier.

The Yak-38 attack aircraft underwent military tests not only in the Far North and the hot South, but also in high mountain conditions. Four cars were sent to Afghanistan in April 1980 and stayed there until mid-summer. Design Bureau pilot Yu. Mitikov, together with several military pilots, practiced take-offs, landings, flights in a full profile in conditions of low pressure and high ambient temperature. After the tests, they concluded that it was impossible to use an attack aircraft with an existing power plant in high mountainous conditions.

In the process of mass production, the Yak-38 was constantly improved. The engine builders of the RKBM and the Soyuz research and production association managed to increase the thrust of the lifting and lifting propulsion engines. Instead of RD36-35VF, they began to install RD36-35VFR (product "28"), the designation R27V-300 with increased thrust has not changed. Before the decision was made to replace product "24" with product "28" in the lift engine compartment, the latter were tested on several early series Yak-38s (for example, improved PDs were installed on the second production vehicle in the fall of 1976).

The problem of getting hot gases reflected from the take-off area to the power plant inputs was not solved on the plane either. First, on several serial Yak-38s, special reflective ribs were worked out, located at the top of the fuselage on the sides of the air intake of the lifting engine compartment, as well as under the fuselage, starting from its middle (tests were carried out at the LII and at the base in Saki). Then this revision was introduced into the series. In addition, ribs were also gradually installed on previously released cars.

In the process of serial production of the Yak-38, the means of emergency evacuation of the aircraft were also improved. The KYA-1 ejection seat and the SK-EM system were replaced with the K-36VM seat and the SK-EMP system with an extended range of application in terms of speed and flight altitude.

The designers, together with the customer, worked hard on the armament of the Yak-38. The Yak-38 aircraft was equipped with an onboard weapon system, allowing it to be used against land and sea targets day and night, and also, if necessary, against air targets in the daytime. The armament was suspended on four beam holders BDZ-60-23F1, installed in the root parts of the wing symmetrically in two relative to the axis of the aircraft.

When attacking land and sea targets, X-23 guided missiles together with the Delta NT radio command guidance equipment, unguided rockets, bombs of up to 500 kg caliber, ZB-500 incendiary tanks, and special weapons could be used. To destroy air targets, homing missiles R-60 or R-60M can be suspended on pylons. The total mass of the combat load with a vertical launch is up to 1000 kg, with a short takeoff run - up to 1500 kg.

Rice. 32. Two-seat combat training aircraft Yak-38U

Due to the impossibility of deploying new complexes, the range of guided missile weapons was sharply limited. They tried to embed the GSH-23 twin cannon into the aircraft fuselage. Even before the completion of the tests, the developers, confident in the success, made a change to the armament section of the technical description for serial vehicles (according to some, the gun is considered a structural element). However, during tests when firing from the built-in GSh-23, the engines often began to surge, and the location of the gun in the fuselage had to be abandoned. It turned out to be possible to use under the wings of the Yak-38 only hanging cannon containers UPK-23-250.

The control of the use of weapons was carried out using the SSH-45-100-OS photocontrol device.

Even during state tests, designers and the military faced one serious problem. Due to the dependence of the take-off weight on the ambient temperature, it had to be limited. The mass of the combat load also decreased accordingly. To increase it, it was necessary to reduce the fuel supply on the aircraft, and, consequently, the range. In order to maintain a normal combat load and increase the flight range, it was necessary to install a simplified set of equipment and weapons on the first production vehicles. In addition, they began to test the Yak-38 on takeoff with a short takeoff (WRC) and landing with low mileage. With a short takeoff run, the combat load of the vehicle and the flight range were significantly increased due to fuel economy. Takeoff tests with a short takeoff run were carried out on the ground, then in 1979 on the aircraft-carrying cruiser "Minsk". There were some accidents: during the testing of the WRC regime at Minsk in conditions of high temperature and humidity in the Indian Ocean, LII test pilot Oleg Kononenko died.

Although the main customer of the Yak-38 was the Navy, it was supposed to use the aircraft from land airfields. good example served the English "Harrier". Comprehensive testing of the Yak-38 in ground conditions confirmed the possibility of its operation in the ground forces. Significantly expanded the capabilities of the machine when it is operated from mobile sites. The site was a kind of mobile airfield. The location of such an airfield could change several times during the day. The takeoff of the aircraft from the mobile platform did not differ from the takeoff from the deck of the ship. Landing could be carried out elsewhere. After takeoff, the platform could be folded and transported by a tractor.

To study the possibilities of using Yak-38 aircraft on civilian ships of the Roro type (container ships), special tests were carried out. On the upper deck of the container ship, an 18x23 m runway was additionally laid from slabs with a metal coating K-1D. Landing on it was easy. Naval aviation pilots mastered the technique of landing and take-off from such a site on the container ship Nikolay Cherkasov. Tests have shown that such ships can be used to deliver Yak-38 aircraft to heavy aircraft-carrying cruisers in remote areas of the World Ocean.

The limited range of the attack aircraft, the inability to install new equipment, weapons, and a number of other serious shortcomings forced the designers of the Yakovlev Design Bureau to look for ways to modernize the aircraft. Since the late 70s, several projects have been developed. According to one of them, which initially received the code "VMM" ("VM" modernized), it was supposed to install improved engines with increased thrust on the car, modify the air intakes, wing, stabilizer, make the front landing gear controllable, and most importantly, make it possible to suspend additional tanks with fuel. It was also supposed to use new equipment and expand the range of weapons used. But another project, which received the code "39" (sometimes it was also called the Yak-39), was scheduled to replace the engines of the power plant with more powerful ones, increase the wing area, and place the new PRN-39 sighting and navigation system and radar station. This made it possible to turn the aircraft into a full-fledged fighter (it was supposed to create several modifications, including an attack aircraft). Turned around a little later design work and on the product "48" (the future Yak-41M, or Yak-141).

Rice. 33. Yak-38 and promising supersonic vertically taking off aircraft Yak-141

Rice. 34. Schematic layout of the Yak-38 aircraft

Experienced aircraft VM-01

Combat training aircraft Yak-38U

Vertically taking off aircraft Yak-38

A lot depended on the engine developers. The Soyuz Research and Production Association, headed by O. Favorsky, was finishing work on a new R28-300 lift-and-flight engine (product "59") with a vertical thrust of 6700 kgf. which was a significantly improved P27B-300 with a new low pressure rotor and a new nozzle. The high pressure rotor, combustion chamber and turbine were taken from the old! models. The designers of the Rybinsk Design Bureau also managed to improve the parameters of the lifting engines. The new PD type RD-38 had a thrust of 3250 kgf. These engines were supposed to be used in the power plant of the modernized Yak-38.

In the process of designing an improved version of the aircraft, he was assigned a new code - product "82". Several copies were put into construction at once: two for flight tests ("82-1" and "82-2"), one for static tests and one more - as a flying laboratory J1J1-82 for testing a new power plant.

The construction of two experimental Yak-38M machines (this name was given to the modernized aircraft) was completed in 1982. Not all of the previously planned improvements were implemented on the new carrier-based attack aircraft. Almost completely preserved appearance The former machine, the Yak-38M, differed from the carrying power plant, air intakes, some changes in the design of the fuselage and load-bearing surfaces, a swivel front landing gear and the ability to install external fuel tanks. The changes affected the composition of equipment and weapons. At the end of 1982, even before the start of testing, it was decided to launch the 82 product into mass production.

The tests, which began in 1983, were carried out for several years. The flight and tactical characteristics of the Yak-38M have improved compared to the Yak-38. The take-off weight at the start with a short takeoff run increased to 11,800 kg, and the maximum load on the external hardpoints was up to 2,000 kg. During vertical takeoff with a load of 750 kg, the flight range increased to 410 km, and during takeoff with a short takeoff run and a load of 1000 kg, up to 600 km. The new model of the carrier-based attack aircraft replaced the previous one on the assembly line of the Saratov Aviation Plant.

In the spring of 1984, tests began on the first prototype of the Yak-38M ("82-1") on the heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser "Minsk" (test pilot Sinitsin). The aircraft was adopted by the fleet aviation, and its deliveries to ships began in the mid-80s. And yet, it was not possible to realize the idea of ​​​​a highly efficient vertical take-off and landing combat vehicle. Most of the Yak-38M aircraft in service could not be equipped with external fuel tanks, and the fuel consumption of the modified power plant increased. This means a further reduction in the combat radius of the attack aircraft. According to the chief designer of the aircraft A. Zvyagintsev, in the absence of external tanks, the Yak-38M had no advantages over the Ka-29 attack helicopter.

In the summer of 1989, the Yak-38 was first publicly demonstrated at the exposition of the aviation exhibition on Khodynka. Before that, the car could also be seen in the Monino Aviation Museum. Visitors to the Mosaeroshow-92 air show could see the Yak-38U in flight with a Mi-8 helicopter, a flag was stretched between them. This composition of the pair was forced: the helicopter replaced the single-seat Yak-38 that crashed before the start of the air show during a training flight. But Muscovites, residents of Zhukovsky and many foreign journalists, since August 1989, have repeatedly observed the “dance” of two vertical takeoff and landing aircraft during the celebration of Aviation Day. The flights were carried out by LII test pilots.

In the summer of 1992, OKB pilots A. Sinitsin and V. Yakimov at the Kubinka airfield demonstrated to American pilots Allan Princeton and David Price (both former pilots of the US Navy and now owners of the museum in Santa Monix, California) a double training training aircraft Yak-38U. The Americans came to Moscow at the invitation of Alexander Dondukov, General Designer of the Design Bureau. They became the first foreign pilots to fly the Yak-38.

In the autumn of the same year, the Yak-38M was demonstrated at an exhibition in Farnborough along with the second copy of the Yak-141 aircraft. However, the Yak-38 was not shown in flights, its “younger brother” flew only once.

Problems related to the reliability of the power plant, control systems, low weight payload and a short range did not allow the use of the first Soviet carrier-based attack aircraft in full force. The collapse of the USSR and the division of the Armed Forces to a large extent affected Navy. The resource of many Yak-38s was already exhausted, most of the vehicles were sent to coastal bases. The Saratov Aviation Plant was never able to establish serial production of external fuel tanks, and without them, the tactical data of the aircraft was sharply reduced. The Russian government was unable to find funds to restore the resource of carrier-based attack aircraft, which were produced by more than 200 copies. Currently, all of them are mothballed and their fate is unknown, as well as the new promising supersonic vertical takeoff and landing aircraft Yak-141, created to replace the Yak-38 and did not even pass (through no fault of the developers) a full test cycle.

The company, which has extensive experience in the creation of VTOL aircraft, is looking for customers. But will they be found?

Fuselage length without PVD, m 15.47

Wingspan, m:

in flight position 7.022

in the folded position 4.88

Wing area with ventral part, m 2 18,69

Height of the aircraft in the parking lot, m 4.25

Chassis track, m 2.76

Chassis base, m 6.06

Weight of empty aircraft, kg 7,484

Takeoff weight, kg

normal 10 400

maximum 11 300

Mass of combat load, kg:

normal at vertical start 1000

maximum with a short takeoff run 1500

Maximum speed, km/m 1050

Practical ceiling, m 11 000

Tactical range, km 185

The Ministry of Defense is discussing the creation of a new vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, the project for which was frozen in the 90s. We are talking about the revival of the SVPP series developed at the Yakovlev Design Bureau; when creating a new aircraft, the technological backlog developed during the development work on the creation of the Yak-141 can be used.

Reference:
The last demonstration of the Yak-141 was its appearance at the air show in Farnborough, the unique fighter did not receive a single order from either domestic or foreign customers. Potential clients did not see the need to purchase VTOL aircraft. “Yaku” were not very happy.

In 1995, Lockheed Martin, which was just working on a 5th generation VTOL fighter, provided funding in exchange for receiving technical data and limited design data on the Yak-141 and other domestic VTOL projects.
It is not for nothing that the Russian information space is still arguing that the layout and components of the latest Lockheed Martin F-35B VTOL fighter are so reminiscent of our Yak-141.

For what and why is the Ministry of Defense reviving the forgotten technology of the USSR?

Great hopes were placed on the Yak-141, it was a truly breakthrough technology. There are quite a few world records behind this aircraft:

In 2003, when the Yaka project was finally closed, no one could have imagined that VTOL technology would be so relevant for Russia. The Russian Navy relied on naval MiGs and Su. But now, when Russia has decided to build a second aircraft carrier, a vertical takeoff fighter would be extremely relevant.

Is everything new a well-forgotten old?

Alexey Zakvasin

Several types of ship-based aircraft may appear in Russia. This was stated at MAKS-2017 by the Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Yuri Borisov. In particular, the military department plans to revive the project of a carrier-based vertical takeoff and landing aircraft of the Yakovlev Design Bureau. The machine can be part of the air wing of new aircraft carriers, which will enter service by 2030. Also, the Ministry of Defense does not exclude the creation of a ship version of the light fighter of the 4 ++ generation MiG-35. RT figured out what the future of Russian carrier-based aviation could be.

• RIA News

Russian Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov told reporters that the department is discussing the creation of a promising aircraft for aircraft carriers. We are talking about short and vertical takeoff and landing machines. According to him, the Ministry of Defense is considering asking the Yakovlev Design Bureau for help.

“This is the development of the Yakovskaya line, which was discontinued. There are such plans, we are discussing them, including, perhaps, these areas will be implemented for a promising aircraft for aircraft-carrying cruisers, ”Borisov said at the International Aviation and Space Salon (MAKS-2017).

The Deputy Minister of Defense explained that the new aircraft will be needed for aircraft carriers, which are planned to be laid "at the finish line" of the 2018-2025 state armaments program. Borisov stressed that the development of a vertical take-off aircraft is a long-term issue.

12 world records

In Russia, the monopoly on the production of vertical take-off and landing aircraft (VTOL) is held by JSC Experimental Design Bureau named after V.I. A.S. Yakovlev". In 1966, the Yak-36 carrier-based attack aircraft made its first public flight. The model became a prototype for more advanced samples of this type.

Since 1977, the Soviet Navy has operated the Yak-38, the first Soviet serial VTOL aircraft. The attack aircraft was assembled at the Saratov Aviation Plant. The aircraft was based on aircraft-carrying cruisers of project 1143 "Kyiv", "Minsk", "Novorossiysk", "Baku".

• Yak-38


• RIA News

In 1985, tests of a prototype Yak-41M began, which was supposed to be supersonic, maneuverable and multifunctional. The Yakovlev Design Bureau abandoned the modernization of the Yak-38 and eventually created a fundamentally new machine, better known as the Yak-141.

In September - October 1991, the Yak-141 underwent flight tests in the Northern Fleet. The Yakovlev Design Bureau presented a unique machine that surpassed foreign counterparts in terms of performance. In September 1992, the Yak-141 was successfully demonstrated at an exhibition in British Farnborough.

Yak-141 under the control of test pilot Andrey Sinitsyn set 12 world records. The car received all the advantages of the fourth generation aircraft. The Yak-141 was able to cover aircraft carrier formations, strike at surface and ground targets.

Despite the obvious prospects, the Yakovlev Design Bureau project was frozen due to unresolved property issues with Ukraine and the course to reduce the Navy. As a result, Russia has only one aircraft-carrying cruiser, the Admiral Kuznetsov, which is still home to the Su-33 and MiG-29K/KUB.

There was no practical need for the development of the Yak-141 in the 1990s, but 25 years later it reappeared. At the end of June 2017, the Ministry of Defense announced ambitious plans to build by 2025 two Priboy-class amphibious assault ships (UDC) and one Project 23000 Storm aircraft carrier by 2030.

Terrible and whimsical

The vertical takeoff and landing aircraft is a revolutionary development of aircraft designers. The machine takes up little space on the deck, and its strike power and combat effectiveness cannot be compared with the capabilities of a helicopter.

However, like any other military equipment, VTOL, in addition to advantages, has its drawbacks.

Climbing into the sky requires an aircraft to take off vertically with a huge reserve of engine thrust, which, at the moment of takeoff from the ground, operate at maximum speed. As a result, the aircraft “eats up” an unthinkable amount of fuel and is sometimes unsafe for use in southern latitudes and in hot weather.

Increased fuel consumption reduces the combat radius and carrying capacity of VTOL aircraft. In addition, an aircraft of this type is difficult to manage and expensive to operate. The highest level of qualification is required from the pilots and technical team of vertical take-off machines.

The pioneers in the development of vertically taking off aircraft were the British company Hawker Siddeley, which has been producing the Harrier fighter-bomber family since 1967. Despite the apparent sluggishness, the car demonstrated good qualities in real air combat.

• Harrier GR3


• Wikimedia

In 1982, in the Falklands conflict, Harriers performed admirably, fighting Argentine fighters that were forced to take off from continental bases. At the same time, British aircraft could take off literally from any piece of land and justified their use on aircraft carrier ships.

For new aircraft carriers

World experience in the operation of vertical take-off aircraft allows us to conclude that they are a necessary link in carrier-based aviation. However, the main role was retained by aircraft with a shortened or regular takeoff due to their less whimsicality and superiority in combat radius. To date, designers have not found an effective replacement for the arrester and catapult.

For example, the US Navy has been trying for several years to determine the combat mission of the fifth-generation ship-based fighter F-35B. It is noteworthy that this Lockheed Martin aircraft was created on the basis of “limited design data” purchased from the Yakovlev Design Bureau and outwardly resembles the Yak-38 rather than the Yak-141.

Given the plans of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation to increase the aircraft carrier fleet, Russia will need both short and regular takeoff aircraft and VTOL aircraft. Current statements by representatives of the military department indicate that the new aircraft carriers can become the base for the Yakovlev Design Bureau aircraft and the ship version of the MiG-35 4++ generation fighter.

However, practically nothing is known about the situation with the development of the carrier-based version of the fifth generation T-50 fighter. On the model of the aircraft carrier of the project 23000 "Storm" presented in 2015, small copies of the T-50, Su-33 and MiG-29K are clearly visible.

Technological breakthrough

The founder of the Military Russia portal, Dmitry Kornev, in a conversation with RT, suggested that a mixed air wing would be based on the Storm, but doubted the need to place a promising version of the Yak-141 there. The expert sees the use of the future Yakovlev Design Bureau aircraft as a striking force on universal landing ships.

"Storm" will be large enough, and therefore it makes sense to place a full-fledged air group there. Let me remind you that the Yak-38 was developed for cruisers, and I think that it would be logical to place the Yakovlev aircraft on the new UDC, Mistral-type ships and, probably, on the Admiral Kuznetsov, ”Kornev argues.

At the same time, Kornev stressed that VTOL aircraft would not be able to be based on the landing ships of the Navy. Soviet-made because they lack the necessary infrastructure. Yakovlev's promising aircraft will be adapted only for new floating platforms, although it will be able to land on all ships with a helipad.

“In general, the news about the possible revival of the Yak-141 project is positive. Undoubtedly, this will be a technological breakthrough and will improve the quality of our design and flight schools. But it’s too early to draw any conclusions, since information about the military use of a vertical take-off aircraft needs to be specified, ”said Kornev.

The design of aircraft with vertical takeoff and landing is associated with great difficulties associated with the need to create light engines, controllability at near-zero speeds, etc.

Currently, there are many projects of vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, many of which have already been implemented in real vehicles.

Aircraft with propellers

One of the solutions to the problem of vertical takeoff and landing is the creation of an aircraft in which the lift force during takeoff and landing is created by turning the axis of rotation of the propellers, and in horizontal flight - by the wing. Turning the axis of rotation of the propellers can be achieved by turning the engine or wing. The wing of such an aircraft (Fig. 160) is made according to a multi-spar scheme (at least two spars) and is hinged to the fuselage. The wing turning mechanism is most often a screw jack with synchronized rotation, which provides a change in the wing installation angle by an angle of more than 90 °.

The wing is equipped throughout the span with multi-slotted flaps. In areas where the wing is not blown air flow from the propeller, or where the blowing speeds are low (in the central part of the wing), slats are installed to help eliminate flow stall at high angles of attack. The vertical tail is relatively large (to improve directional stability at low flight speeds) and is equipped with a rudder. The stabilizer of such an aircraft is usually controlled. The angles of installation of the stabilizer can vary within wide limits, providing the transition of the aircraft from vertical takeoff to horizontal flight and vice versa. The base of the keel passes into the rearward tail boom, on which a small-diameter, variable-pitch tail rotor is mounted in a horizontal plane, providing longitudinal control in hovering and transient flight modes.

The power plant consists of several powerful turboprop engines, which are small in size and have a low specific gravity of about 0.114 kg / l. s., which is very important for aircraft vertical takeoff and landing of any scheme, since such devices during vertical takeoff must have more thrust than weight. In addition to overcoming weight, thrust must overcome aerodynamic resistance and create acceleration to accelerate the aircraft to a speed at which the wing lift will fully compensate for the weight of the aircraft, and the control airfoils will be sufficiently effective.

A serious design flaw in VTOL aircraft propellers is that ensuring flight safety and reliable controllability of the aircraft during vertical takeoff and in transitional flight modes is achieved at the cost of making the structure heavier and more complex due to the use of a wing turning mechanism and a transmission that synchronizes the rotation of propellers.

The aircraft control system is also complex. Control during takeoff and landing and in cruise flight along three axes is carried out using conventional aerodynamic control surfaces, but in hover and. transition modes before and after cruising, other control methods are used.

During vertical climb, longitudinal control is carried out using a horizontal tail rotor (with variable pitch) located behind the keel (Fig. 160, b), directional control is carried out by differential deflection of the end sections of the flaps blown by a jet from propellers, and lateral control is differential changing the pitch of the extreme propellers.

In the transitional mode, a gradual transition to control using conventional surfaces is carried out; for this, a command mixer is used, the operation of which is programmed depending on the angle of rotation of the wing. The control system includes a stabilization mechanism.

Improving the performance of VTOL aircraft with propellers is currently possible due to the fact that the propeller is enclosed in an annular channel (a short pipe of the appropriate diameter). Such a propeller develops thrust by 15-20% more than propeller thrust without a "fence". This is explained by the fact that the walls of the channel prevent the flow of compressed air from the lower surfaces of the screw to the upper ones, where the pressure is reduced, and exclude the dispersion of the flow from the screw to the sides. In addition, when air is sucked in by the screw above the annular channel, a low pressure area is created, and since the screw throws down the compressed air flow, the pressure difference on the upper and lower cuts of the channel ring leads to the formation of additional lifting force. On fig. 161, and shows a diagram of a vertical takeoff and landing aircraft with propellers installed in the annular channels. The aircraft is made according to the tandem scheme with four propellers driven by a common transmission.

Three-axis control in cruising and vertical flight (Fig. 161, b, c, d) is carried out mainly by differentially changing the pitch of the propellers and deflecting the flaps located horizontally in the jets thrown by the propellers behind the channels.

It should be noted that VTOL aircraft with propellers are capable of speeds of 600-800 km/h. Achieving higher subsonic, and even more so supersonic flight speeds is possible only with the use of jet engines.

Jet-powered aircraft

There are many schemes of vertical takeoff and landing aircraft with reactive thrust, but they can be quite strictly divided into three main groups according to the type of power plant: aircraft with a single power plant, with a composite power plant and with a power plant with thrust amplification units.

Planes with a single power plant, in which the same engine creates vertical and horizontal thrust (Fig. 162), can theoretically fly at speeds several times greater than the speed of sound. A serious disadvantage of such an aircraft is that an engine failure during takeoff or landing threatens with disaster.

An aircraft with a composite power plant can also fly with supersonic speeds. Its power plant consists of engines designed for vertical takeoff and landing (elevating) and engines for horizontal flight (marching), fig. 163.

Lifting engines have a vertically located axis, and marching engines have a horizontally located one. Failure of one or two lift engines during takeoff allows vertical takeoff and landing to continue. TRD, DTRD can be used as marching engines. Propulsion engines on takeoff may also be involved in the creation of vertical thrust. The thrust vector is deflected either by rotary nozzles or by turning the engine along with the nacelle.

On aircraft with jet engines, stability and controllability during takeoff, landing, hovering and transitional modes, when aerodynamic forces are absent or small in magnitude, is provided by gas-dynamic type control devices. According to the principle of operation, they are divided into three classes: with the selection of compressed air or hot gases from the power plant, using the magnitude of the propulsion thrust and using devices for deflecting the thrust vector.

Control devices with the selection of compressed air or gases are the most simple and reliable. An example of the layout of the control device with the selection of compressed air from lifting motors is shown in fig. 164.

Airplanes equipped with a power plant with thrust amplification units can have turbofan units (Fig. 165) or gas ejectors (Fig. 166), which create the necessary vertical thrust on takeoff. The power plants of these aircraft can be created on the basis of turbojet and diesel turbojet engines.

The power plant of the aircraft with thrust amplification units, shown in fig. 165, consists of two turbojet engines installed in the fuselage and creating horizontal thrust. During vertical takeoff and landing, turbojet engines are used as gas generators to drive two turbines with fans located in the wing, and one turbine with a fan in the forward fuselage. The front fan is only used for longitudinal control.

Aircraft control in vertical modes is provided by fans, and in level flight - by aerodynamic rudders. An aircraft with an ejector power plant, shown in fig. 166, has a power plant of two turbojet engines. To create vertical thrust, the gas flow is directed to an ejector device located in the central part of the fuselage. The device has two central air channels, from which the air is directed to the transverse channels with slotted nozzles at the ends.

Each turbojet is connected to one central channel and half of the transverse channels with nozzles, so that when one turbojet is turned off or fails, the ejector device continues to work. The nozzles go into the ejector chambers, which are closed by shutters on the upper and lower surfaces of the fuselage. During the operation of the ejector installation, the gases flowing out of the nozzle eject air, the volume of which is 5.5-6 times greater than the volume of gases, which is 30% higher than the thrust of the turbojet engine.

The gases flowing out of the ejector chambers have a low speed and temperature. This allows the aircraft to be operated from runways without special coating, in addition, the ejector device reduces the noise level of the turbojet engine. Aircraft control in cruise mode is carried out by conventional aerodynamic surfaces, and in takeoff, landing and transitional modes - by a system of jet rudders that provide stability and controllability of the aircraft.

Thrust vectoring power plants have several very serious drawbacks. Thus, a power plant with a turbofan unit requires large volumes to accommodate the fans, which makes it difficult to create a wing with a thin profile that normally operates in a supersonic flow. Even larger volumes require an ejector power plant.

Typically, such schemes have difficulties with the placement of fuel, which limits the range of the aircraft.

When considering the schemes of aircrafts of the VVP, an erroneous opinion may arise that the possibility of vertical take-off should pay off by reducing the payload lifted by the aircraft. Even approximate calculations support the conclusion that a vertical take-off aircraft with high flight speed can be created without significant losses in payload or range if the requirements of vertical take-off and landing are taken as the basis from the very beginning of aircraft design.

On fig. 167 shows the results of the analysis of the weights of conventional aircraft (normal takeoff) and GDP. Aircraft of equal takeoff weight are compared, having the same cruising speed, altitude, range and lifting the same payload. From the diagram in fig. 167 can be seen, but the VTOL aircraft (with 12 lift engines) has a power plant heavier than a conventional aircraft by about 6% of the takeoff weight of a normal takeoff aircraft.

In addition, lift engine nacelles add another 3% of the takeoff weight to the weight of the aircraft structure. Fuel consumption for takeoff and landing, including movement on the ground, is 1.5% more than that of a conventional aircraft, and the weight of the aircraft's additional equipment of GDP is 1%.

This additional weight, which is inevitable for a vertically taking off aircraft, equal to approximately 11.5% of the takeoff weight, can be compensated by reducing the weight of other elements of its structure.

So, for the aircraft of the GDP, the wing is made smaller in comparison with the aircraft of the usual scheme. In addition, there is no need for wing mechanization, and this reduces the weight by about 4.4%.

Further savings in aircraft weight can be expected from a reduction in the weight of the landing gear and tail unit. The weight of the undercarriage of a runway aircraft designed for a maximum sink rate of 3 m/s can be reduced by 2% of the takeoff weight compared to a conventional aircraft.

Thus, the weight balance of a runway aircraft shows that the weight of the runway aircraft structure is greater than the weight of a conventional aircraft by approximately 4.5% of the maximum takeoff weight of a conventional aircraft.

However, a conventional aircraft must have a significant reserve of fuel for flights in the holding area and for searching for an alternate airfield in bad weather. This reserve of fuel for a vertically taking off aircraft can be greatly reduced, since it does not need a runway and can land on almost any site, which may be small in size.

It follows from the foregoing that an aircraft with a take-off weight of the same as that of a conventional aircraft can carry the same payload and fly at the same speed and for the same range.

Used literature: "Fundamentals of Aviation" authors: G.A. Nikitin, E.A. Bakanov

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In the entire history of aviation, only a few aircraft have been created that can do without runways and literally “hover” in the air. Most of these machines were experimental: it was too expensive to "buy" such an unusual property. Only Britain managed, not without the help of the United States, to create a good vertical takeoff and landing aircraft "Harrier". In the USSR, there was also a similar fighter - it was the Yak-38, but it was not suitable for real combat operations. Much more promising could be the supersonic carrier-based multi-purpose Yak 141. It was already being tested, mass production was being prepared, however, the collapse of the USSR did not allow this project to be brought to its logical conclusion.

The history of the development of the vertical takeoff aircraft Yak-141

In 1970, the construction of the first Soviet aircraft carrier "Kyiv" began in the city of Nikolaev. In 1975, it was handed over to the customer, and then three more ships of the same project were launched - Minsk, Novorossiysk and Baku. Initially, it was assumed that all of them would be armed with Yak-38 carrier-based attack aircraft. This plane took off and landed vertically, which at one time made a strong impression on the military leadership of the USSR.

From the very beginning, it was clear that the combat capabilities of the Soviet carrier-based attack aircraft were very limited. The subsonic Yak with vertical takeoff could not lift more than one ton of payload, did not have an onboard radar station, was not capable of energetic maneuvering, as it had an extremely small combat radius - 195 kilometers (and in practice it is still half as much).

In KB A.S. Yakovlev, work was underway to improve the Yak-38, however, back in 1973, the designers began to think over a newer solution, involving the creation of a completely new machine. It was supposed to achieve a radical improvement in the basic characteristics of the aircraft thanks to a special engine. Its main innovation was to be the ability to work on the afterburner not only during normal horizontal flight, but also during takeoff in vertical mode.

As calculations showed, a power of 15,000 kgf is quite enough to lift a carrier-based aircraft into the air, but still early stage work, it was decided to use a power plant consisting of several engines, because otherwise it would not be possible to achieve balance during vertical takeoff and landing.

In 1977, the government of the USSR officially commissioned the Yakovlev Design Bureau to create a new carrier-based fighter that could also be operated by the conventional Air Force. The designers of the aircraft engine scientific and technical complex "Soyuz" should have taken up the development of the main (lifting and marching) engine. Two years before, the name Yak-41 was introduced for the aircraft. State tests were scheduled for 1982.

"Yakovlevtsy" could well meet the proposed deadlines, since by 1980 the main issues related to the layout and on-board equipment had been resolved. The State Commission positively assessed the full-size model of the fighter, and we have already talked about the manufacture of the first four aircraft, intended mainly for various experimental work.

But the creation of a lift-and-flight engine was delayed. The design of a fundamentally new nozzle caused particular difficulties - there were no such designs in any country of the world at that time. As a result, state tests were postponed first to 1985, and then to 1987.

The first flight of the future Yak-41 vertical take-off fighter was made on March 9, 1987, and this time it took off and landed like a regular plane - with a run and run. By this time, the car (at the special request of the Ministry of Defense) was somewhat redone - they tried to make it multi-purpose. The test cycle was noticeably prolonged: the worsening financial position THE USSR. In addition, back in 1984, D.F. Ustinov, who was perhaps the main supporter of vertical take-off aircraft, died - the project was left without a "patron".

In 1989, the fighter was renamed the Yak-141. This decision was due to the frank disruption of all previously designated deadlines for the aircraft creation program. Oddly enough, the name change helped to some extent - at the end of the same year, vertical take-off and hover was first tested. On June 13, 1990, the Yak-141 finally made its first full-fledged flight - it took to the air without a run, performed piloting, and then returned to its starting point and landed without a run.

By the fall of 1991, everything was ready for testing on the "regular" ship for the new fighter - the heavy aircraft carrier cruiser "Admiral of the Fleet Soviet Union Gorshkov" (first name - "Baku"). The first flights were successful, however, on October 5, the Yak-141 crashed while landing. The pilot ejected and was rescued, but this incident led to the closure of the aircraft program.

In other conditions, everything could be different, but the USSR was already dying - two months later the country collapsed. Leaders " new Russia"And" independent Ukraine ", as you might guess, did not show any interest in the Yak-141. In 1992, the fighter was shown at the Farnborough Air Show, and this became its "swan song". Attempts to find foreign buyers were unsuccessful, so the promising aircraft turned into a museum exhibit. All four aircraft carriers built for it were withdrawn from the Navy. One of them was cut up for scrap, the other two were turned into "entertainment technical parks", and only the former "Admiral Gorshkov" continues to serve, but not in the Russian, but in the Indian fleet.

Design features

There are three main fundamental differences between the Yak-141 fighter and all conventional "horizontal" aircraft:

1. Combined power plant with rotary engine nozzles;
2. jet rudders;
3. Automatic ejection system.

It is these features that allow the machine to perform a fully vertical or short takeoff, while providing the necessary level of safety for the pilot.

Glider

When creating the aircraft, the designers chose a normal aerodynamic configuration. At the same time, the Yak-141 differs markedly from its predecessor, the Yak-38 attack aircraft, primarily in the location of the wing - the new aircraft has become a high-wing aircraft. The main material used in the manufacture of the airframe is alloys based on aluminum and lithium. They make up almost 74% by weight. The rest falls mainly (26%) on composite materials. The individual parts are made of high temperature resistant titanium based alloys and hardened steel.

Fuselage

The nose of the fuselage was used to accommodate the Zhuk radar and the cockpit closed with a pointed radome. Next up is the lift engine compartment and fuel tanks. The tail contains the main engine and a small parachute compartment (can be used in a "horizontal" landing to reduce range). When designing the fuselage, the area rule was taken into account.

Wing

The Yak-141 is a supersonic aircraft, which is ensured, in particular, by the trapezoidal wing shape chosen for this machine, on the trailing edge of which there is a break, and at the root there are sagging. The mechanization consists of flaps, elevons (a control that acts as an aileron and an elevator at the same time) and rotary socks. The wing is made folding, which simplifies the transportation of the fighter and its placement in a small area.

Tail unit

Yak-141 has two keels. They are installed with a slight angle of inclination on cantilever beams located at the rear of the aircraft, on both sides of the main engine nozzle and carried back a fairly large distance. The keels are equipped with rudders. In addition, the tail assembly includes two all-moving stabilizers. They are installed slightly below the longitudinal line of the wing.

Air intakes

To provide the lift-main engine with the necessary air volume during takeoff, adjustable rectangular air intakes are equipped with special side valves.

In vertical take-off mode, to increase engine efficiency, transverse flaps (partitions) are used, which extend under the air intakes and help to avoid the recirculation of air jets. In order for hot gases to better break away from the fuselage, there are special longitudinal partitions on the sides of the air intakes, in their lower part.

Chassis

The aircraft is able to withstand a fall "flat" from a height of five meters. This is provided by tricycle chassis. All supports are single-wheeled. The cleaning of the main racks is carried out under the air intake channels, forward along the flight. The front wheel retracts in the opposite direction, into the fuselage niche.

Power point

Yak-141 is equipped with three engines. Two of them (lifting) are switched on only during takeoff and landing, the third, the main one (lifting and marching), works throughout the entire flight.

Lifting and propulsion engine

Especially for the Yak-141 multi-purpose aircraft, Soyuz AMNTK created the R79V-300 lift-and-flight engine with a thrust vector deflected in the vertical plane, which is provided by a nozzle that can be turned down, up to an angle of 95 degrees. The cross-sectional area of ​​the nozzle is adjustable. In the afterburner, this engine creates a thrust of 15,500 kgf.

The nozzle rotation mechanism has a resource of one and a half thousand cycles (this is the minimum estimate). The engine provides a fully vertical, short and ultra-short takeoff. In the last two cases, the angle of rotation of the nozzle should be 65 degrees. It should be noted that a takeoff with a range, even the shortest one, can significantly increase the mass of the payload and increase the combat radius.

Lift motors

The fighter is equipped with two RD-41 lifting engines, which were created in the Rybinsk Motor Design Bureau. For their placement, a special compartment is used, located directly behind the cab. Thanks to the use of a special device attached to the nozzle of each of the engines, it is possible to deflect the longitudinal thrust vector at angles in the range from -12.5 to +12.5 degrees.

To form a single jet stream during takeoff, the takeoff engines turn towards each other. In level flight, they are turned off, and the compartment provided for them is automatically closed by special shutters (on the ground they are also in the closed position).

The possibility of using lifting engines to perform various evolutions in the air was envisaged, however, this is only possible when flying at a speed of 550 km / h or less.

jet rudders

Since conventional controls cannot be used when performing vertical takeoff and landing, the Yak-141 is equipped with jet rudders - small nozzles that are located in the wingtips and in the front of the fuselage. With their help, you can change the angle of roll and direction (course). In order to raise or lower the nose of a fighter, the pilot can vary the ratio of the thrust of the lift-cruise and lift engines.

fuel tanks

Approximately in the middle of the Yak-141 fuselage are internal fuel tanks. In addition, fuel is also placed in the rear of the hull, inside each of the tail booms. Additional external tanks can be installed on standard attachment points located under the wing, and a place for another tank (conformal, 2000 liters) is located under the fuselage.

Airborne equipment and systems

Several basic types of aviation equipment are installed on board the fighter, designed to control the aircraft, navigate, search for targets and aim guided missiles at them, as well as to perform various control functions. All this equipment is distributed in three compartments, one of which is located in the tail, the other - in the front of the fuselage and the third - close to the air intakes.

Electronic and sighting equipment

The main part of the weapons control system is radar station"Beetle", slightly modified compared to the version that was installed on the MiG-29 fighters. Reducing the diameter of the main antenna, caused by the need to “fit” the radar into the contours of the Yak-141 fuselage, somewhat reduced the characteristics of the radar, while it is still capable of detecting targets the size of F-16 at an eighty-kilometer distance.

Enemy ships, including boats, the Zhuk can detect at a distance of up to 110 kilometers. Automatic tracking of ten targets is provided with simultaneous firing of four of them. Data processing is carried out by the on-board computer.

Yak-141 uses active jamming. The devices necessary for this are located on the tips of the wing consoles and in the upper part of each of the keels. It was also supposed to equip the aircraft with a device for emitting passive interference.

The antenna, located in front of the cab, is part of the "Password" system used for state identification.

Flight and navigation complex

Although the GLONASS system did not yet exist in the 80s, the Yak was already adapted for its use. When performing test flights, a conventional inertial system was used to solve navigation problems. In addition, there was equipment for landing on the deck of the ship in automatic mode.

The main control system is electrically remote. With its help, not only plumage is controlled, but also jet rudders. A mechanical control was also installed, which could be used in emergency situations.

Communication and guidance complex

The Yak-141 pilot is provided with the opportunity to communicate with ground guidance points and other aircraft both in the decimeter and in the meter wavelength range. For each of them on board there is a special radio station. In addition, equipment was installed, with the help of which communications were encrypted.

Power supply system

Backup sources of electricity for the Yak-141 are two batteries. Main power is provided by generators connected to the main engine. The set of equipment also includes two rectifiers and static converters.

Registration, control and signaling equipment

The left tail boom of the fighter is used to install a flight recorder that records everything that happens during the flight. Checking the health of the equipment is carried out by a special control automated system. There is also an alarm system that notifies the pilot of the occurrence of dangerous or emergency situations.

Cabin Yak-141

The rescue of the pilot is provided by the K-36LV seat located in the cockpit, which can be activated both by the pilot himself and by automation. The lantern is made of Plexiglas and has a flat front piece made of transparent armor. The display of flight information was supposed to be carried out on multifunctional indicators, the same as on the MiG-29, but they simply did not have time to install them. Nevertheless, the HUD (a device for projecting flight information onto the plane of the windshield) already existed. It was also envisaged to use a helmet-mounted target designation system.

Flight performance

The range is given for flight under a load of one ton with a short takeoff and landing. Using the aircraft in vertical lift mode reduces the combat radius. In this case, even without load, the range of the Yak-141 is reduced to 1400 km at high altitude, and to 650 km when flying close to the ground.

Tactical and technical characteristics

Project development

After 1992, no further work on the Yak-141 aircraft was carried out. Foreign customers did not need this fighter either, apparently because of its specificity. In a word, this unusual winged car became a victim of "democratization".

Only representatives of the American company Lockheed Martin showed some interest in the fighter. Unfortunately, all "cooperation" actually came down to the export of technical documentation to the United States. Apparently, it was then used in the development of the deck version of the F-35 aircraft. In any case, the individual elements of this machine are similar to the Yak-141.

The government remembered the failed carrier-based fighter for the last time in 2017, when the Deputy Minister of Defense stated that it was necessary to develop short takeoff and landing aircraft “like the Yak”.

Most likely, there is nothing behind these words, because it is too late to revive the old car, and it is expensive to create a new one, not to mention the fact that it will require the construction of new ships. True, plans for their creation were also voiced, but then all talk stopped.

If you have any questions - leave them in the comments below the article. We or our visitors will be happy to answer them.

In the modern world, there are more and more aircraft with any characteristics and power. Engineers everywhere are trying to solve the main problems associated with this mode of transport: reduce fuel consumption, increase range, simplify takeoff and landing, but without sacrificing space and cabin area.

Perhaps everyone is used to seeing the acceleration of an aircraft along the runway - this is a difficult task, and the pilots themselves say that the success of the flight as a whole largely depends on takeoff and landing. But isn't it more logical to imagine how this procedure will be simplified if the plane simply rises vertically? However, in a broad discussion, such options are not particularly visible anywhere. Is a VTOL aircraft a myth, a reality, or maybe far-reaching plans behind which the future of aviation stands? It's worth looking into it in more detail.

STOVL F-35B short takeoff and vertical landing fighter

First of all, you need to know that a vertical takeoff and landing aircraft really exists. The first models began to appear simultaneously with the development jet aviation, and since then still haunt engineers around the world. In time, this coincides with the second half of the last century. Their name was very descriptive - turbofly". Since then there was a boom in military developments in technology, a requirement was put forward for engineers to develop such an apparatus that would rise the air with minimal effort or even from a vertical position. Such aircraft do not require a runway, which means that they can start from anywhere and in any conditions, even from the mast of the ship.

All these projects coincided with others, no less important, related to the development outer space. The common symbiosis allowed us to double our strength, to draw ideas from space design. As a result, the first vertical apparatus saw the light in 1955. We can say that it was one of the strangest buildings in the history of technology. The plane did not have wings, a tail - only an engine (turbojet), a flask-shaped cabin, fuel baths. The engine was made at the bottom. We can highlight the following features of the first turbolet:

1. Rise due to the jet stream from the engine.
2. Management by means of gas rudders.
3. The weight of the first device is a little more than 2000 kilograms.
4. Thrust - 2800 kilograms.

Since such an aircraft could not be called either stable or controllable, the first tests were fraught with great risk to life. Despite this, a demonstration of the device took place in Tushino, and it was successful. All this provided a basis for further research in this area, although the aircraft itself was far from ideal. But the information served to create a new project. It was the first Russian VTOL aircraft called the Yak-38.

The history of the creation of vertical aircraft in Russia and other countries

Many engineers and designers still claim that turbojet engines, which began to be actively used and improved in the 50s, made it possible to make many discoveries that are still used today. One of them is active testing of vertical devices. A special contribution was made by the development of this area, or rather, reactive devices, in countries that were considered advanced at that time. Since jet aircraft had huge landing and takeoff speeds, they used very long, large-scale and high-quality runways, respectively. And these are additional expenses, the equipment of new airfields, inconvenience in wartime. A vertical plane can solve all these problems.

It was in the 50s that various samples were created. But they were designed in one or two versions, no more, because all the same, it was not possible to create completely suitable options. After all, rising into the air, they suffered a crash. Despite the failures, the NATO commission in the 60s gave this direction priority as extremely promising. There were attempts to create competitions, but each country focused on its own developments. So, such devices from all over the world saw the light:

• "Mirage" III V;
• Germany VJ-101C;
• XFV-12A.

In the USSR, the Yak-36 became such a turbofly, and after that 38. Its development began in the same years, and a special pavilion was created for testing. After 6 years, the first flight took place. That is, the plane took off vertically, assumed a horizontal position, and then landed vertically. Since the tests were successful, they created the 38th model, and after that Russia introduced the Yak-141 and 201 vertical take-off aircraft in the nineties.

Mirage III V

Aircraft Germany VJ-101C

Aircraft XFV-12A

Design features

The fuselage in such devices can be located vertically or horizontally. But in both cases, there are reactive models and with propellers. Quite powerful aircraft with a vertical fuselage, which use thrust from a sustainer engine. Another option is ring wings, which also give good results during lift and flight.

If we talk more about the horizontal fuselage, then rotary wings are often made here. Another variation is when the screws are placed at the end of the wings. There may also be a rotary engine. In England, they also actively worked on similar devices. There they actively developed a project called innovative, implemented using two engines with a thrust of 1800 kilograms. In the end, even this did not save the plane from an accident.

Now all over the world, work is underway to develop not a military, but a civil vertical aircraft. In theory, these are excellent prospects, because then aircraft will be able to easily fly even to small cities where there are no large-scale and expensive aircraft, and takeoff and landing are much easier. But in fact, there are many disadvantages of such a technology and ideas.

Why vertical planes have not yet found wide application?

Unfortunately, all developments, even if they had good results, cannot boast of reliability. The propeller blades, which help to make vertical takeoff, are striking in their size. Together with powerful engines, they create unimaginable noise. Also, from the point of view of design, it is necessary to avoid any possible obstacles in their path, to exclude the ingress of various objects.

Whatever one may say, it is impossible to cancel the speed limit. Just according to the laws of physics, such an aircraft will not be able to move as fast as modern ones. And if military vehicles can develop a fantastic speed of 1000 kilometers per hour in their case, then with an increase in mass and size for civil aviation, the figure drops to 700 kilometers per hour and below.

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