Photos of the Yak 42 aircraft cabin, seat arrangement. IzhAvia - “Good old Soviet aviation. What is the best seat to check in on Izhavia planes to feel like you’re in business class? Full review of two flights. " Specifications

Operation of the Yak-42 aircraft began in 1980. The airliner was intended for passenger transportation on short-haul lines. In 1988, production of its improved version, the Yak-42D, began. This airliner had a longer flight range and greater weight.

Serial production of both versions continued until 2002. A total of 194 aircraft were built, including 64 Yak-42 and 130 Yak-42D.

As of 2017, Yak-42 aircraft continue to be used. Many Russian companies have such aircraft in their fleets. Although the main transportation is carried out by foreign aircraft, the Yak-42 continues to show its reliability and ease of operation.

The presence of its own ladder, located at the rear of the aircraft, makes it possible to board and disembark passengers without waiting for the gangway machine to arrive, which is quite convenient. Since they don’t have to wait, sometimes ten or even more minutes.

Among the amenities offered to passengers are large round windows. The cabin has good sound insulation. Seating configuration 3+3.

Salon and best places

The entrance to the cabin is located at the rear of the aircraft. The plane has 6 emergency hatches. There are toilets in the bow and aft sections of the cabin. The interior layout has two options. With the first, there is business class and economy class, with the second, the layout is one-class, there is only economy class.

With a one-class interior layout, the seats in the first row are considered good, but have some drawbacks. Among the advantages is the absence of seats in front. This means that no one will recline the back, embarrassing the passenger. A positive is the increased legroom. True, not everyone was able to pull them out. The partition is located close.

Disadvantage: the toilet is too close. This is especially inconvenient for passengers in seats “B” and “G”. They border the passage. Here contact with passengers moving along the aisle is possible. Sometimes during a flight, queues for the toilet accumulate in the aisles. They accumulate most often in the first row. It should also be noted the partition located in front. It’s not particularly pleasant to look at her during the entire flight.

The next rows, up to the 6th, are standard. Of course, the chairs in them have their pros and cons, but they are not particularly significant.

Far from the best seats are in the 6th row. The main disadvantage is that the seat backs do not recline. This is done because there is an emergency exit behind.

The best seats are the seats located in the 7th row. Since there is an emergency exit in front of this row, a large empty space allows a person of any height to stretch out with all comfort. Another plus is that since the seat in front is far away, no one will disturb the person sitting with the back reclined.

There are also disadvantages here. But they are not related to comfort. So, you can’t put hand luggage on the floor here. Another minus is the almost complete lack of visibility through the porthole. It can also be called a minus that certain categories of passengers are not allowed to be in this row. These are pregnant women, the elderly, passengers with children, children, foreign citizens who do not know Russian or English well.

The next 5 rows are standard seats. There is no need to talk about any serious pros and cons here.

The backs of the seats in the 13th row are locked. This is an inconvenience, since passengers cannot recline them and are forced to remain in one position throughout the flight. The reason is that there is an emergency exit behind.

In the 14th row there are seats convenient for flying. This includes the presence of large legroom, and the fact that the passenger sitting in front will not recline the back of his chair and create inconvenience.

It is difficult to classify places in rows 15 to 18, either as good or as having shortcomings. They are standard.

In row 19, places “B” and “D” have disadvantages. They are located at the aisle. Since the toilet is located nearby, there is a lot of passenger movement here during the flight.

The worst seats in the Yak-42 cabin are those located in the 20th row. The backs of the seats are blocked here. Behind there is a partition. Behind it is a toilet. Moreover, it is so close that passengers can clearly hear the sounds of the drain barrel.

The Yak-42 aircraft, while inferior to foreign analogues in appearance, outperforms them in reliability

The Yak-42 airliner can carry 120 passengers. In the cabin they will have a level of comfort sufficient for several hours of flight. During this time, the liner will transport them almost 2 thousand kilometers.

A distinctive feature of the airliner is that it takes off quite quickly. Its flight is smooth. Landing is also quick. In the forward part of the cabin, the noise from the running engines is almost inaudible. It is present in the tail section. But its level is quite insignificant. It has been established that there is less noise in the tail section than in the cabins of Boeings and Airbuses.

Another positive feature of the aircraft. It doesn't need long runways. After landing, the Yak-42 stops very quickly, surpassing similar foreign aircraft in this.

Characteristics of the Yak-42 aircraft

Length: 36.38 m.
Height: 9.83 m.
Wingspan: 34.88 m.
Wing area: 150 sq.m.
Maximum cruising speed: 700 km/h.
Fuselage width: 3.6 m.
Flight range: 1700 km.
Maximum flight range: 4000 km.
Number of passenger seats: 104 – 120.
Crew: 3 hours

Conclusion

The beginning of perestroika, and then the collapse of the USSR and, as a consequence, a decrease in passenger flow, had a negative impact on the entire Russian aviation. Attractive foreign aircraft, which literally flooded Russian airlines, also played a negative role.

When the Saratov Aviation Plant was closed in 2003, production of the Yak-42 ceased. As of 2017, 35 Yak-42s operated in Russian airlines. In addition, 2 such aircraft fly in China, 8 in North Korea, and 4 in Cuba. Several Yak-42s continue to fly, being leased to Iran and Pakistan.

Taxi cost calculation to the airport

In the 70s of the last century, the need for commercial medium-haul transportation contributed to the emergence of the new Yak-42 aircraft.

Yakovlev Design Bureau received an order from Aeroflot to develop a passenger airliner, which will replace the obsolete IL-18. From 1972 to 1975, work was carried out on the YAK 42 series. The first test flight took place in March 1975.

The aircraft was piloted by test pilots Yuri Petrov, Arseniy Kolosov and Yuri Viskovsky (flight engineer). The tests generally went well, but showed insufficient speed for passenger transportation of that time - 680 km/h.

In the mid-seventies, the technically outdated Tu-134 passenger aircraft required urgent replacement. And thanks to the Smolensk (1977-1981) and Saratov (1978-2003) aircraft factories, medium-range three-engine Yak-42 aircraft were produced. The total number of winged machines created was 183, of which two were used in strength tests.

It should be noted that this air machine set nine world records. OKB A.S. Yakovlev was not even involved in multi-passenger airliners. Only military fighters, sports and training models were in development.

The development of the aircraft design itself began in 1972. At that time, the USSR needed a strong, medium-range aircraft that could replace the Il-18 (Ilyushin’s plane) and Tu-134 (Tupolev). The first four prototypes differed from each other with minor modifications. The first specimen had a wing sweep of 11°, the other three had a wing sweep of 23°. And the fourth prototype differed from all others by the presence of a parachute for testing to recover from a spin. Ultimately, for the prototype the choice fell on the third option (the resulting designation was Yak-42). It was distinguished by the presence of twin wheels on each chassis and a swept tail.

Decommissioned Yak-42 - kindergarten

The Yak-42 is an all-metal low-wing aircraft with a semi-monocoque fuselage (the width is similar to the Tu-154 fuselage), three turbojet engines and a tricycle retractable landing gear. There was also a cantilever swept wing and a T-shaped tail with an adjustable stabilizer. It was the Smolensk Aviation Plant that produced the first prototype in 1974, and in 1975 it entered testing. It was led by the famous test pilots Kolosov A., Petrov Yu. and flight engineer Viskovsky Yuri.

The tests were successful, but the aircraft was unable to reach the required flight speed (680 km/h) at an altitude of 8000 meters. Deputy designer E.G. Tsvelev was responsible for all modifications, construction and testing. who, as they say, put both his heart and soul into his work. Advanced designers and engineers (V.A. Sukhorukov, A.G. Khlakin, V.I. Zotov, V.V. Pogulyaev) modified and created many components of the Yak-42 aircraft.

Since the end of 1980, Aeroflot began actively transporting passengers on the Yak-42. The first disaster, which led to the freezing of the production of this aircraft for two years, occurred on June 28, 1982 (tail number USSR-42529). But already in 1988, serial production of modified Yak-42Ds was launched. The flight range and the ability to raise the maximum take-off weight were increased. These models were mainly exported to Cuba and China. The last aircraft was sent in 2003. Due to the cessation of production of technical parts at ZAO Saratov Aviation Plant, the operation of the modernized Yak-42D was stopped.

Ultimately, this aircraft was popular, even despite the fact that the same Boeing 737 and Airbus A319 needed less fuel. However, after the plane crash (09/07/2011), the Yak-42 was completely withdrawn from flights. It was used for long-haul flights and flights between cities.

Thanks to the developments of Soviet aircraft manufacturers, many problems with the contradictory operating characteristics of very poorly prepared airfields, high cruising speeds and high fuel efficiency during flights were solved. It was the Yak-42 that was this development. In comparison with the Tu-154, an innovative solution was implemented to increase weight efficiency, namely, a monolithic composite one was installed to replace the duralumin air intake duct, as well as a threaded wing, which made it possible to remove heavy butt joints and bolts. The built-in ladder is located in the rear of the aircraft (the same as on the Yak-40).

The landing gear is tricycle. The front support is extended along the flow, the main supports are extended across the flow in different directions. And the retraction, release and braking mechanism of the chassis operate hydraulically. The wheels are similar to those of the Tu-154 aircraft. Double class hydraulic system - main and emergency. Two drive pumps and an AC pumping station are responsible for the pressure in them. Drive pumps are located in engine No. 1 and No. 2 and are responsible for the main hydraulic system. And the NS-46-3 (pumping station), which operates from the main system, and the NS-55 direct current station, produced from batteries, are responsible for the pressure in the emergency hydraulic system.

Both systems ensure the operability of slats and flaps (RP-71 steering gears), landing gear extension, rearrangement of the stabilizer, retraction of spoilers and wheel braking.

There are practically no differences in power supply between the Yak-42 and Tu-154, except for one detail: power and redundancy are much less. The initial system is a three-phase voltage, which saturates the secondary 36 V systems.

The main elements of the system are:

Three generators (three-phase GT30NZhCh12). They produce constant revolutions.

Generator GT40PCh6 (from APU)

2 rectifiers. Convert three-phase voltage to direct voltage (from 208 V to 27 V).

Transistor disposable (static) converter POS-1000A. The main task is to convert direct voltage (27 V) into single-phase alternating voltage (115 V).

Transformers TS320SO4B in the amount of two pieces. Reduce three-phase voltage.

Static converter PTS-800AM. Since it is three phase, it is used for emergency power supply.

Converter PTS-25, static, three-phase. Used for autonomous power supply of the reserve AGR-74 attitude indicator.

Two rechargeable batteries (nickel-cadmium, 20NKBN-40). They power consumers and converters in case of failure of generators and rectifiers.

Navigation equipment consists of the Alder-1 complexes (very similar to the Pizhma complex), equipment for high-altitude high-speed units (VSP1-6), RSBN, 2 automatic radio complexes, and the KURS MP-70 landing system.

The fuel system consists of three tanks, one in the center section and two on the sides. Each of them holds more than six thousand kilograms of fuel and has a reserve alarm. The left and right side caisson tanks feed engines No. 1 and No. 3. Accordingly, the middle caisson feeds the second engine (using two pumps). Also, the middle tank feeds the APU using a separate pump. In the event of an emergency failure of fuel pumps or engines, it is quite possible to combine all fuel lines.

Although the engines do not have thrust reversers, braking during the run is provided by wheel brakes, spoilers and a low landing speed, just like the An-24.

At this time, the approximate wear and tear of the entire fleet of Yak-42 aircraft is about fifty percent. This flying machine was never able to replace the Tu-134, which is still in partial operation to this day. In total, 183 different series and modifications of the Yak-42 were designed. At the same time, during the period of the 70s and 80s, this aircraft was very modern. But due to the 1982 plane crash in Belarus and the collapse of the Soviet Union, the future fate of the Yak-42 was frozen.

Existing modifications of the aircraft:

Yak-42 – initial model;

Yak-42A (Yak-142) - a modified version of the Yak-42D;

Yak-42D – modernized;

Yak-42D-100 – version with avionics;

Yak-42D "Roshydromet" - aerial laboratory (geophysical monitoring of the atmosphere);

Yak-42M - has three engines with the TsPN-42M complex;

Yak-42F – modified for aerial photography;

Yak-42E-LL – flying laboratory;

The Yak-242 is a deeply modernized version of the Yak-42 aircraft with PS-90A12 engines.

The fact is that the very first aircraft, in accordance with the design solution, had a straight wing with greater lift, however, it was only possible to reach the speed of 800 km/h required by the Ministry of Civil Aviation with a swept wing. It did not take much time to design and develop a new wing profile, and soon the already familiar appearance of the Yak-42 appeared - a low-wing aircraft with swept wings, a T-shaped stabilizer and three bypass turbojet engines in the rear fuselage.

The aircraft is made of light aluminum alloys, but successful design solutions and composite materials were used to lighten the weight.

So the wings were made in the form of a solid structure, for example, the wings of the TU154 or TU134 are detachable, and the docking units connecting the wing parts have a noticeable weight.

The air intake of a medium engine has a length of about 700 cm and a diameter of 130 cm. It has a curved, complex shape and its manufacturing in the form of a single monolithic element made it possible to reduce weight and increase its service life. Three-layer fiberglass served as the material for the manufacture of the air intake channel.

The aircraft is equipped with its own ramp, which is located at the rear of the aircraft under the stabilizer, which allows loading/unloading passengers without waiting for the ramp machine.

The aircraft's landing gear is three-wheeled and hydraulically controlled.

The aircraft's engines do not have reverse, since the relatively low landing speed (no more than 205 km/h) and weight allow braking by the landing gear hydraulics and spoilers. In terms of power supply and redundancy, it is inferior to TU 154, although the systems as a whole are similar.

Three fuel tanks, each of which holds just over 6 tons of fuel, have a sensor indicating to the pilots that the remaining fuel is 870 kg, and that the remaining fuel is 320 kg. during go-around. The aircraft has an auxiliary power unit - APU, which serves to autonomously start Yak-42 main engines.

The passenger cabin of the aircraft, equipped with economy class seats, allows you to transport up to 120 people at a maximum speed of 810 km/h over a distance of 2900 km.

D-36 Progress engines develop a thrust of 63.74 kN each. The engines comply with international noise standards and have minimal emissions. The empty weight of the aircraft is 33.5 tons. Fuel consumption in cruising mode, depending on the load on the liner, ranges from 2300 to 3100 kg of fuel per hour. The crew of the Yak 42, not counting the flight attendants, includes two pilots and a flight engineer.

Medium-haul passenger air transportation is always in great demand. In the mid-70s, the main aircraft of this class, the Tu-134, became obsolete, and in connection with this, a program was adopted to develop a new aircraft to replace it. It became the Yak-42. It must be said that the year of development in 1975 is a very modern value for aviation, even in the USA and Europe. For example, McDonnell Douglas DC-9 aircraft were developed in the early 60s. Thousands of them were produced (mainly in the form of modifications of the Boening-717 and others), and no one is going to remove them from service. Over more than 30 years of production, more than 250 units of the Yak-42 were assembled.

Main performance characteristics of the Yak-42

• Maximum take-off weight - 57,000 kg;
• Maximum landing weight - 51 t4
• The weight of an empty, unfuelled aircraft is 31.5 tons;
• Fuel consumption - 3.1 t/hour;
• Flight range - 2500-2900 km;
• Passenger capacity - 120 seats;
• Service ceiling - 9100 m;
• Cruising speed - 700 km/h;
• Maximum speed - 810 km/h.

The maximum payload of the aircraft is 25 tons. In ferry mode, the aircraft can cover distances of more than 3,000 km. It can also be used to transport various cargoes, but no other modifications have been produced other than the basic passenger version.

The first aircraft with turbofan engines

The Yak-42 was lucky enough to become the first domestic passenger aircraft with turbofan engines. A turbofan engine is a hybrid of a turbojet engine with an external propeller. The turbine shaft rotates the internal turbocharger and external fan, which increases the overall thrust of the engine. It's just that a jet engine without a propeller is ineffective at low speeds.

The turbofan engine has a housing in the form of a coaxial tube. Air is forced into the space between the pipes using an external fan, which not only increases draft, but is also very important for cooling. Turbofan engines are reliable and have a long engine life.

The Yak-42 is equipped with engines with a high bypass ratio (D-36). This parameter refers to the ratio of the forced air volumes in the combustion chamber and in the external cold circuit. The higher this ratio, the higher the engine efficiency. On the Yak-42 the volume ratio is 5.4, which provides the aircraft with good efficiency. Another advantage of the dual-circuit design is low noise due to reduced gas pressure at the nozzle exit.

The correctness of using turbofan engines on passenger aircraft has been confirmed by time. This type of engine is the main one for Boeing aircraft and is produced by Rolls-Royce.

Design features of the Yak-42 aircraft

The design of the Yak-42 is simple, reliable and utilitarian. It removes many of the frills, but not at the expense of reliability. By the way, the aircraft was initially intended to be produced for export on a significant scale, so the cost of the aircraft could not be too high. Simple interior finishing materials were used. The luggage racks do not have lids. The chassis is a three-wheel one of a unified design. Each support has two and 4 identical tires. The total number of wheels is 12.

Medium-haul transportation is often carried out at airfields with not the best technical equipment. The Yak-42 can take off from any airfield with a hard surface. It doesn't even require a drain since it's built into the door. Runway lighting requirements are determined by the electronic navigation equipment installed on the aircraft. Any electronic equipment can be installed on the Yak-42 aircraft. The on-board network has an aviation standard 200 volts alternating current with a frequency of 400 Hz. Electronic navigation and communications equipment is largely standardized and easy to install. Now such modifications are made through the efforts of private airlines without the participation of the aircraft manufacturer.

Piloting is carried out by two pilots instead of four. This also further reduces operating costs. The aerodynamic design of the Yak-42 is a low-wing aircraft with a tail-mounted all three engines. The wing is strongly shifted back. In the sky (bottom view) the plane is clearly recognizable from a great distance.

Security systems, duplication of vital elements

The chassis is retracted by hydraulic cylinders powered by the standard hydraulic system. It also powers the hydraulic drive of the vertical rudder stabilizers and flaps. The smooth operation of these systems is key to safety. In the event of a loss of pressure in the hydraulic circuit, the aircraft will be uncontrollable, so the hydraulic system has a huge safety margin and a completely independent backup circuit. The emergency hydraulic system is powered by batteries and has two backup hydraulic pumps.

In addition to the control system, the fuel system is duplicated. On the Yak-42 they took the path of installing a simple fuel system with three separate tanks. Each of them has pipelines to three engines. In case of local damage to lines, tanks or engine failure, manual switching and (or) combining of lines is performed using electromagnetic-controlled valves.

To power the on-board electrical equipment and charge the batteries, an auxiliary power unit is provided, which is a low-power aircraft engine. It is located in the tail section next to the three main engines.

Production of Yak-42 and further operation

The Yak-42 did not go into mass production due to objective economic difficulties in the 80s and 90s. Over a more than 25-year production period, about 180 aircraft were assembled. Within Russia, the main operators are Saratov and Izhevsk Airlines (IzhAvia).

These days you rarely hear about flying a Yak-42. Now they continue to be used mainly by low-cost domestic carriers and companies engaged in VIP transportation. And if the layout of the cabin of private companies is customized to the customer (or the owner of the aircraft), then the layout of the Yak-42 cabin of other airlines is almost the same.

The development of the aircraft began in 1972 at the suggestion of Aeroflot, which hoped to replace the Il-18 and Tu-134 with this model. However, it failed to cope with its task and was gradually withdrawn from the fleet of the national carrier of the Russian Federation.

History of the Yak-42

The three-engine aircraft was based on the Yak-40 models. Two engines on the sides of the rear fuselage and one on top, including an air intake in the fork. The main empennage was designed in the shape of the letter T, and the tail empennage in the shape of an arrow (swept). The chassis was designed with twin wheels on all supports. The fuselage of the aircraft is all-metal, and the aircraft itself can be described as a low-wing aircraft.

The Le Bourget International Aviation Exhibition in 1977 introduced the Yak-42 to all countries. In the same year, mass production began. Aeroflot launched passenger services on the Yak-42 only towards the end of 1980. However, after two years of operation, a disaster occurred, which temporarily closed production. And after the 2011 disaster, about fifteen airlines stopped flying this type of aircraft.

General information about aircraft

Even though the Yak-42 never replaced the Tu-134 as expected, some companies still use it in their flight program.

At a cruising altitude of up to 9 thousand meters, the aircraft can reach a maximum speed of 700 kilometers/h. The height of the vessel is small - 9.8 meters, the length of the Yak-42 is only 36 meters. To control the aircraft, two pilots are required, and the cabin is equipped for one flight mechanic. Passenger cabin capacity starts from 39 people and ends at 120, the same figure is the most common among airlines. A distinctive feature of the passenger compartment is the numbering of seats using Cyrillic letters.

Which airlines operate this type of aircraft?

As of 2017, the Yak-42 is in service with three Russian airlines. KrasAvia owns a Yak-42 fleet of nine aircraft, Saratov Airlines has five, and Izhavia operates 10 aircraft. The total number of Yak-42s among commercial and passenger transport is thirty-five aircraft. Gazprom Avia launched its seven units only two years ago.

Abroad, this type of aircraft is operated by the Chinese Air Force, in the amount of two. The Yak-42 is leased from Iran and Pakistan, as well as owned by the PRC - eight units and Cuba - four.

Diagram of the Yak-42 interior in a single-class layout

All Russian operating companies have this model in the same configurations. The most interesting and distinctive feature of the aircraft is that passengers need to enter it not from the left side of the fuselage, but from the rear. Under the tail is the main emergency exit, also known as the main service door.

According to the layout of the Yak-42 aircraft cabin, a total of 20 rows can be counted. The first row begins in the same way as on other types of aircraft, in the bow. Here, according to reviews, the best seats on the Yak-42, the cabin layout assumes only the presence of a partition in front of the passenger, that is, no one will lower the back of the seat during the flight. There is space to stretch your legs, but it is small due to the wall in front. Although sitting in the first row is much more spacious. The disadvantage of such places is the toilet room, which is located directly behind this wall. Therefore, the extreme places B and D will be very inconvenient, because it is next to them that people will crowd while in line.
The 6th row is completely uncomfortable due to the presence of an emergency exit behind the partition, so the backs of the seats here are fixed in a vertical position throughout the flight. In the 7th row according to the cabin layout, the best seats for the Yak-42 are located directly next to the emergency exit. There is plenty of room to stretch your legs, and the reclined seat back won't get in the way in front. But the downside will be the prohibition of placing hand luggage in such a large area, and the view from the window will be partial.

There is also an escape hatch behind the 13th row, so the backrests of this row are locked. But the 14th row has a complete advantage for a comfortable flight and the same disadvantages of the ban on placing hand luggage at the feet. Thus, the seats of the 14th row have the best seats in the Yak-42 according to the interior layout. In the 19th row, the outer seats B and D will be uncomfortable, since the toilet room is in close proximity, and all the sounds of flushing, smells, as well as crowded queues create discomfort for rest.

The worst option for seating is the 20th row, because there is a toilet wall immediately behind, due to which the back of the chair will not recline. Plus, excessive noise in the tail section is created due to the presence of engines.

Yak-42 in a two-class configuration

Of course, comfortable business class seats are the best seats in the Yak-42 cabin. The economy class cabin reserves 100 seats, while the business class accommodates 16 and stretches from the first to the fourth rows. Two seats on each side of the fuselage. But the economy class numbering starts with the number seven and ends with the twentieth row.

In this form, the first row of the business with its extreme places B and D will have small disadvantages in the presence of a toilet room behind the partition in front. Noises and unnecessary fuss come from the kitchen counter, as well as a ban on placing carry-on luggage at the feet. The 7th and 14th rows of economy class have the same advantages in additional legroom, being according to the cabin layout the best seats on the Yak-42 .