IAv Bacau Iak-52 (c/n 822710, OK-JAX), taking off for the flying display during an air show held as part of the 80th anniversary celebrations of Aeroklub Šumperk, Šumperk, September 2026.
The Yakovlev Yak-52 (Як-52) primary training aircraft was developed in 1974, based on an earlier design created by the Yakovlev design bureau – the Yak-50 (Як-50) aerobatic trainer.
On 8 August 1974, this new trainer performed its maiden flight, flown by Yuri Mitikov (Юрий Митиков), a Yakovlev test pilot. The aircraft was very similar to its predecessor but featured a two-seat cockpit with seats in a tandem configuration, as well as dual controls and instrument panels. The Yak-52 was powered by a 360 hp Vedeneyev M-14P (Веденеев М-14П), nine-cylinder radial engine, which was a development of the well-known and popular Ivchenko AI-14 (Ивченко АИ-14).
One of the ideas guiding the Yak-52’s development was to create an aircraft enabling the transition from cadet to master-level aerobatic pilot. In addition, as a primary trainer, the Yak-52 had to be more stable, heavier on the controls than its predecessor and spin-resistant.
In 1976, the Soviet authorities decided that the new training aircraft would be produced in Romania, within the framework of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (Comecon) agreement. It was a common practice within the Eastern Bloc countries – in a similar way, the production of the Antonov An-2 and An-28 was assigned to PZL Mielec in Poland.
Production of the Yak-52 was assigned to an aviation factory in Bacău. Founded in 1953 as Uzina de Reparații Avioane (the Aircraft Repair Plant – U.R.A.), it was later renamed Întreprinderea de Avioane Bacău (the Bacău Aircraft Enterprise – IAv), before finally became Aerostar.
As mentioned in Russian publications, the first Yak-52 prototype was transferred to Bacău aboard an An-12 transport aircraft and used there as a master aircraft for future production. The first Romanian-made Yak-52 (locally designated as the Iak-52), with the construction number 780102, was completed in 1978 and performed its first flight on either 20 or 22 May that year, depending on the source.
The Yak-52 was manufactured in Bacău until 1998, although some publications mention that a few individual examples were also made on request after this date. A total of more than 1,800 Yak-52s were manufactured, the vast majority of them in Bacău.
Although the basic design was also the most produced one, the Yak-52 underwent a few interesting modifications. They included the Yak-52W, focused on the US and Western markets and equipped with extended fuel tanks, Western avionics and hydraulic brakes; the Yak-52TW, equipped with a tail wheel; the Yak-52M, introduced in 2003 and powered by the M-14X engine, equipped with a three-blade propeller and new avionics; as well as the Yak-52B light attack aircraft and the Yak-52B2 light interceptor.
The Iak-52 featured in our Photo of the Week series was manufactured in Bacău in 1982. The aircraft has a fairly long operational history, having been used in several European countries, such as Russia, Great Britain, Lithuania and Hungary. Over the years, it was formerly registered as G-CBMD, HA-BCM, LY-AHE and RA-44460. Since 2020, this aircraft has been operated by a Czech owner and registered as OK-JAX.
