Russian Aircraft found in parking lot

[spectre68]

Way To Go Graham! Looks like this little mystery is solved. Thanks!

[Kilroy Was Here]

Its a SOKO 522 made in Yugoslavia during the 50's
Soko 522 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Cheers - Graham

Absolutely, I agree, you solved the mystery Graham.... That's exactly what it is, good going!!

Regards, Steve

[Berthier92]

Yak-52s are skinnier, and its deffinitly not a SU-2 or La-5, though the cockpit canopy looks remarkably simmilar to the Yak-9K 2 seater trainer, and the cowling is very p-47 Thunerbolt in design, im guessing its a 50's trainer, not nessicerely a soviet design

[Enemy Ace]

I think this is the Soko that was with the CAF Dixie wing south of Atlanta in Peachtree city. It has been reconfigured with R 1340 engine from a T-6 Texan. The airplane had lost power years ago and landed in a field. After it was put back together it was up for sale for quite a while... I bet someone got a really good deal. A lot cheaper than a T-6 but comparable performance, and something that you don't see every day at airshows...... That actually is a good thing for an airplane owner since it makes it easier to get invitations/ bookings to shows... ($$$$$)

[astixjr]

Yes, it is a SOKO 522 and this is the safest way to move one from place to place. They make great static display airplanes and should only be put in non-flying museums. I guess they would make a good Wind T at an airport but past that, they are only good for running off the side of the runways and taxiways, blowing tires, ground looping, and generally terrifying the pilot, passenger, and innocent bystanders. They have a tiny fuel tank, I guess because the Yugoslavians never wanted to fly them any longer than absolutely necessary. They called them the "Widow Maker" and the "Black Widow" but these were not names meant to scare enemies, these were nicknames meant to scare fellow Yugoslavian pilots. The best thing to do is to remove the P&W R-1340 AN-1 engine that was used on the plane when new and put it in a worthy SNJ or T-6. A non-running core engine should be put in it's place so that nobody will be tempted to fly the plane from that point forward. The Soko-522 takes off, lands, stalls and cruises at 105 MPH so it has a very small operational speed range. It may look like an Eastern Bloc version of the T-6 but I assure you, it is not. It has a mix of American, British, Soviet, and Yugoslavian features, technology, and hardware. It is, at best, an Acme Belchfire. The wings fold upward just outside of the wing walk area along the fuselage. That's great if you have a really narrow but VERY tall hangar. No idea why they made it with folding wings because as far as I know, Yugoslavia never had an aircraft carrier. If you run across a Soko-522, do not attempt to pick it up, touch it, or even get too close. Notify the nearest police or Haz-Mat officials who will call a scrap metal dealer to come out and pick up the plane. There is some recoverable Aluminum in the structure of the Soko-522 that can be used to make beer cans or some useful cooking pots and pans. I turned down the lead partner who purchased this plane back in the 1990s because I knew they would wreck the one I had and I did not want to be responsible for seeing un-qualified pilots getting hurt in a plane that I once owned. They purchased another one, actually a much nicer one than mine and apparently forgot about the lawn tractor sized fuel tank. They were lucky not to get hurt in the off airport landing. It took me years and years to find a safe home for my Soko-522 and in the end, I traded it for a Yak-52, loosing about 50K in value but the new owner was trying to build some time in something that he thought would simulate a Sea Fury since his friend was restoring one. He had some fun with it for a while but not too long after he got it home, one of the brake shoes came apart and he went off the taxiway into a ditch. It had new brakes linings and new Yugo tires on it when he took it home but I warned him that the tires and brakes only last for ten to twenty landings, depending on what you are landing on and how hard you use the brakes. The Yak-52 is still sitting in our hangar ten years later. It has never flown since we traded it for the Soko. We have another Yak-52 that does fly but the one we traded for the Soko just brings back too many bad memories. We annual it every year or two and then just park it back in the hangar. When my old Soko is cut up for scrap and melted or is mounted on a popsicle stick as a gate guard somewhere so I know it can no longer harm any humans, I'll start flying the other Yak-52.

[noelh]

The Soko-522 takes off, lands, stalls and cruises at 105 MPH so it has a very small operational speed range.

I laughed out loud at that. Luckily I had finished my coffee other you'd owe me a new laptop! Thanks for that insight, it's definitely off my list of warbirds when I finally get rich. Something a bit more docile would suit my piloting style.

[astixjr]

The funny thing is, I think this plane may have found it's way to the same airport where I kept my Soko 522, Avra Valley Airport (Now Tucson Northwest Regional or something silly like that). If it is the same plane, it is being maintained by the same wrench turner who worked on mine. The plane and it's owner could not have found a better place to call home because the mechanic, Rick Barter is not only one of the best aircraft restoration mechanics that I know, he has lots of experience on Soko 522s! The fellow who owns the plane flys it on a regular basis and absolutely loves it. He can't get enough. I guess there's no accounting for taste. Still, I'm happy that the plane has found a worthy owner/pilot and is being kept up by one of the best in the business. As for my old Soko522, like a bad penny, I expect it is skulking around in the shadows, bidding it's time and waiting to pounce on me one last time. Having failed to kill me or any of my friends during the years that I owned it and like the native population of it's Balkan homeland, I'm sure it has the same long memory and will once again, try to snuff me out.