Yak brand aircraft, military and civilian, have established themselves as reliable and easy to operate aircraft. The first samples of aircraft were created in artisanal conditions. General Designer Alexander Yakovlev was young and energetic.
Starting conditions
When an airplane flies over a city or a village lost in the taiga, people will definitely look into the sky. For several generations, the Russian population has become accustomed to such pictures. Many still believe that domestically produced cars fly at an altitude of ten thousand meters. Until recently, this was the case. However, in the past two decades, many aircraft factories in our country have ceased to exist. The famous Yak-40 aircraft, designed for local airlines, has not been produced for a long time.
The designer of this aircraft and other machines, Alexander Yakovlev, was born on April 1, 1906 in the family of an employee. Parents lived in Moscow. When the boy was eight years old, he was enrolled in a gymnasium. Just at that time, the First World War began. Then revolution and civil war broke out. Alexander did not participate in these grandiose events, but he observed the events taking place. In the gymnasium, his favorite subjects were history and literature.
Path under the clouds
When Soviet power was established in the country, the leaders of communist construction made a bet on youth. Many peers of Alexander Yakovlev became interested in technology. Some undertook to invent cars, others - ships, still others - airplanes. Sasha also did not lag behind friends. At that time, the interest of young people focused on modeling flying models. When Yakovlev was barely fifteen years old, he designed and assembled a working model of a glider. The wingspan of the model was two meters. The tests were successfully completed at the site near the school.
The teenager himself did not expect such a result. The first success, as they say, inspired him. Alexander began to become interested in technology for the production of aircraft. The next real step was the model airplane club that he created at school. Further events developed along an increasing trajectory. In the summer of 1924, according to his own drawings, Yakovlev assembled a glider and set off to compete in the Crimea. Here in the vicinity of Koktebel the first glider competitions in the USSR took place. The glider was no worse than the others presented by the participants. It is interesting to note that Sergey Pavlovich Korolev, the future founder of Russian cosmonautics, also participated in the competitions.
