I have been crying hoarse for a couple of years in this forum that we should get a small trainer aircraft assembly program going just to get our feet wet (between ab initio and AJT training such as between the BAF Nanchang CJ-6 and Yak-130/K-8) and the best candidate in my opinion is the new Yak-152 which is a brand new Russian design and has been chosen as the new platform for VVS Russia ab initio training (150 plus ordered). As we all know they use the Yak-130 for the next step, which is AJT training like we do. The Yak-152 design is almost all engine and very little fuselage/wing and standard speed is somewhere around 500 KMPH (310 knots).
Pretty fast for a little trainer if you ask me....
The Yak-152 primary / basic trainer aircraft features all-metal airframe, low wing, advanced aerofoil monoplane design. The airplane was designed from the ground up for maneuverability training for emulating various jet fighter platforms digitally a la Yak-130. It is easy to maintain and requires low operating costs.
The wings are attached with trim rudders and ailerons to provide improved aerodynamic efficiency. The aircraft features a retractable tricycle landing gear consisting of a nose wheel and two main wheels, with low-pressure tyres and shock-absorbing properties, allowing the aircraft to take-off and land safely on small unprepared airfields.
The Yak-152 trainer aircraft has a length of 7.72m, wing span of 8.82m and a height of 2.47m. The maximum take-off weight is 1,320kg and it can carry a maximum fuel load of 200kg. It features a monocoque fuselage made up of four longerons.
One of the engine choices is a 500 HP turbodiesel designed and built in Germany. Turbodiesel engine means you get tons of reserve torque to pull the airscrew and airplane out of steep dives as well as diesel fuel usage which is a heck of a lot cheaper than av-fuel (kerosene) and not as volatile to boot.
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Some details about the engine:
"Raikhlin Aircraft Engine Developments (RED) has developed a V-12 diesel for large singles, twins and whatever else can use 500 horsepower of takeoff power and 15.5 gallons an hour at cruise.
In a podcast interview at AirVenture Oshkosh, a company spokesman said visitors to the booth tucked over by the vintage area suggested all kinds of applications for the innovative geared (1.88) mill. Among the innovations is a dual redundant cam and valve setup on each bank of cylinders. Weight might be an issue in some applications, however. With all accessories it tops out at about 800 pounds, but Wadsworth said the company is banking on the fact that the "competitive" price of $170,000 and fuel efficiency will make it attractive for even light turbine conversions. Wadsworth said he expects a TBO of 2,000 to 3,000 hours after the initial 1,000-hour maximum imposed by EASA on new designs expires for this engine. The engine is being field tested in a Yak-52 with positive results."
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The requirement from Russia’s Air and Space Force (VKS) is for 150 aircraft in the roles of screener and basic trainer. For this and other domestic customers, the Yak-152 will be powered by the M-14X radial nine-cylinder piston engine from the Experimental Design Bureau of Engine Building (OKBM) based in Voronezh. The M-14X is a recent, more powerful version of the popular Vedeneyev M-14P that develops 360 hp at “maximum” mode and 400 hp at “emergency.”
“We were told to do everything to reduce dependence on import,” an authoritative sourсe at Irkut told AIN. He added that the diesel version will be largely offered for export, whereas local customers insist on “a completely Russian solution.”
The Yak-152 has G limits of +8/-6 with two pilots on board, or +9/-7 with one. The aircraft has a range of 932 miles (1,500 km) and a landing field requirement of 1,380 ft (420 m) on a hard runway and 1,230 ft (375 m) on grass. The Yak-152 is fitted with the Zvezda SKS-94M2 escape system.
Yakovlev claims that the M-14X-powered Yak-152 has a 7 percent advantage over the closest competitor in maximum range (on inner fuel it can cover 1,500 km or 810 nm) and a 15 percent advantage in the rate of climb.
The design bureau suggests that the Yak-152 will appeal to sport fliers and for export.
For IAZ, the Yak-152 represents a second completely digital aircraft design. The first was the Yak-130 advanced jet trainer, which is being produced at a rate of 30 units annually.
Here are a few shots and roll out first flight video.
I am sure Yak manufacturer Irkutsk would be quite amenable for local assembly and overhaul program in Bangladesh if we buy a few dozen, which is a burning need for advanced prop training now past the CJ6 radial trainer platform, which will eventually get obsolete.
The only reason I am proposing the Yak 152 is that this is one of the only few trainers which uses traditional aluminium (duralumin) sheet, longeron and stringer structure, most other trainers have more or less gone to expensive CFRP and GFRP fibreglass layup construction method which is still a little avant garde for us.