YAK-11 C-11

Introduction and History:
The Yak-11 or C-11 (C=Czech built) was manufactured between 1944-1955. They were designed as a fighter / trainer and derived from World War II fighters such as the Yak-3 and Yak-9 which use inline engines. The original Moose was somewhat the equivalent of our American T-6 Texan trainer because the original Russian engine sported 700 hp on take-off and 570 hp at cruise; however the YAK-11 had superior performance to the T-6 due to less weight and wing design.

New Redesigned Specifications
Engine: Pratt and Whitney R-2000-4M conversion, 2 speed single stage blower, approximately 1450 - 1600 hp @ 52" M.P.
Carburetor: Bendix Stromberg pressure type 2 BBL double auto mixture compensating throat aspirated thru right wing port.
Fuel consumption: 80 - 100 GPH at take off, 46" 2700 rpm, 45 - 60 GPH at cruise 25" 2350 rpm
Airframe:
Fuselage: Warren metal steel chrome molly truss frame with fabric covering at empinage and all control surfaces. Covering on fuselage are aluminum panels with Dzeus Fasteners for easy access and maintenance.
Propeller: Tracker prop specially modified reduced 8" and designed with Cimiteur leading edge. 43 D 50 Hub Adapter.
Wing: All metal two spar with Clark YH profile, 5° dihiedral uses split flaps outboard of fuselage (like T-6 design)
Dimensions:
· Wingspan: 30' 10"
· Length: approximately 29'
· Height: approximately 10" at top of propeller
Capacities:
· Fuel: 130 gallons
· Oil: 15-16 gallons (oil is cooled thru opening in left wing root to oil cooler)
Performance:
· G Limits: 4-5+, 0-
· Top Speed: 400 MPH
· Cruise: 210 - 275 MPH
· Rate of climb: Initial 4500 ft/min
· Ceiling: 26 - 30 KFT
· Landing Speed: 110 mph / 3.0 KFT asphalt
· Take off distance: 1700 - 2000 ft
· Stall: 90 MPH with flaps 100% clean
Special Features:
· Brakes: Bendix King air hydraulic type (old system was air)
· Steering: Lockable and 180° castoring retractable tail wheel.
· Retraction System: uses a hi pressure air system for flap / landing gear operation with an American Cornelius pump to replenish a hi pressure air bottle to 1000 lbs. This system was retained and used in Russia to prevent freezing common to conventional hydraulic systems under adverse cold weather conditions.
Other remarkable data:
· The Moose was originally fitted with a periscope above the windscreen. It was probably used to check the view behind and student teaching
· Two adjustable articulated cooling vents were used to cool the pilot and control engine temperature in the Russian Siberian climate.
· Total production - 3859 The factories were initially run in Czechoslovakia and later production occurred in Romania.
· The YAK-11 set 5 world records:
1. August 1950 - 441.176 KM/HR/500KM course
2. August 1951 - 471.348 KM/HR/500KM course
3. September 1951 - 442.289 KM/HR/1000KM course
4. August 1952 - 360.032 KM/HR/2000KM course
5. August 1954 - Maximum distance - 1990.183 KM/straight line
The YAK has always been regarded as one of the quickest, nimble handling fighters designed in WWII, and for that reason it allowed the Russians air superiority against the German BF-109 in Barbarosa and other air conflicts.

History: Shortly after the end of World War II, an American clergyman who had lived in Moscow during that period described the air war thus, "The Nazis would fly over the city dropping leaflets goading the Russians to send up something worth fighting."
No doubt that was either in 1942 or early 1943, because 1943 was the year that the Soviet Air Force answered the challenge with a vengeance, fielding aircraft from several designers that could go head-to-head with the best that the Luftwaffe had available. Among these, was the Yakovlev Yak-3, an aircraft that would become the most-produced Soviet fighter of the war.
A light, responsive, single-seat interceptor, bomber escort and close-support aircraft that was especially deadly to Luftwaffe aircraft at altitudes below 11,000 feet, the Yak-3's success in combat led to the conversion of a Yak-3U to two-seat trainer prototype, the Yak-3UTI in 1945. That "cut-and-paste" redesign was followed 12 months later by the first flight of a new, air-cooled, two-seat advanced trainer/liaison aircraft/utility transport, the Yak-11, which used many Yak-3 parts, modified as needed for the aircraft's new functions.
Nicknamed "Moose," by NATO and "Hawk" by Warsaw Pact nations, the Yak-11 was, in its trainer form, demonstrated exceptional agility in rolls.
Sometimes equated with the North American T-6 trainer in terms of its widespread use, 3,859 basic Yak-11s were produced through 1956. Although production then ceased in Russia, it continued in Czechoslovakia, where it had been licensed to LET in 1953 with the designation C.11. An additional 707 of those aircraft were manufactured by LET. Many of the Yak-11's still operational in the USSR were replaced in 1958 by the Yak-11U, a tricycle-geared variation of the aircraft intended for training jet fighter pilots. Yak-11/C.11's were used not only by Warsaw Pact nations, but also by various other communist countries around the world.
While it is no longer a front-line aircraft, the Yak-11 has gained a new lease on life as a popular "warbird" thanks to its World War II Yak-3 lineage. Modified (in several instances as high-performance single-seat racers), and equipped in some cases with Pratt and Whitney engines, Yak-11s may currently be found in civilian use from Reno, Nevada to Western Australia, with specific airframes known to be in service in Belgium, the United Kingdom, France, Sweden and the Czech Republic. They are currently being tooled in Romania where craftsmanship was deemed by some to be superior to Russian and Czech[History by Kevin Murphy]
Nicknames: Hawk (Warsaw Pact name); Moose (NATO codename).
Origional Specifications:
Engine: One 570-hp Shvetsov ASh-21 radial piston engine
Weight: Empty 4,189 lbs., Max Takeoff 6,200 lbs.
Wing Span: 30ft. 10in.
Length: 27ft. 10.5in.
Performance:
Maximum Speed: 289 mph
Ceiling: 23,295 ft.
Range: 795 miles
Armament: One 12.7-mm (0.5-inch) UBS or 7.7-mm (0.303-inch) ShKAS machine gun.
Number Built: 3,859, plus 707 Czech-built C.11s.
Number Still Airworthy: 120+, most in eastern Europe. Approximately 10 flying in the US.