Yak-24


NATO: Horse


Overview

Yak-24

A Yak-24 preserved in a museum.
Source: Peter de Jong @ www.horizonten.nl - © copyright lies with original owner

Origin
Soviet Union
Type
Transport helicopter
Entered service
1955 (officially)
1959 (operational use)
Status
Out of service
Development
1951 - 1952 (design)
1952 - 1955 (Soviet state tests)
Developer
Soviet Union - Yakovlev Design Bureau
Production
1955 - 1960
Producer
Soviet Union
Number produced
About 100, some reports of only 40
Designations
Horse (NATO reporting name)
Letayushchiy Vagon (Russian nickname)
Russian for "flying railroad car"
Notable users
Soviet Union

Description

Introduction

The Yak-24 is an early Cold War era transport helicopter of Soviet origin. It was produced in the late 1950's to provide more cargo carrying capacity than the Mi-4 Hound. It was the first and last attempt of the Yakovlev design bureau to develop a helicopter. Despite breaking various records it was an unsuccessful design. With the introduction of the much more capable Mi-6 the Yak-24 was soon forgotten.

Layout

The design of the Yak-24 is very basic and straightforward. A long box shaped chassis makes up the airframe. The landing gear is fitted to large struts at the front and back. A set of tandem rotors at the front an back provide lift. Two Shvetsov ASh-82V radial engines provide power to the rotors, each engine being able to provide power to both rotors. Despite using the proven rotors and engines of the Mi-4 Hound the Yak-24 proved to mechanically unreliable. The Yak-24 was intended as troop transport and was not armed. The Yak-24 was a very basic design and did not feature any special avionics or sensors. Operating it at night would have been very hard, if not impossible.

Cargo capacity

The first versions of the Yak-24 could carry 30 troops, 18 stretchers or 3 t of cargo. The improved Yak-24U could carry 40 troops or 3.5 t of cargo. The large airframe allowed for 2 GAZ-69A or light anti-tank guns to be carried. The latest Yak-24A was also used as a flying crane and could lift up to 5 t of external cargo.

Mobility

The tandem rotor setup made the Yak-24 hard to fly. The powerful engines provide enough power to reach a speed of 195 km/h with a limited amount of cargo. The range is a modest 430 km.

Users

The Yak-24 was only operated by the USSR. Due to the technical problems a small amount was produced and had a short service life. A small amount was produced for civilian use and operated by Aeroflot.

Variants

Yak-24

Yak-24 in flight.
Source: www.snariad.ru - © copyright lies with original owner

Yak-24 variants

Yak-24
Early production model built as prototypes and small production run. Was shown to have vibration issues during testing.
Yak-24U
Improved variant introduced in 1957. Featured an all steel airframe and wider rotor blades. This allowed for and increased carry weight. The Yak-24U was reportedly rebuilt from existing Yak-24, and possibly also produced new from factory.
Yak-24A
Final production model that was produced in very limited quantities. Civilian variant for use by Aeroflot. Mostly used as flying crane. Capable of lifting 5 t on external sling.

Details

Facts Yak-24U
General
Origin
Soviet Union
Type
Transport helicopter
Crew
4 (2 pilots, flight engineer, radio operator)
Dimensions
Length
21.34 m fuselage
34.0 m rotors turning
Height
6.50 m
Empty weight
11.0 t
Max takeoff weight
15.8 t
Propulsion
Powerplant
2x Shvetsov Ash-82V radial engine
Power output
1.700 hp each
Rotor setup
Two three blade main rotors of equal size
Diameter
21.0 m for each rotor blade
Disc area
693 m² combined
Performance
Max speed
175 km/h
Operational range
265 km
Ferry range
430 km
Ceiling
2.7 km
Climb rate
3.15 m/s
Transport capacity
Passengers
40 troops or 18 stretchers
Cargo capacity
3.5 t