Yak-40 | A village trijet 

Question: Why was the third engine mounted on the Yak-40? Answer: To compensate for the added mass and aerodynamic drag caused by mounting of the third engine.

The plane "devoured fuel like mother's soup." Your colloquial expressions really enhance the videos.

I've always thought the Yak 40 to be one of the most beautiful passenger jets ever made. It has lovely lines and attractive proportions. The wing shape is reminiscent of the North American P51 Mustang. Cheers and thank you, Sky!

I was lucky to fly with this beatiful bird 3 or 4 times from Almaty to Petropavlovsk in the north of Kazakhstan. And had a long talk to one stewardess of Polish origin who worked with the arilien for 25 years..an Airline which had an Arab owner and few Jak 40ties..(forgotten how many..6?). They have been bouth from scrap and used and used and used..nothing happened, once only one engine broke, no spares..all was fittet with the glue make of flower and water...and still running. Very quiet flights, the walls were cold..should not be toutched. In Almaty we had to walk through the deep snow to reach the Yak 40..as it could not get into a normal gate. Once I wanted to make a picture of this beatiful plane in tha morning sun with snow and minus 30°C. Tried my digital camera..then I saw two soldiers running to me in the deep snow...they were very angry. "Did you made pictures" ...yes, I admitted. Gibe me tha tape!!!!!! But there is no tape in this camera! What!!! No tape!!! ....well...ok...so it is fine!!!! All the best for you! Cheers!!! It was in ...2005 or 2006.

"This story begins in mid-1960's ... all my stories begin in the 1960's". When I heard that I knew I had to watch the entire video. I love your sense of humor in narrating the story. 😃

Back in 1973 I was just 13, and an airplane nut. A neighbor used to give me his old Aviation Weeks and they had a card that you could send in for manufacturer's pamphlets. I checked the box for the Yak-40. Under 'title' I put 'Student', which is what I was at the time. So a couple of months later I got a big, thick envelope from the Soviet Union, which surprised my parents - but not as much as the address, wherein they'd abbreviated my name and title to 'Robert Quay - STUD'. We still laugh about that today. It was a pretty cool pamphlet - I wish I still had it.

As a westerner who worked in the aircraft industry, I was really pleased in the 1990’s to fly in a number of Russian built aircraft. The feeling was always that they were robust and functional. Flying in the Yak-40 was a joy albeit the plane was quite tiny and as you point out it flew at quite a low altitude which was a bit disconcerting over even modest mountain ranges.

I can’t help loving the YAK 40 ❤️. It is like keeping a classic car running. It burns a lot of fuel, but is a lot of fun.

My third wife was a flight attendant on Czech Yak-40 operating around Eastern Europe. 28 Pax. One flight attendant, two pilots and a flight engineer. Great crew party time on hotel layovers. She then went onto Tu154 and then A310 flying Prague - New York - Montreal.

I recently learned about the L-39. A sort of training jet that could be owned privately. Didnt know engine in L-39 came from the yak-40. Good info on the history. Great video. Keep up the good work.

Rear mounted tri jets still look the coolest imo

"...and a heart attac to any economist" :-D Обожаю твой юмор!

Yes! Soviet airliners again yay :D By the way, i also like how the Yak-40's design look strange to the Cessna Citation and Pilatus PC-12 lol

I have a soft spot for machines that are built for utility, like a work horse, and the designers let form follow this functionality. The name village jet for the Yak 40 is perfect. Thanks for this video :)

So it has jet engines but a straight wing, thrust reverse but not slats, thrust reverse on the center engine but NOT on the side engines (the reverse is more common). What a delightfully eccentric little jet, I like it.

There’s one of these on a tactic display in Long Xuen, Vietnam. It was Ho Chi Minh’s private plane.

It's a village bus, but with 3 jet engines. You can't be any cooler than that.

Thank you Skyships - yet again, an excellent, factual analysis (I love the occasional quirky comments - so human and indeed, humourous!). My favourite (6) commercial jets (alphabetically) are ... - BAE146 (despite the Kapton wiring issues on the originals), - Boeing B777, - HS-121 Trident, so ahead of its time - Mk3: "the first 5-engined 3-engined jet" - IL-62: THAT wing design!, - Lockheed L10-11 (despite certain issues with the autopilot altitude-hold function) & - YAK-40. “Time flies, and so will we” - stay safe, everyone.

that non-successor successor was a BIG improvement ...wow .... great job

In 1969 there was an Airport at Portsmouth with grass runways,A YAK40 was demonstrated to Channel Airways in the September of that year.

Vladivostok Air used to fly Yak-40 to my city until 10 years ago. My dad called it 'crane fly' to sound funny. It was really loud with black smoke when it flew over our house at take off thrust. Good old days.

It was deigned as regional jet to serve small airports with short airstrips in the mountains at high altitudes. So, it needed all that power.

You read my mind! I was just thinking we need a video of the Yak-40 last night - Now we need one on the Yak-42

The yak now critically endangered

My local airplane museum got one from when our army decommissioned them, can't wait to check it out when they reopen!

You know what I really love about your videos? The fact that you actually do research work from authentic sources. You give actual facts, positive sides and also talk about problems with certain airliners. You give a good conclusion on an aircraft. I watched the videos of your, let's say "competition", Mustard. Although he tries to be neutral on soviet aircraft he eventually goes over to bash an entire generation of smart people who dedicated their lives to aviation. Mostly with: *Oh No ThEy CoPiEd EvErYtHinG, ThEy StOl3 tHe dEsIgN* with some of his sources being basically myths and legends. Especially his video about the Tu-144 is: 1% Facts 49% Praising the Concorde 50% Bashing the USSR and the OKB Tupolev I mean, you could do the same but you don't. You give us history, facts, positive and negative aspects. You make your jokes and your accent make your video even more "spicy". I don't mean to disrespect Mustard but I prefer your videos over his because your perfectly authentic.

I few on a few Yak-40s during the 1980s. As an American tourist, then student, and finally tour-group leader, I found them quite mind-blowing compared to anything else I flew on. I really enjoyed the oddness of them. How steeply they took off and landed was kind of badass and thrilling. But most of my friends and then tourists found the experience very unnerving, especially walking through that very small door in the back and into the small cabin. Great fun watching this video.

Excellent, again a actual plane is used to illustrate the story. Only Sky does this! :)

That moment when You realize the Yakovlev Yak-40 is basically a tiny Boeing 727: A low-wing, 3 engine jet aircraft , all engines in the back, a tail ramp under the back, a T-tail and it carried passengers. It kinda checks all the boxes the 727 does, just it does it in less size.

Never drop your accent. I know people always want you to do that with English but I like it and it makes your channel unique.

Flew on one from Zagreb to Budapest in 2000 with Malev. Actually an ok aircraft, and a very good feature of folding seats for pax so you can change to cargo as needed

Actually, an attractively designed aircraft, its shortcoming being the inefficient powerplant. Great video, truly enjoyed watching and loved reading the comments. Thanks to you and to all who posted.

I always loved the look of these, I love tri jets.

Thanks for this about the Yak-40. Interesting little tri-jet with early Citation-like wings.

Impressive aircraft. Great video. Keep'em coming!

Holy cow skyships now has 150k+ subs! I still remember when the channel had less than 30k. Congrats bud!

One man i know few times flew yak 40. As he says, it was like shaky old bus in rush hour, but instead of road it was in air

I flew a yak40 from Moscow to Sardinia. Super smooth with a first class configuration. Not bad!!!

You make very professional videos. And they are very pleasant to look at and to listen to.

I have traveled on IL-62 in the 80s, scary enough. I would not willingly board the YAK. Thanks for the entertaining videos and analysis. You are also mentioning the Albatros. I had a private tour of the Aero plant in my hometown just last year. Exciting.

the yak 40 great design and now updated with only 2 engines and with composite materials and new avionic is still an icon plane as we are accustomed to the aerodynamic engineering from Russia regards from colombia

привет скай я в первый раз зашёл на твой английски канал и хотел тебя поблагодарить за то что ты доносишь информацию в легкой форме до большей аудитории . С уважением к твоему творчеству

This was a very interesting description. A good video.

my first flight as a passenger was on a Balkan airlines Yak40 my father bought tickets as a gift for me, so I can fly with a plane because i loved planes and so did he :) Nowadays after hundreds of flights all over the world i still get excited when i'm about to fly and i remember my dad

wow, that’s a nice plane.

Somehow all rear engined planes look sexy. My favourite is the VC 10, however the Yak 40 is no less beautiful.

I saw Noel Phillips take a flight on a YAK-40 nice :)

Despite its drawbacks it does remain a plausible solution and which is not without beauty..... I feel it was all about timing something which in the aviation industry is critical....plus economics working for rather than against..... It's a beautiful creature which deserves its place in the Aviation Industry.... I wish there would remain one with my name on it. I said that also about the An-2. Beauty not the beast....

The YAK 40 is my favorite type of aircraft even though I have never flown on one

1:50 O.G Tupolev. I'll never forget his face.

I love how the gauges look identical to their military counterparts because they all come form the same places and manufacture. Because if it works why change it.

A good plane: It looks great, like a small 727, and it flies well and is very forgiving of small mistakes, basically easy to fly, it's a great plane.

The YAK-40 is one of the coolest airplanes ever.

Thanks a lot for videos, Big fan of your channel, I have a question , If would you consider covering Dassault falcon jet

A cool aircraft for sure,and very efficient in many ways.Shame about the fuel consumption though.Hope the redesign has a future,and the few that are left keep flying. Great documentary there Sky❤😎👍!

Despite the problems, The Yak-40 Is One beutiful airliner, Like there's that charm that old airliners have that newer ones don't

I love Sky's content! 👌

Great video and excellent footage! Lovely little aircraft built when fuel consumption was not really an issue.

I grew up thinking the USSR was like Mordor. Then I worked over two decades with Russians at sea who had lived in Soviet times. They were usually very patriotic about the USSR and proud of it. They said things like "America is so much bullsh!t about us" or "we are not just vodka and Cossack dancing" etc. It gave me cognitive dissonance in a way at first, because "how could they be so proud of it" I thought. I have since found there were actually some cool things the USSR did. Like many things in history, it was a mixed bag. But people can be prone to binary judgement thinking, e.g., good or bad, yay or nay, etc

Love the yak 40,strangely beautiful

I always thought the Yak-40 was a very handsome aircraft.

How about an episode on the B-17 Flying Fortress a la Skyships? And please call us aviators! It's my favorite! You are awesome! Make more videos!

Very well done. EXCELLENT

Great, as always. Thank you so much. Detail: There is no "Dass-U" airplanes but only "Dass-O", Dassautl and not Dassout.

The rebuilding of Yak 40 is best choice to use this hard aircraft for the next 50 years . Yak 40 is the Russian Dakota DC3 then you can use great aircraft in the 21st century this upgrading should be included glass cabin, new an advanced engines & the wings basically.

How can you not love the Yak-40?

Another great video! Thank you!

I love the russian planes and in my X plane sim the yak still fly's on

L-39 Albatros with the same motor was an Czech school aircraft. The picture of strange flying lab with propeller on nose is czech too

Great video! Woderful story told really well. Thank you

Thank you very much

Very well put out documentary

Are you gonna do the yak 42

Good video man. I really liked this a/c especially the size wished still be built now these days but perhaps cost effective so the ownership could be more attractive. Very similar to Dassault 10 and 20 if I'm not mistaken. 👍

great video sky, I love that Yak, pretty cool soviet airliner

Yep, the YAK-42 was significantly bigger, more comfortable and more economical plane. I've flown in both, and from Bykovo too :)

I really like the simplicity. And it looks good still.

as a plane nut growing up in Australia,, this aircraft looked so cool in the 60's .. we had nothing equivelent

A video about sibnia `projects would be amazing

It's funny that the economics of rural Soviet aviation are similar to those of business jets.

When is the Yak-42 video coming? I flew it a looooot in Cuba I miss that sharp noise

Indeed a Great bird! At Aertirrena we had 2 Yaks with western avionics that solved the airlink of Florence back in 1971

I’ve always loved tri jets for some reason aesthetically pleasing ... maybe

With such a wing it must be able to fly very slowly....it should be very interesting to fly

14:13 : on this shot, one can see a transportation method that's quite primitive, but perfectly fits the steppes of central asia. There's also a camel there.

This was already a Super Versatile Jet long before Pilatus coined that theme !

This seems like a careful approach staying within the technical limits of the time.

if i got money i would buy one of them...yak 40 and 42 is exotic

Was the only Russian jet certified in the USA. It was equipped with Garrett jet engines during certification. I'd like to fly the Yak 40.

It was beautiful. Bur apart from being an ardent kerosene-guzzler it was also very slow, well within the speed range of a high-power turboprop as the Saab 2000 or Bombardier Q400

The cowlings of the TFE-731s they put on it looked like they still had the paint scheme of the Hawker they came off of!

Barrel rolls performed properly only pull 1g so is not hazardous

Now we have to wait for the modern version created by Chaplygin : the CTR-40DT.

I've noticed many Russian aircraft of that Era used a trailing front wheel. Did they just use differential braking & thrust for steering and let the front wheel follow?

Fascinating, thank you.

SSE, you didn't mention whether or not Yakolev Design Bureau mod a twin-engine variant for the Private Business Jet international market.

Amazing video. Where did you get all the Russian historic stock footage you used for this video?

🤣🤣 "All of my stories begin in the 60s..."

Handsome looking jet.

A Dassault Falcon years before a Dassault Falcon. It is often said, there are very few new orignal ideas.