Yakovlev's Yak-42E-LL propfan testbed flew for the first time on 15 March at a flight-test centre near Moscow. It is the first propfan powered aircraft built as part of an in-house development programme at a Soviet aircraft design bureau.

The new team heading Yakovlev regards propfan aircraft development as a key element of future bureau activity. Alexander Dondukov, at 37 the youngest general designer in post-war Soviet aviation, took over as head of Yakovlev in February. He has been in charge of the bureau's propfan research from its outset.

Vladimir Dmitriev, Yakovlev deputy general designer responsible for research and development, explains: "For several years the Soviet Ministry of Aircraft Industry has been conducting a wide-scale research programme to explore the feasibility of a number of fuel-saving technologies. Several Soviet research and design organisations contributed to this programme, [in the course of which] the main propfan research and design work was performed".

An Ilyushin Il-76, modified at the State Research Institute for use as a propfan testbed, marked the first practical step by Soviet industry. One the Il-76's four turbofans was replaced with a Progress D-236 geared propfan, similar to that now fitted to the Yak-42E-LL. Other Soviet design bureaux are also evaluating their own propfan powered designs, using results from the Il-76 tests as well as data obtained at Soviet research centres such as TsAGI,TsIAM and VIAM.

Dmitriev says: "The Yak-42E-LL introduces a new step in this direction. The propfan design environment is much more realistic here than on the Il-76 testbed. Our aim in this programme is somewhat twofold. We are trying to get solutions to the fundamental problems of propfan design as well as to gain real operational experience with a propfan-powered aircraft.

"Based on this experience, we will be...