The Yakovlev 52 Russian military trainer is capable of awesome aerobatics with its sturdy construction and 360 hp, 9 cylinder supercharged radial engine. The aircraft is stressed to +7/-5 G and is capable of speeds up to 230 knots (426kph). With a roll rate in excess of 120 degrees per second and its impressive vertical performance the aircraft effortlessly completes advanced aerobatic manoeuvres. The aircraft is equally at home completing gentle turns and dives with the canopy open for a more leisurely flight. The Yak is used in Eastern European countries for basic through to advanced military flying training. The aircraft are built under licence from Yakovlev by the Romanian aircraft manufacturer, Aerostar. Over 1800 have been produced to date starting from 1979.
** For FSX and FS2004 only **
Features
TEN detailed texture sets
both solo pilot and dual-pilot models included
2-blade prop version with unique flight model (6 texture sets)
3-blade prop version with unique flight model (2 texture sets)
3-blade prop Taildragger version (Lithuanian version) with unique flight model (2 texture sets)
2048-pixel square external bump-mapped textures in FSX
animated engine cowl shutters
prop blades animated for pitch
very high quality Yak-52 sounds by Turbine Sounds Studios
detailed v-c with full-detailed rear cockpit included (FS9 traverse rearwards using ctrl-enter)
very sharp, easily readable, authentic gauges
realistic crew figures, togglable
opening front and rear canopies
note - 2D panel is not provided. Pop-up windows for GPS and AP available by keypress.
Great looking aircraft. External appearance and animations are very realistic. Sounds are good but not quite as throaty as the real thing. Virtual cockpit is impressive but not everything is clickable, such as the air valve, and some of the switches. The RPM gauge isn't very sensitive and doesn't appear to indicate correct RPM all the time. In terms of flight dynamics it is very realistic ( I have the pleasure of actually owning a real Yak-52 ) but the engine seems to run a little hot even with the cowl flaps open, and the aircraft doesn't slow up quite as quickly as the real thing and it even glides well which the real thing definitely does not.
Overall a great purchase - I have the FS9 version too, which doesn't have the same RPM gauge problem as the FSX version. Highly recommend this aircraft, but it would be nice to see a patch that fixed some of 'my' niggles.