Yakovlev Yak-55 - USSR/ Russian/ Lituanian aerobatic plane

The Yakovlev Yak-55 is one of the latest aerobatic aircraft with a fixed landing gear and a mid-position wing configuration, launched in the former USSR, now produced in Russia. The "Yak-55M" version is equipped with one "Viena" M-14P radial engine with a power of 360 h. p. The first flight of the prototype took place in 1981. Serial production was carried out in 1985-1991, about 110 copies of this plane were produced. The Yak-55 was developed at the Yakovlev Design Bureau as a new aerobatic aircraft to replace the Yak-50. It is interesting, that the Soviet constructors decided to rely as little, as possible on their very successful previous design and create a completely new machine. Finally, an all-metal aircraft with highly refined aerodynamics, maneuverability and easy handling, as well, as maintaining excellent flight characteristics at low speeds with a relatively large wing area, was created. However, the newcomer was not well received, and Yakovlev's office decided to modify it. This resulted in two major upgrades: the Yak-55M with a reduced wingspan and a more powerful engine, than the Yak-55, and the Yak-56, a two-seat training version of the Yak-55M. The Yak-55M version received more acclaim, than the original version and was one of the most produced versions of the aircraft. At least one airplane of this brand was also used by Lituanian pilots - acrobats.

A simple, but fairly fully detailed and well designed model for modellers of all experience. Only those, with little experience and advanced beginners should glue this model under the supervision of a more experienced colleague. In the model, the fairly spartan cockpit equipment and the exterior detailing is well detailed, the engine is not detailed - only the front blinds. There is no stock of colors, the graphic instruction is small, but quite informative, the text - only a few sentences with some general advice. Based on the photos, found on the Internet, this model can be easily repainted to "Lituanian" with computer rendering programs.