"More Yaks in Santa Rosa?" by Bob Clopton. 
Originally printed in the Spring/Summer 1994 issue of "As The Prop Turns"

They could be furry animals but these two Yaks are former Russian Air Force planes commonly known as Yak 52s. Thanks to Steve Penning, Lynn Hunt and many helping hands at Aerocrafters, Bob Suacci and I finally have our birds licensed and for the first time in their lives, flying in USA airspace.

Bob and I originally bought our airplanes from an overhaul depot in Lithuania where the airframes were zero timed, new engines installed, test flown and then partially dismantled for shipping. Both airplanes arrived in the same shipping container via Lithuania, Rotterdam, Oakland and on to Santa Rosa.

Both of us were a little nervous wondering if all the stems and pieces would be included and if so, what kind of condition would they be in? Fortunately everything arrived safely and in a short time the Aerocrafters' crew had things ready for the first test hop. We found a few bugs on the first couple of flights but things seem to be going fine now.

Flying the Yak is really a lot of fun. It's an easy airplane to fly. The tricky parts are learning to start the engine, and (after you get it running), learning to taxi. The Russians like to use air instead of hydraulics, so the flaps, gear, and brakes all work on air pressure. Even the engine starts by shooting a blast of air into the cylinders to get it turning over. Each cylinder has an air line which makes the engine look like it is fuel injected even though it is not.