Description

The Yakovlev YAK-55 is a single-engine, single-seat aerobatic aircraft which was presented for the first time to the wide public during 1982 Moscow Tushino Air Show. The same year, YAK-55 was displayed in the West during the World Aerobatic Championship held in Austria. 

In 1984 the YAK-55 debuted at the World Aerobatic Championship, representing the Soviet team and in the same year, woman’s aerobatic team took the first place, with one female aviator securing the individual gold medal.

The aircraft quickly became a favorite at DOSAAF, a Volunteer Society for Cooperation with the Army, Aviation and Navy – being actively used as a trainer by the future Soviet aviators. Our YAK-55, factory number: 890810, ‘73’ Blue, served in one of the DOSAAF bases in the Soviet Union.

YAK-55’s was actively built between 1985 through to 1991, when the successor, YAK-55M entered the production. ‘73’ Blue is one of the last produced YAK-55’s, rolling of the production line in 1989.

With only 108 Yakovlev 55’s ever produced, our team could not have walked past this example, when we found it at Shyroke Airfield of Zaporizhya region in Ukraine. There is little data about this aircraft, however we established that it finished its career with a small crash at the airfield, after which the airframe was parted out, and the tail section was acquired by Fuselage Creations team in January 2022 to be preserved for aviators around the world.