Yak 18T Flight Operations Manual
Page 6 of 82
Disclaimer: This manual is to be used as a reference only, it is based on translated Yak 18T Flight Operations
Manuals and has not been approved by the Yakovlev Design Bureau or any other authority.
Section 1 – Background Information
This section contains a brief background that was largely extracted from an article by A.
Dugin (Smolensk) titled “YAK 18T. LIFE GOES ON”.
1.1. Introduction
The 25th anniversary of the first Yak 18T take-off at the Smolensk Aircraft Manufacturing
Plant was celebrated on May 25th, 1999. Today, the Yak 18T is the most popular general
aviation aircraft in the Commonwealth Independent States (CIS) countries.
It is well-known to all aviators of the CIS countries, developed by the Yakovlev Design Bureau
and followed the Yak-18U, Yak-18A, Yak-18P, Yak-18PM and Yak-18PS. The 18T was the
final modification in the Yak-18 family. The two-seater basic aircraft Yak-18 (1946) was put
into production in 1947-1955 at the Arsenyevsk and Kharkov Aircraft Manufacturing Plants as
well as in China. 3,752 and 379 aircraft were built in the USSR and China respectively. The
Yak-18U (1953) is an improved two-seater trainer. During the period of 1954-1957 960 Yak-
18U were put out at Arsenyevsk Aircraft Manufacturing plant. The Yak-18-A (1957) was
produced from 1957 till 1961 at Arsenyevsk Aircraft Manufacturing Plant (927 aircraft) and
1,796 planes were made in China. In 1961-1962, 125 aircraft were put out at Arsenyevsk
Aircraft Manufacturing Plant. The Yak-18PM (1966) is aerobatic. In 1970-1972, 25 aircraft
were produced in Arsenyevsk. The Yak-18PS (1970) is aerobatic too but there is no
information about the number of aircraft produced (according to Russian Publishing Company
Kodeks and KONVERSULT Consulting Company database).
1.2. Purpose
At first, the Yak 18T was designed to be multi-purpose. That's why the Ministry of Timber
Industry and the Ministry of Public Health ordered 300 aircraft each (unfortunately their
requests were not met). According to the USSR Council of Soviet Ministers (SOVMIN), the
Yak 18T became a trainer for the Civil Aviation schools, so that the production program was
intended only for the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
For ten years the Smolensk Aircraft Manufacturing Plant sent its output to Aktubinsk,
Buguruslanovsk, Kirovograd, Krasnokutsk, and Sasovsk Civil Aviation schools. The Yak 18T’s
were not delivered to the DOSAAF (semi-military organisations) airclubs.
Only a "go-ahead" Ivanovsk airclub managed to get 10 aircraft. All-in-all 536 Yak 18T were
produced in Smolensk for the period of 1973-1983, including experimental and prototypes.
In 1974 an ambulance aircraft was built. Its purpose was to transport a patient on a
stretcher with the escort of a doctor. But the series production of this configuration was not
organized. Also, versions of an aircraft with ski and floating landing gears were being
developed at the Yakovlev Design Bureau. But everything was in vain. Nothing came out of
it.
The schools mastered the Yak 18T well while using it. All the shortcomings of the design
were eliminated and improved according to 217 bulletins. But in 1988 according to the
decree of the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MCA) of the USSR all the aircraft were taken out of
operation and subjected to discarding, even though the aviation industry produced nothing
comparable to replace the Yak 18T. Absolute nonsense! For example, in Kirovograd plant, a
team of workers, having completed the up-dating according to the bulletins, as it had been
planned, signed their names in the logbook of the aircraft, which next morning was carried
away for good. All aircraft fleet was replaced by the An-2 at the schools.
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