therealJR wrote:
Can anyone enlighten us as to this model Yak?
This aircraft was one of the 10 new production Yak-9's (in addition to 12 new production Yak-3's) that were manufactured by the Yakovlev company in the 1990's, powered with Allison engines. As I understand it, the Yak-9 was a development on the Yak-7, where as the Yak-3 (which looks very similar to the Yak-9) was a development on the Yak-1. The Yak-3 was a lighter, shorter-range aircraft than the later built Yak-9, and the -9 features a wing with more surface area than that of the Yak-3. The fuselage design differs in areas, including the location of the cockpit as I recall, and the armament is different. It is said that with the greater surface area of the wing, the Yak-9 could out-turn a Yak-3, but the Yak-3 has a greater roll rate than the Yak-9. The Yak-9 was generally not as nimble as the Yak-3, but it had greater range.
Absolutely terrible news today with the loss of the pilot in the crash in Australia, and deepest condolences to the pilot's family and friends.