I used one of the two sets of numbers which came with the kit, but binned the red stars (the printing was somewhat vague...) and replaced them with some I had in stock.
Monday, 12 December 2011
YAK-15 'Feather'
The YAK-15 is now complete and has begun it's glittering career as a dust gatherer on a shelf. It was a kit I build for the sake of doing so as I think it is an interesting aeroplane. One of the earlier postwar (1946) jet aircraft, it is basically a YAK-3 airframe with the piston engine replaced with a copy of a Junkers Jumo 004 jet engine. Although this sounds (and looks) like a bit of a lash-up, given that the YAK-3 was a pretty good aircraft and that the 004 was the engine used in the Me-262 it could all have been a lot worse.
280 YAK-15 were built and it's main use was to facilitate pilot conversion training - a task no doubt eased by the familiar layout and landing gear.
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8 comments:
Tim,
A very nice model of a querky aircraft. One wonders how it might have fared against British or US fighters had the Cold War turned hot in the late 1940s.
All the best,
Bob
Top class work Tim! I like the Saab 29 which looks similar, but seems much more grunty.
Bob
Hmm... There's a game in there somewhere. Oh no!
Paul
The Saab 29 appeared a few years later and looks a lot chunkier. But as a Saab (car!) driver I may be biased. Interestingly, apart from the YAK-15, the only other jet converted from a prop-driven aircraft to see service was the Saab 21R of 1947.
Very Nice work Tim.
Not too long ago I watched an interesting tv show on how US intelligence stole one of these from Bulgaria and brought it back put it together tested it, disassembled it, then returned it!
Don M
Mine wasn't stolen in Bulgaria but (somewhat less glamorously) bought in Telford. I hope the US intel guys had an easier job getting the canopy to fit!
West 1871
Thanks Rich - I can assure you it looks a lot better in the photos than in reality!
It just occurred to me Tim, what do you do with all these planes?
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