Born to Fly - 2008/09

76 MODEL AVIATION
So as it stands right now, I think I have the only one that is really
flying in private hands.
JG: What is the physical size of this aircraft compared to other
aerobatic airplanes?
JB: The first thing you notice is how large it is. If I put it next to an
Extra 300, the Extra is dwarfed in size.
The Extra is a fine airplane and gets a lot
of its performance from its smaller size and
light weight. The Yak-54 is a heavy
airplane. It’s all metal; entirely made of
aluminum. The wingtips come up to my
chest; the spinner comes up to my nose, and
I’m 6 feet, 2 inches.
It has 360 horsepower, so it has the
power required to pull it through the air. It’s
not dainty; it’s a tank. It’s big, noisy, and
puts out a lot of smoke. It has a deep,
throbbing sound when you start it up. It
vibrates when you fly. It is kind of like
having a Harley [motorcycle]. I love it!
JG: When you’re sitting in this thing, what
can you see?
JB: Down the runway you can’t see very
much. It’s a very tall airplane in the front,
and the tail wheel is very short. The wings
block your view, and you can see a little out
of the corners.
You’re lined up on the runway, then you
can’t see it, and that’s how you do it. If you
can see the runway, you have to cover it up
with the airplane, and that keeps it straight.
Once you’re off the ground, visibility is just
fine. It has a bubble canopy, and you can
see all around.
MY JOB IN the RC industry is to run
RCGroups. I get to work with Jim Bourke,
who owns the RCGroups and Flying Giants
Web sites. He also runs a company called
Knife Edge Software, which makes the
RealFlight G4 RC flight simulator.
Jim recently purchased a rare full-scale
Unlimited aerobatic airplane. In an
interview with him at the Joe Nall fly-in,
Jim gave some insight into the history of the
aircraft, talked about how RC and full-scale
aerobatics relate to each other, and
described what it’s like to own and operate
a one-of-a-kind airplane.
JG: Can you tell everyone what aerobatic
airplane you bought?
JB: I bought a full-scale Yak-54 Unlimited
aerobatic airplane. I have been flying it
about 45 hours so far.
JG: We have all seen a lot of Yak-54 RC
kits and ARFs out, but the reality is that
there aren’t that many full-scale Yak-54
aircraft around.
JB: It’s hard to know exactly how many
there are, but as far as I know they made
around 12. Several have been lost in accidents, unfortunately.
As far as I know, mine is the only one flying in the United
States. There are a few in France for sale by an aerobatic team.
There are also a few in Russia. I also understand the Russian
government has an order for 50 Yak-54s, but the company that
makes them has not been in a position to fulfill that order.
Born to Fly Jim T. Graham | [email protected]
A Yak with many accents and a fun RC or full-scale ride
Jim Bourke with “Russian Thunder”: the only Yak-54 flying in the US. He hopes to have it
in air shows within the next year. Andy Cripe/Gazette-Times photo.
The Yak-54 pilot’s cockpit. Top row L-R: G meter, airspeed indicator, cylinder-head
temperature. Bottom row of dials includes clock, altimeter, carburetor temperature, rpm,
engine gauge.
JG: Let’s bring this back to RC. Would
you say being an RC pilot helps you while
you fly this full-scale aerobatic airplane?
JB: Flying RC the way that I have has
helped me tremendously in my spatial
awareness. I know what needs to happen
next, what inputs are needed. Coordinating
an RC model is harder in some ways. That
transitions very well.
There are things that are very hard
about full-scale aerobatics, though. The
physiological factors play a big part,
which you don’t have in RC.
Disorientation, vertigo, and sickness are
things you have to deal with in a full-scale
aerobatics airplane.
Another factor is using your feet for the
rudder instead of using your finger.
Coordinating slow rolls, snap rolls, and
other maneuvers requires you to push with
your feet and hold onto the rudder pedals
while you’re upside-down. None of those
things come into play with RC.
In general, though, going from RC to
full-scale aerobatics is a pretty easy
transition. It’s a real advantage, and I
encourage people that fly RC to try it out.
JG: What would be a few things you
would really want to tell someone about
the Yak?
JB: The most common thing asked is, “Are you sure you’re ready
for a plane like that?” I always say, “No, I’m not ready.” No one
is really ready until they do it. You have to have training and
practice, and that is how you become capable of handling an
airplane like the Yak.
At this point, I have put the airplane in every orientation you
can put it in, and it’s handled really well. I feel very safe in the
airplane, but a mistake is very costly. The primary thing is to let
everyone know that I think it’s a safe activity, and I mitigate as
many of the dangers as possible by wearing a parachute,
practicing very high, and by taking it very seriously.
People also want to ask about the airplane itself. It has a ninecylinder
Vedeneyev M14P 360-horsepower engine. It’s a very
rugged and reliable engine that produces a lot of torque.
People ask if it can hover and the answer is, “Not quite.” I
haven’t felt comfortable trying that out, but from what I have seen
it will do a solid torque roll and come down in a tail slide. I think
with a 400-horsepower engine, I might have a better chance at
hovering. People are mostly interested in the performance and
history of the airplane.
JG: Can you give us some history on Russian Thunder?
JB: The Yak-54 was originally designed to be a trainer for jet
pilots. They also designed it to be an Unlimited aerobatic airplane
as well. When it came out, the Yak-54 was a lot less expensive
than the Sukhoi Su-29, so US distributors lined up to take a shot
at selling the airplane. Unfortunately it didn’t do all that well in
sales.
The Extra and Edge aircraft started dominating the aerobatic
competitions, because they have a little bit more vertical and a lot
lighter weight. Of the Yak-54 aircraft sold in the US, one was lost
in an accident in Alaska, one of them went back to Europe, and
the last one in the US at that time was called “Dancing Bear,” and
was sold to a man named Eric Beard, who renamed it “Russian
Thunder.”
He flew it in air shows and really showed the airplane off with
his piloting skills. Unfortunately he passed away a few years ago.
I approached his widow and purchased it from her.
The airplane itself was used in the RealFlight simulator, which
is how I became aware of it. It was on the cover of the box and
our example of a 3-D aircraft when we released RealFlight G3.
September 2008 77
Steve Wolf with Jim Bourke and Russian Thunder. Steve is a top-notch show pilot,
certified flight instructor, and mechanic. His projects included Delmar Benjamin’s Gee
Bee replica, which he and his team built at his shop in Creswell OR.
That is also how I got to know Eric and the airplane.
JG: So people out there can fly Russian Thunder using RealFlight?
JB: Russian Thunder is in Real Flight G3 and G4.
JG: Will Russian Thunder be offered as an ARF to the RC community?
JB: Yes it will. Chris Hinson of Extreme Flight RC will produce an
ARF of Russian Thunder in several sizes. They will probably start off
with the 50cc to 100cc size.
JG: To end the interview, I heard that you went to see your airplane
before you left for Joe Nall. Is that true?
JB: I love it. I have to see it every once in awhile. Even if it’s in the
shop or I can’t fly it, I’ll go down and take a look at it. I sometimes
spend some time in the cockpit or work on it a little bit. It’s just nice to
be around.
JG: Where can everyone learn about and follow Russian Thunder?
JB: Right now I’m doing most of my updates about the airplane on my
blog. Ultimately, the Russian Thunder Web site is going to be the
source for information on the airplane.
At the 2008 Joe Nall fly-in, I was able to interview Jim Bourke in an
interesting way. Check out the video. MA
Sources:
RCGroups
www.rcgroups.com
Flying Giants
www.flyinggiants.com
Jim Bourke’s blog
www.rcgroups.com/forums/member.php?u=486
Russian Thunder
www.russianthunder.com
Jim Graham’s interview with Jim Bourke
www.rcgroups.com/forums/member.php?u=8397