Yakovlev UT-1

Yakovlev UT-1 (AIR-14, Ja-14)
UT-1 in the Technical Museum Vadim Zadorozhniy
Type:	Advanced trainer aircraft
Design country:	Soviet Union
Manufacturer:	OKB Yakovlev
First flight:	1936
Production time:	1936-1942
Number of pieces:	1241

The Jakowlew UT-1 ( Russian Яковлев УТ-1 ) was a Soviet advanced trainer aircraft of the 1930s and 1940s. The factory designation was - based on the politician Alexei Ivanovich Rykow - AIR-14 ( Russian АИР-14 ), the internal designation of the design office Yakovlev was Ja-14 (Я-14).

history

UT-1 captured during Operation Barbarossa . Right behind it an I-16.

In the summer of 1935, a comparison flight between the latest Soviet sport aircraft took place at Moscow's Tushino airfield. Alexander Jakowlew took part in it with his latest development UT-2 , which had just completed its maiden flight. She won the competition clearly and was therefore selected as the future standard trainer for the Soviet air force . Jakowlew was also given the order to derive a single-seat version from the type in order to make it easier for budding fighter pilots to switch to the I-16 , which had only recently been part of the army and was quite demanding in terms of flying. In order to be able to practice aerial combat maneuvers, the machine should be suitable for aerobatics . Yakovlev's development office immediately started the revision and completed the prototype of the AIR-14 in 1936. Yakovlev's chief test pilot Julian Piontkowski submitted it to an intensive test that was very demanding even for the pilots themselves. With the AIR-14, Piontkowski carried out over 1000 take-offs and landings within a few days, 300 of them in one day alone, in order to determine its suitability for the intended purpose. The test phase was successfully completed and the high speed with which it was completed enabled the rapid transfer to series production, which began in autumn 1936. The aircraft was as UT-1 (UT stands for utschebno-trenirowotschny (учебно-тренировочный), Education and Training) built and both the Air Force and the flying clubs of OSSOAWIACHIM used, the latter preferably as aerobatic sports machine.

About ten versions of the UT-1 were built, most of which differed in terms of the engine. Among other things, it was equipped with the French MW-4 “Bengali 4” engine from Renault or the GAS -11 , which had actually been developed for cars and which in retrospect turned out to be too heavy. A non-adjustable two-bladed wooden propeller was used in each case. In addition, a small series equipped with floats appeared , which was designated as WT-1 or Ja-15 or UT-1p . A single example, called the AIR-18 , was equipped in 1935 for speed tests with a MW-4 engine and a retractable landing gear.

The performance of the UT-1 was demonstrated by participating in a competition flight for sport aircraft on the Moscow-Sevastopol-Moscow route on July 24, 1937. The 2815 km long route was covered by the UT-1 at an average speed of 218 km / h. Several world records could be flown with the UT-1 in its class. In October of the same year, Valentina Grisodubowa set an altitude record of 3,267 m, and Vladimir Kokkinaki is said to have reached a record height with the WT-1 float version.

In the initial phase of Operation Barbarossa , in the absence of other options, some UT-1s, similar to the original UT-2 design, were also equipped as light attack aircraft with machine guns or underwing stations for light bombs or reactive projectiles and used against the German troops.

construction

The UT-1 is a cantilever low-wing aircraft in composite construction . The fuselage consists of a fabric-covered tubular steel frame. The wings are also covered with fabric, but are made of wood and have two spars . The tail unit has a normal construction, consists of a light metal frame, is braced and covered with fabric. The main wheels of the rigid chassis are aerodynamically clad and braced towards the fuselage. In winter they can be replaced by snow runners. There is a grinding spur at the rear. Instead of the land undercarriage, it is possible to equip it with a floating mechanism that consists of two parallel main floats. In this case, the tail spur is omitted.

Technical specifications

Parameter	Data (UT-1)	Data (AIR-18)
crew	1
span	7.30 m
length	5.75 m	5.99 m
height	1.99 m	2.10 m
Wing area	8.30 m²
Empty mass	430 kg	475 kg
payload	160 kg	k. A.
Takeoff mass	590 kg	645 kg
Wing loading	71.1 kg / m²	k. A.
Power load	3.6 kg / hp	k. A.
Engine	an air-cooled 5-cylinder radial engine M-11E	an air-cooled 4-cylinder in- line Bengali 4 engine
power	160 PS (118 kW)	140 hp (103 kW)
Top speed	255 km / h	310 km / h
Cruising speed	maximum 190 km / h	k. A.
Landing speed	85 km / h	k. A.
Range	maximum 670 km	600 km
Service ceiling	7120 m	6500 m
Take-off run	90 m	k. A.

literature

• Wilfried Bergholz: Russia's great aircraft manufacturer . Jakowlew, Mikojan / Gurewitsch, Suchoj. Aviatic, Oberhaching 2002, ISBN 3-925505-73-3 , p. 26 .
• Heinz A. F. Schmidt: Soviet planes . Transpress, Berlin 1971, p. 168 .

Web links

Commons : Jakowlew UT-1  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• УТ-1. Retrieved January 11, 2017 (Russian, history, dates, photos, and color cracks). 
• УТ-1Б. Retrieved January 11, 2017 (Russian, history, dates, and photos of the battle version UT-1B). 
• Yakovlev Piston Trainers & Stunters. www.airvectors.net, accessed April 4, 2020 (English). 

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Ulrich Unger: On the 75th birthday of A. S. Jakowlew - his sports and training aircraft . In: Fliegerrevue . No. 2/1981 (336) , pp.  71 .