Yakovlev AIR-7

Yakovlev Design Bureau

Industry	Aerospace
Founded	1934
Founder	Alexander Sergeyevich Yakovlev
Headquarters	Moscow , Soviet Union
Products	Aircraft design and manufacturing

Template:Infobox aircraft The Yakovlev AIR-7 was an experimental high-performance light aircraft from the Soviet Union during the 1930s. It featured a single engine and two seats in a monoplane layout, delivering impressive capabilities throughout its evaluation phase. However, after the prototype nearly crashed due to flutter issues, its creator, Alexander Sergeyevich Yakovlev, faced temporary professional setbacks, and the aircraft did not advance to production.

Design and development

In April 1931, newly graduated from the air force academy, Alexander Sergeyevich Yakovlev took on the role of engineering supervisor at State Aviation Factory No. 39 (GAZ-39), where the designer Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov was held as an NKVD detainee. Although GAZ-39 housed a "Sharashka" internal prison containing Polikarpov and other engineers, Yakovlev himself worked there as a regular employee rather than a prisoner. GAZ-39 was primarily engaged in manufacturing Polikarpov's I-5 fighter, a biplane powered by a licensed Bristol Jupiter engine. Yakovlev recognized that by designing a monoplane light aircraft around the same Jupiter engine and optimizing its aerodynamics, it could surpass the I-5's speed while accommodating an additional passenger.

Despite opposition from GAZ-39 management, Yakovlev secured financial support from Osoaviakhim, the Soviet paramilitary sports organization, and formed a small internal team to develop the AIR-7. Early Yakovlev designs bore the "AIR" designation in tribute to Alexei Rykov, then Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars.

The AIR-7 was a sleek two-seat low-wing monoplane with mixed materials construction. Its fuselage consisted of welded mild steel tubing with duralumin panels ahead of the cockpit and fabric covering behind. The pilot and passenger sat in tandem beneath an enclosed canopy. The wings were constructed from wood and fabric, supported by cables and steel struts above the wing connecting to the fuselage, allowing for a thinner wing profile. The fixed conventional landing gear featured main wheels enclosed within streamlined trouser fairings to minimize drag and included a sprung metal tailskid. Propulsion came from a single Shvetsov M-22 radial engine—a licensed Bristol Jupiter variant—housed within a Townend ring and turning a two-bladed propeller.

Operational history

The AIR-7 took to the skies for the first time on 19 November 1932. On its subsequent flight the following day, it achieved a Soviet airspeed record of 335 kilometres per hour (208 mph), despite having Yakovlev aboard as a passenger. On 23 November, during a demonstration for high-ranking officers of the Soviet Air Forces, the right-hand aileron detached mid-flight, likely due to flutter. The test pilot was compelled to perform an emergency landing. Yakovlev accepted responsibility for the failure, acknowledging a miscalculation in the strength requirements of the aileron hinge. The investigation panel dismissed Yakovlev’s testimony and determined that he should be barred from further design work and denied a previously recommended award. Consequently, Yakovlev and his team were dismissed from OKB-39. Nevertheless, leveraging his Communist Party connections, Yakovlev secured approval to resume aircraft design activities in 1934, establishing what would become the Yakovlev OKB in an abandoned Moscow bed factory.

Following repairs that included reinforced aileron hinges and redesigned undercarriage fairings, the AIR-7 set a new national speed record of 332 kilometres per hour (206 mph) on 25 September 1933.

References

• Gordon, Yefim, Dmitry Komissarov, and Sergey Komissarov. OKB Yakovlev: A History of the Design Bureau and its Aircraft. Hinkley, UK: Midland Publishing, 2005. ISBN 1-85780-203-9.
• Gunston, Bill. The Osprey Encyclopedia of Russian Aircraft 1975–1995. London, UK: Osprey, 1995. ISBN 1-85532-405-9.
• Gunston, Bill and Yefim Gordon. Yakovlev Aircraft since 1924. London, UK: Putnam Aeronautical Books, 1997. ISBN 1-55750-978-6.

External links

• Yakovlev Design Bureau: Early Aircraft: AIR-7