Yak-38 testing delays and flight-crew shortages

The Yak-38 first flew in 1970 and officially entered service in 1977. A Soviet test-unit account shows why progress was slow across the Northern Fleet, Pacific Fleet, and the training and research establishment at Saki. Aircraft sat idle after nose-gear failures, wing damage during landing, foreign-object ingestion into compressors, and instability near the ground during vertical operations. Diverging exhaust jets created suction forces that complicated both longitudinal and lateral control. A shortage of training aircraft delayed pilot development and left Kiev without enough flight personnel for full testing or shipboard work-up. The cited first air group of six Yak-36M aircraft, one two-seat trainer, and fifteen Ka-25 helicopters shows how small the usable fixed-wing element remained while those problems were being solved.