The Yakovlev Yak-40 (NATO reporting name: Codling) is a regional jet designed by Yakovlev. The trijet's maiden flight was in 1966, and it was in production from 1967 to 1981. It was introduced to service in 1968, with export models following in 1970.

Development

By the early 1960s, Soviet international and internal trunk routes were served by Aeroflot, the state airline, using jet or turboprop powered airliners, but their local services, many of which operated from grass airfields, were served by obsolete piston-engine aircraft such as the Ilyushin Il-12, Il-14 and Lisunov Li-2. Aeroflot wanted to replace these elderly airliners with a turbine-powered aircraft, with the Yakovlev design bureau being assigned to design it. High speed was not required, but it would have to be able to operate safely and reliably out of poorly equipped airports with short (less than 700 m or 2,300 ft) unpaved runways in poor weather. Yakovlev studied both turboprop and jet-powered designs to meet the requirement, including Vertical Take-Off and Landing designs with lift jets in the fuselage or in wing-mounted pods, but eventually they settled on a straight-winged tri-jet carrying 20 to 25 passengers. The engines were to be the new AI-25 turbofan being developed by Ivchenko at Zaporozhye in Ukraine.

Design

The Yak-40 is a low-winged cantilever monoplane with unswept wings, a large T-tail and a retractable tricycle landing gear. The passenger cabin is ahead of the wing, with the short rear fuselage carrying the three turbofan engines, with two engines mounted on short pylons on the side of the fuselage and a third engine in the rear fuselage, with air fed from a dorsal air-intake by an "S-duct", as is an auxiliary power unit, fitted to allow engine start-up without ground support on primitive airfields. The three AI-25 engines are two-shaft engines rated at 14.7 kN (3,300 lbf). The engines have no jetpipes, and initially no thrust reversers. The pressurized fuselage has a diameter of 2.4 metres (94 in). Pilot and co-pilot sit side by side in the aircraft's flight deck, while the passenger cabin has a standard layout seating 24 to 27 passengers three-abreast, although 32 passengers can be carried by switching to four-abreast seating. Passengers enter the aircraft via a set of ventral airstairs in the rear fuselage. The wing is fitted with large trailing-edge slotted flaps, but has no other high-lift devices, relying on the aircraft's low wing loading to give the required short-field take-off and landing performance. The wings join at the aircraft centerline, with the main spar running from wingtip to wingtip. The wings house integral fuel tanks with a capacity of 3,800 litres (1,000 US gal; 840 imp gal). The aircraft has a large fin, which is swept back at an angle of 50 degrees to move the tailplane rearwards to compensate for the short rear fuselage. The horizontal tailplane itself is unswept. The Yak-40 was the first Soviet-built airliner designed to Western airworthiness requirements.

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 changed its place – it was located together with the sixth window. In 1975, the last upgrade of Yak-40 took place – the number of cabin windows on the right side changed from nine to eight. By the time production ended in November 1981, the factory at Saratov had produced 1,011 or 1,013 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. In addition to this, Yak-40 became the first Russian/Soviet aircraft to get flying certificates from Italy and West Germany. It was demonstrated in 75 countries of the world, including the US, where orders for the Yak-40 were made. A total of 130 were exported to Afghanistan, Angola, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, Italy, Laos, Madagascar, Philippines, Poland, Syria, Vietnam, Yugoslavia and Zambia. As of July 2021, a Yak-40 has begun testing with an electric propeller engine in the nose of the aircraft.

Variants

Data from:- OKB Yakovlev

Operators

Civilian operators

As of July 2019, a total of 22 out of 1011 Yakovlev Yak-40 aircraft remained in service with civil operators. The airworthiness of several Yak-40 of smaller Russian and Central Asian charter airlines is uncertain, as is the whereabouts of one Air Libya Tibesti aircraft after the civil war. Most aircraft in service today have been reconfigured for VIP-charter services, with fewer than ten remaining in scheduled passenger service. Known operators are: • ; 🇦🇫 • Ariana Afghan Airlines – former operator • Bakhtar Afghan Airlines – former operator • ; 🇦🇱 • Ada Air – former operator • Albanian Airlines - former operator • ; • TAAG Angola Airlines – former operator • ; 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan • Azerbaijan Airlines – former operator • ; 🇧🇾 • Government of Belarus • ; 🇧🇴 • Aerosur – former operator • ; 🇧🇬 • Balkan Bulgarian Airlines – former operator • Hemus Air – former operator • ; 🇨🇺 • Aerocaribbean – former operator • Cubana – former operator • ; 🇨🇿 Czech Republic • Government of the Czech Republic – former operator • ; • CSA Czechoslovak Airlines – former operator • Government of Czechoslovakia – former operator • Slov-Air – former operator • ; 🇪🇬 • EgyptAir – former operator • ; • General Air – former operator • ; 🇬🇷 • Olympic Airways – former operator • ; • Mayan World Airlines – former operator • ; • Rollins Air – former operator • ; 🇭🇺 • Malév – former operator • ; 🇮🇹 • Aertirrena – former operator • Alinord – former operator • Avianova – former operator • Avioligure – former operator • Cabado – former operator • ; 🇰🇿 • Air Kazakhstan – former operator • Air Kokshetau – former operator • Bek Air – former operator • East Kazakhstan Region Air Enterprise – 2 in cargo configuration • Euro-Asia Air – former operator • Semeyavia – former operator • Tulpar Air Service – former operator • Zhetysu Aviakompania – 2: one for charter and one in cargo configuration • Zhezkazgan Air – 2 in scheduled service • ; 🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan • Kyrgyzstan Airlines – former operator • ; 🇱🇾 Libya • Air Libya Tibesti – former operator • ; 🇱🇹 Lithuania • Air Lithuania – former operator • ; 🇲🇩 Moldova • Air Moldova – former operator • ; 🇵🇪 Peru • Expreso Aéreo – former operator • Servicios Aéreos Amazónicos – former operator • ; 𝜙 • Interisland Airlines – former operator • ; 🇵🇱 • LOT Polish Airlines – former operator • ; 🇷🇺 • 2nd Sverdlovsk Air Enterprise – former operator • AeroBratsk – former operator • Aerolik – former operator • Ak Bars Aero – former operator • Amur Airlines – former operator • Aviakompaniya SKOL – former operator • Aviastar – former operator • Belgorod Air Enterprise – former operator • Bugulma Air Enterprise – former operator • Byline – former operator • Center-South Airlines – former operator • Gazpromavia – former operator • Khabarovsk Airlines – former operator • LUKoil-Avia – former operator • Orel Avia – former operator • Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Air Enterprise – 3 with 2 in cargo configuration and 1 in scheduled passenger service • Rossiya – former operator • RusAir – former operator • Severstal Air Company – former operator • Tomskavia – former operator • Tulpar Air – former operator • UTair Aviation – former operator • Vladivostok Avia – former operator (phased out in 2013) • Volga-Dnepr – former operator • Vologda Aviation Enterprise – 8 in scheduled passenger service • Yak Service – former operator • Yakutia Airlines – former operator • Yamal Airlines – former operator • Yuzhmashavia – former operator • ; 🇸🇰 Slovakia • Government of Slovakia – former operator • ; • Aeroflot – former operator • ; 🇸🇾 • Syrian Arab Airlines – former operator • ; 🇹🇯 Tajikistan • Tajikistan Airlines – former operator • ; 🇹🇲 Turkmenistan • Turkmenistan Airlines – former operator • ; 🇺🇦 • Motor Sich Airlines • Aerostar Airlines – former operator • Constanta Airlines – 1 in lounge configuration, for charter only • Challenge Aero – former operator • ; 🇺🇿 Uzbekistan • Uzbekistan Airways – former operator • ; 🇻🇪 • Oriental de Aviación – former operator • ; • Vietnam Airlines – former operator

Military operators

As of November 2012 no more than 17 Yak-40 remain in military service (possibly fewer, with the unclear situation in Syria). Known operators are: • ; 🇦🇴: Angolan Air Force – 1 as of December 2016. • ; 🇧🇬: Bulgarian Air Force – former operator • ; 🇨🇺: Cuban Air Force – 3 in service • ; : Czechoslovakian Air Force – former operator • ; 🇨🇿: Czech Air Force – 1 as of December 2016. • ; : East German Air Force – former operator • ; 🇪🇹: Ethiopian Air Force – 1 in service • ; 🇬🇶: Military of Equatorial Guinea – presidential aircraft • ; 🇬🇼:Guinea-Bissau Air Force – former operator • ; 🇭🇺: Hungarian Air Force – former operator • ; 🇰🇿: Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan – 1 in service • ; 🇱🇦: Lao People's Liberation Army Air Force – former operator • ; 🇱🇹: Lithuanian Air Force – former operator • ; 🇲🇬: Military of Madagascar – 2 in service • ; 🇵🇱: Polish Air Force – former operator • ; 🇷🇺: Russian Air Force – 1 in service • ; 🇷🇸: Serbian Air Force – former operator • ; 🇸🇾: Syrian Air Force – up to 6 in service, airworthiness unclear • ; : Soviet Air Force – former operator • ; : Vietnam People's Air Force – former operator • ; 🇾🇪: Yemen Air Force – 2 in service • ; : Yugoslav Air Force – former operator • ; : Zambian Air Force – former operator • ; : Air Force of Zimbabwe - former operator

Accidents and incidents

Specifications (Yak-40)