Our Planes

Specifications (P-51D):
        Engine: One 1,695-hp Packard Merlin V-1650-7 piston V-12 engine
        Weight: Empty 7,125 lbs., Max Takeoff 12,100 lbs.
        Wing Span: 37ft. 0.5in.
        Length: 32ft. 9.5in.
        Height: 13ft. 8in.
        Performance:
            Maximum Speed: 437 mph
            Ceiling: 41,900 ft.
            Range: 1300 miles
        Armament: Six 12.7-mm (0.5 inch) wing-mounted machine guns, plus up to two 1,000-lb bombs or six 127-mm (5 inch) rockets.

Specifications (L-5):
        Engine: One 185-hp Lycoming O-435-1 flat-six piston engine
        Weight: Empty 1,550 lbs., Max Takeoff 2,020 lbs.
        Wing Span: 34ft. 0in.
        Length: 24ft. 1in.
        Height: 7ft. 11in.
        Performance:
            Maximum Speed: 130 mph
            Ceiling: 15,800 ft.
            Range: 360 miles
        Armament: None

The newest member added to our museum is our 2000 Yakovlev Yak-9U-M. It is our continued mission to preserve aviation history with an emphasis on WWII, so this generous gift to SHAF, from Denny Hickman, will allow us to broaden that emphasis as we keep Ol’ Snort flying. 

A little history on the Yak: Aleksandr Sergeyevich Yakovlev was an aircraft designer noted for his series of Yak aircraft, most of them fighters used by the Soviet Union in World War II. Yakovlev Yak-9 piston fighters became the most important element of the Soviet air arm in the final two years of World War II. The Yak-9 has a lowered rear fuselage decking and all-around vision canopy. Its lighter metal longerons gave the then new fighter a potential to increase fuel load and armament that previous models with wooden airframe had lacked. The maneuverable, high-speed at low/medium altitudes and easy to control Yak-9 was one of the best and the most mass-produced Soviet fighter of World War II. The Yak-9 remained in production from 1942 to 1948, with 16,769 built (14,579 during the war).

In the early 1990s, Yakovlev started limited production for the warbird market of Yak-9 and Yak-3 replica aircraft using original World War II equipment and Allison V-1710 engines. These modern-built replicas, like ours, has the Allison engines, and has counterclockwise-rotation props, unlike the originals which strictly used clockwise-rotation Soviet V12 powerplants.