Yakovlev Yak-42

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Image:Dnjeproavia Jak-42D UR-42449.jpg The three engined Yakovlev Yak-42 was designed as a replacement for the twin engined Tupolev Tu-134 jet. It fulfills a role similar to that of the Boeing 727 as a mid-range passenger jet. The Yak-42 was also the first airliner to be produced in the Soviet Union to be powered by modern high-bypass turbofan engines.

To save design time, Yakovlev started with the Yak-40, making it larger and sweeping back the wings, with an 11-degree sweep prototype being rejected in favor of a 23-degree sweep. The Yak-42 was built at Smolensk, and it entered service with Aeroflot in late 1980. Almost 100 had been delivered by 1993.

Shortly after the type's introduction into commercial service, a number of accidents caused by vibrations in the tail section of the aircraft forced a suspension of the type's operations. After the necessary modifications were made, the Yak-42 re-entered service in the Soviet Union circa 1985.

The type was never exported, and only after the political transition of the former Soviet Union, a few Yak-42s were leased out to carriers in Africa, Cuba, Pakistan and in former Yugoslavia.

Current models include the Yak-42 base version, the Yak-142 with a higher gross weight, and the Yak-42D-100 with western avionics that never entered serial production. Late in 1997, Yakovlev announced the development of the Yak-42A, an improved version of the Yak-42D featuring a higher range and a modernised cabin interior.

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