Yakovlev AIR-9

Yakovlev AIR-9

Company type	Aircraft
Industry	Aviation
Founded	1933
Founder	Aleksander Yakovlev
Headquarters	USSR
Products	Sport aircraft

The Yakovlev AIR-9 and its variant AIR-9bis were two-seat sport aircraft conceived and constructed in the USSR during the early 1930s.

Design and development

Beginning in 1933, Aleksander Yakovlev and his engineering team designed a low-wing monoplane sport aircraft accommodating two occupants in open cockpits. The design featured wooden wings combined with a fuselage constructed from welded steel tubing, powered by a Shvetsov M-11 engine. The AIR-9 incorporated landing flaps alongside automatic leading-edge slats. This model was entered into a competition focused on safe aircraft designs, although it did not advance beyond this stage.

In 1934, the initial AIR-9 underwent revisions to include enclosed cockpits, eliminating the automatic slats in the process. The tandem seating arrangement was equipped with sliding canopies; the front canopy slid backward over a fixed central section, while the rear canopy moved forward beneath this central portion.

Structurally, the AIR-9 adhered to Yakovlev’s prior design principles, utilizing wooden wings covered with plywood and fabric, a fuselage made from welded steel tube also covered with fabric, and tail surfaces crafted from fabric-covered Duralumin. The fixed main landing gear featured spatted wheels supported by struts, which were later enhanced with full fairings known as trousers in addition to the spats. The tail assembly included either a fixed skid or a tailwheel, as demonstrated during the 1935 Milan air exhibition.

Power was supplied by a single 100 hp (75 kW) Shvetsov M-11 five-cylinder air-cooled radial engine turning a two-bladed wooden propeller with fixed pitch. The engine installation varied among versions, incorporating individual exhaust pipes, a collector ring, or a Townend ring cowling.

File:Yakovlev AIR-9bis Townend ring.jpg

The AIR-9bis in flight under the control of pilot Piontkovskii

AIR-9bis

In 1935, the AIR-9 underwent modifications or possibly a new model was constructed featuring a windshield angled forward, leading to its reclassification as the AIR-9bis. The numerous configuration differences imply the existence of multiple units, although this remains unverified.

Operational history

The AIR-9bis was showcased at the 1935 air exhibitions in Paris and Milan. In 1937, pilots I.N. Vishnevskaya and Ye.M. Mednikova utilized this aircraft to establish a women's altitude record within the FAI Class C category.

Variants

AIR-9

Initially designed as an open cockpit, two-seat low-wing monoplane sport aircraft equipped with split flaps and automatic leading-edge slats; this version did not advance to production.

AIR-9

A refined iteration of the original design featuring enclosed cockpits and other improvements but lacking automatic slats. At least one unit was constructed and was at one time identified by racing number 31.

AIR-9bis

Following further alterations, the aircraft was redesignated AIR-9bis, incorporating a forward-slanting windshield and streamlined undercarriage covers. It is believed that one AIR-9 was converted or several new models were built, with some observed bearing racing number 32.