yaks-a danger to the rest of us ?

[A and C]

Reading the safety maters page in "pilot" this month i could not help seeing that 3 out of 5 items in the safety briefs section involved yaks.

one of these was a simple gear up landing but the other two involved flying in airspace used for instrument approches (clearly marked on the charts) and non standard circuit flying requiring a GA by an aircraft that had just been "overtaken".

Is this 3 out of 5 just a statstical blip or is a yak attitude starting to emerge that sees the rest of us just getting in the way of the "real aircraft" or is it that some are finding the yak a bit of a handfull and are unable to to pay as much attention to the rest of us as they might wish ?.

Having opend this can of worms i have no doubt that the warsaw pact replys will be interesting.

[AC-DC]

I guess that for some flying a Yak is like riding a bike or driving a high performance car.
You just can’t resist the sound, the speed, and the agility. You start to hear at the back of your mind ‘A & C is overtaking David Coulthard and he is leading the race’ but all you pick up is a speeding ticket.
In other words the answer is NO. You will find irresponsible people in every walk of life.
For the other matter, it is Harold.
Keep well.

[Lawyerboy]

Probably not. I seem to recall reading an edition of Pilot ages ago and flipping through the accident reports I was taken by the sheer volume of accident reports generated by our good friend the Traumahawk. Thinking about it that probably makes sense, given its main use as a trainer and I imagine that accidents involving training a/c probably outnumber accidents involving most others. I stand to be corrected, of course.

[Massbalance]

I realise that this might be a little 'off subject' but I would like to broaden this a bit.

How often whilst flying a standard Circuit at 85 knots have you been forced to go around, at a cost of another £10, because the great 'Love' of our lives the 150/152 have been burning up the sky downwind at 65 knots with those Barndoor Fowlers flapping in the wind, and the pilot's goggles misting up.

If ever there was a danger to modern Flight I would say that it is this, as I am yet to maintain a safe Airspeed in a Robin and not gain on the bloody things.

[Jolly Tall]

What's the problem Mass? Why can't you fly a Robin (HR200) safely - if a little tediously - at 65kt? Its Vso is 52kts.

[A and C]

Perhaps one of the "eastern block" can tell us what the aproach speed of the YAK is.

When i to get p****d off with the way that some trainning aircraft are flown i try to remember that i had to learn some place and was undoubtedly holding up some one with the 70kt aproach of the PA38.

[Ivchenko]

A&C

The Yak 52 flies downwind with gear extended a 190kph (105kts), dropping below Vfe of 170 kph (90 ish knots) on base and about 150 kph (80kts) over the hedge.

The 50 comes in about 20kph slower (no flaps and lighter a/c).

The major problem mixing with other light a/c is the enormous circuits many people seem to fly. The Yak, esp. the 50, likes a tight curving final so you can see - long draggy finals are uncomfortable.

In answer to your first question, there are certainly some arrogant prats flying Yaks but probably no more so than any other type.

Cheers

[Rallye Driver]

Anyone who thinks a C152 is slow should try flying a Rallye 880 - you get overtaken by Cessnas in the circuit and really hold everyone up as you come chugging in with full flaps and the slats out! You don't much runway though. (Our Rallye has now gone to Eire, and we've replaced it with a wizzy AA5, gosh what a difference!)

Looking at the accident reports, it does seem that the most common one for Yaks is forgetting to put the wheels down, usually after a go around when the pilot has been distracted. You do have three big green lights to remind you, plus the 'soldiers' which stick up out of the wings and engine cowling, but there is no aural warning - though that's not failsafe either.

Where I fly from we have anything up to a King Air in the circuit. They usually join left base and have to use the strip of hard runway on 22 regardless of what everyone else is doing, which can make things interesting at times if the active circuit is on 04. But you just get used to giving way.

You will always get the arrogant b*****ds who don't give a damn about anybody else, and they can cause just as much havoc flying a Cub as a Yak 52. My pet gripe at the moment is idiots who park their cars next to their aircraft thereby obstructing taxiways. After a taxi slalom last Saturday I was left fuming. Maybe I'll start another thread....

[FNG]

I would agree that a major problem is people flying huge circuits in slow aircraft rather than just flying too slowly. Probably no more prats in Yaks than in other types, but perhaps those who are gits are just morenoticeable because the aircraft are.

[LowNSlow]

Just hope you don't get stuck in the circuit behind me.

Flat out downwind at 65 kts

Base at 55kts

Side slip down finals to kill the speed and-

Over the fence at 40 knts

At least I land short and clear quickly!

My preference is for a nice tight circuit where I can make a curving approach off base which helps to keep the speed under control more easily. Not many places where you can do that these days. A ciucuit at Sandown used to took me 15 minutes once cos of the Bomber Command circuits.

[AfricanSkies]

Jealousy gets you nowhere!

[arrow2]

Re bomber command circuits - a plea to all instructors reading is maybe called for - lets teach students to do a close circuit from start of the appropriate lesson keeps everyone happy, is better airmanship, gives better judgement and is sensible if the fan stops. Most of the AA5s at Blackbushe go about 2 miles downwind - can't think why - the view there is no better :)

A2

[A and C]

The view of cabairs bank balance is better for the large CCT,s.

[Shaggy Sheep Driver]

Just like to echo Ivchenko's post - the 52 likes a lowpower steep curving approach to the numbers at about 150kph over the fence. Any attempt to emulate a 'Cessna' circuit results in lots of power, high nose attitude, 'dragging it in'. Very unprofessional, noisey, and dangerous.

This sometimes makes it difficult to fit a 52 into a circuit full of 'bomber command' pilots ;~)

SSD

[matelot]

Anybody ever been involved with a Tibetan yak? http://www.pprune.org/ubb/NonCGI/tongue.gif

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