Yakovlev Yak-40 (Codling)

Triple-Engine Regional Passenger Airliner

Soviet Union | 1968

"The Yakovlev Yak-40 triple engine regional jet airliner was a Soviet product of the Cold War period - it continues to fly in limited numbers today."

Image from the Czech Ministry of Defense; Public Release.

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 05/17/2022 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site; No A.I. was used in the generation of this content.

The Yakovlev Yak-40 (Codling) is a Soviet Cold War-era triple-engine regional passenger airliner. The series was flown, for the first time, on October 21st, 1966 in prototype form and entered service through Aeroflot in September of 1968. The type was produced in 1,011 examples and operate across many Soviet-aligned nations (in both military and civilian market guises) including Afghanistan, Albania, Czechoslovakia, and Ukraine. While production ceased in 1981, the series continues to fly today (2021) - a total of about 130 examples were exported.

Its design is conventional as triple-engine airliners go: the engines are set at the rear along the fuselage sides and dorsal fuselage line, reducing cabin noise to some extent. The mainplanes are mounted low and at about midships though not swept back, featuring slight dihedral (upward angle). The tail unit incorporates the proven T-style plane arrangement which seats the horizontal plane high atop the vertical fin. At the base of the fin is the dorsal engine housing. The cockpit is set at the front of the fuselage in the usual way with crew seating in side-by-side format and a short, sloping nosecone for good vision forwards. Each crewman (pilot and co-pilot) is given a control yoke and foot pedals for redundancy with throttle controls handily centered at the shared console separating the two seats. A tricycle undercarriage is provided for ground running and is completely retractable in the design.

Initial production models were designated simply as Yak-40 while a military conversion variant followed as the Yak-40-25 incorporating the nose of a Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25R and used in the ELINT role. Another military form became the Yak-40 "Akva" which incorporated a probe at the nose assembly and included a bevy of sensors and specialized equipment. The Yak-40 "Fobos" was another military mark with side viewing domes. The Yak-40 "Kalibrovshchik" was a modified ELINT model while the Yak-40L was proposed as a swept-wing form with 2 x Lycoming LF507-1N turbofan engines (in a partnership with Textron and Skorost). The Yak-40 "Liros" became another military offering and outfitted with sensors and specialized equipment. The Yak-40 "Meteo" was another military market form and featured dipole antenna and the military-minded Yak-40REO included IR linescan equipment and a viewing dome at the starboard side of the fuselage. The Yak-40 "Shtorm" military variant was identified through its added external probes and carried additional sensors and equipment.

The Yak-40 M-602 was evolved to become a flying testbed and data collection platform - notable for its M-602 propeller unit installed at the nose cone (this version continues to fly for Russia today). An extended range variant became the Yak-40D "Dal-niy" and the Yak-30EC marked export forms. The Yak-40K was a cargo-hauling conversion variant incorporating a cargo door.

The Yak-40M was a proposed mark with lengthened fuselage to carry up to 40 passengers. The Yak-40P added enlarged engine nacelles. The Yak-40TL was another proposed, modernized model to be powered by 3 x AI-25T turbofan engines. The Yak-40MS was an experimental form sporting 2 x Honeywell TFE731-5 series turbofan engines. The STR-40DT mark identified a proposed version to feature a composite wing.

The original Yak-40 was operated by a standard crew of three that included a flight mechanic. Up to 32 passengers could be carried. Overall length reached 66.9 feet with a wingspan of 82 feet and a total height of 21.3 feet. Empty weight was 20,723lb against an MTOW of 34,172lb. The engine arrangement involved 3 x Ivchenko AI-25 non-afterburning turbofan engines, each delivering around 3,300lb of thrust.

Maximum speed was Mach 0.7 with cruising done around 340 miles-per-hour. Range was out to 1,100 miles and its service ceiling reached 26,000 feet (requiring cabin pressurization). Rate-of-climb was 1,575 feet-per-minute.

The Yakovlev Yak-42 ("Clobber") is a related development of the Yak-40 series, also relying on a triple engine arrangement and featuring many qualities of the original (the notable exception being swept-back wing mainplanes).

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Power & Performance
Those special qualities that separate one aircraft design from another. Performance specifications presented assume optimal operating conditions for the Yakovlev Yak-40 Triple-Engine Regional Passenger Airliner.

3 x Ivchenko AI-25 non-afterburning turbofan engines developing 3,300lb of thrust each.
Propulsion

537 mph
865 kph | 467 kts
Max Speed

26,247 ft
8,000 m | 5 miles
Service Ceiling

1,118 miles
1,800 km | 972 nm
Operational Range

1,575 ft/min
480 m/min
Rate-of-Climb

Structure
The nose-to-tail, wingtip-to-wingtip physical qualities of the Yakovlev Yak-40 Triple-Engine Regional Passenger Airliner.

3
(MANNED)
Crew

66.8 ft
20.35 m
O/A Length

82.0 ft
(25.00 m)
O/A Width

21.3 ft
(6.50 m)
O/A Height

20,723 lb
(9,400 kg)
Empty Weight

34,172 lb
(15,500 kg)
MTOW

Variants
Notable series variants as part of the Yakovlev Yak-40 (Codling) family line.

Yak-40 ("Codling") - Initial production form.

Yak-40D "Dal-niy" - Extended range model.

Yak-40EC - Export variant.

Yak-40K - Cargo-hauling variant; enlarged freight access door added to fuselage.

Yak-40L - Proposed model with 2 x Lycoming LF507-1N turbofan engines and swept-back wing mainplanes.

Yak-40M - Proposed stretched fuselage model.

Yak-40 M-602 - Flying laboratory and data-collecting platform; propeller unit fitted to nose cone.

Yak-40TL - Proposed modernized form to feature 3 x Lycoming LF507 turbofan engines.

Yak-40V - Export form with 3 x AI-25T turbofan engines.

Yak-40MS - Experimental model with 2 x Honeywell TFE731-5 turbofan engines.

STR-40DT - Proposed variant with composite wing construction.

Yak-40-25 - Military variant for ELINT; MiG-25R nose section and specialized equipment.

Yak-40 "Akva"- Military variant with nose probe, sensors, and specialized onboard equipment.

Yak-40 "Fobos" - Military variant; dorsal viewing domes added to fuselage.

Yak-40 "Kalibrovshchik" - Military ELINT variant.

Yak-40 "Liros" - Military variant; nose probe and added sensors with specialized onboard equipment.

Yak-40 "Meteo" - Military variant with dipole antenna and starboard side observation blister.

Yak-40- "Shtorm" - Military variant with probes and onboard sensor equipment.

Operators
Global customers who have evaluated and/or operated the Yakovlev Yak-40 (Codling). Nations are displayed by flag, each linked to their respective national aircraft listing.

Total Production: 1,011 Units
Contractor(s): Yakovlev OKB - Soviet Union

[ Afghanistan; Albania; Angola; Azerbaijan; Belarus; Bolivia; Bulgaria; Cuba; Czech Republic; Czechoslovakia; Egypt; Ethiopia; Equatorial Guinea; Guinea Bissau; West Germany; Greece; Guatemala; Honduras; Hungary; Italy; Kazakhstan; Kyrgyzstan; Laos; Libya; Lithuania; Madagascar; Moldova; Peru; Philippines; Poland; Russia; Serbia; Slovakia; Soviet Union; Syria; Tajikistan; Turkmenistan; Ukraine; Uzbekistan; Venezuela; Vietnam; Yemen; Yugoslavia; Zambia ]

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Image from the Czech Ministry of Defense; Public Release.

Going Further...
The Yakovlev Yak-40 (Codling) Triple-Engine Regional Passenger Airliner appears in the following collections:

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