Adam Poultney Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 Is this a Yak3 or a Yak9? Definitely not my area of expertise so I don't know how to tell which of the two very similar aircraft it is Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troy Smith Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 3 minutes ago, Adam Poultney said: Is this a Yak3 or a Yak9? Definitely not my area of expertise Looks to be a new build Yak-3, in Normandie Nieman markings.... this one https://www.cafsocal.com/our-aircrafts/our-aircraft-and-history/yak-3/ https://revivaler.com/yakovlev-yak-3/ note the civil registration at the back of the arrow see here for more on new build Yaks https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakovlev_Yak-3#Modern_production_Yak_fighters 3 minutes ago, Adam Poultney said: so I don't know how to tell which of the two very similar aircraft it is in the same way all Vulcans look alike.... A Yak-3 and a Yak-9 pretty different, they have different wing for starters... there are a lot of details to take in with the Yak family, I'd have to check to be sure what is what.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JosephLalor Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 (edited) Well spotted on the registration, Troy, I wouldn't have noticed. What would mark it out as a -3 for me in side view would be the absence of the oil cooler under the nose. Edited September 20, 2020 by JosephLalor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nachtwulf Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 Another indication of it being a modern build is the Allison engine air intake on top of the cowl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColFord Posted September 21, 2020 Share Posted September 21, 2020 1 hour ago, Nachtwulf said: Another indication of it being a modern build is the Allison engine air intake on top of the cowl. Not all the modern build Yak-3Ms with the Allison V-1710 engine have the engine air intake on top of the cowl. A couple of the modern build Yak-3M owners/operators have gone to the trouble to rework the engine air intake ducting into the wing root intakes as per the original aircraft. A more significant absence on most of the new builds is the gun barrel troughs and breech/feed mechanism bulges on the top panel cowling on the nose. Example being VK-VVS "Full Noise" based at Omaka in NZ. Full Noise Fast by Colin Ford, on Flickr 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shorty84 Posted September 21, 2020 Share Posted September 21, 2020 Hi Adam, the replica in your picture is indeed a Yak-3 but these were actually patterned based on the Yak-3 VK-107, a postwar, all-metal version of the wartime Yak-3 with an different engine. This version has its cockpit moved aft by 400mm (you can see that when checking the position of the glazing in relation to the belly radiator) which made it look similar in sideview to the Yak-9U. The only way to distinguish them with certainty is the wing planform which is different on the Yak-3 compared to all other Yak fighters. Furthermore, while the air intake on the cowl is no doubt a concession to the American engine it was infact present on the VK-107 engined Yaks too. Here an article about the Yak-3 VK-107 where you can compare the sideviews with your photo: https://massimotessitori.altervista.org/sovietwarplanes/pages/yak3/yak3vk107/yak3vk107.html Cheers Markus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modelraynz Posted September 22, 2020 Share Posted September 22, 2020 (edited) What Shorty84 said! Understandible though - Visited Omaka recently saw one of the yak-3m's with the reaction: "WTF is that unholy spawn?!" - Then read the placard 😄 Edited September 22, 2020 by Modelraynz 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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