Demand for even more
rapid rate of roll, and to meet competition
from Sukhoi, this new version
was produced in 1989 with a more
tapered wing of reduced span and area.
The one-piece ailerons had their
mass/horn balances neatly faired into
the slightly rounded wingtips, and
were in addition fitted with an aerodynamic
balance tab carried well
underneath on twin struts. The original
trim tabs on the inner sections were
replaced by narrow ground-adjustable
tabs. Among other changes, the
canopy was given a fixed rear portion
and the spinner was omitted.
Project director was Yu I Yankevich,
chief engineer V M Popkov and OKB
test pilots Bulygin, Molchanyuk and
V P Makagonov. The Yak-55M was
selected for the Soviet team at the 1989 European championships. Production began at Arsenyev in 1990, and by the
end of 1993 a total of 106 had been delivered, with a small number having
been built since.
