World's only Yak-53 takes to the skies over California

By Tyson V. Rininger

Located in what most would consider an abandoned airport about 10 miles north of Monterey (CA), A father and son team work at reconditioning CJ-6 Nanchang aircraft from China. Little did they know their business would soon enter the Russian Yak market in a very unique way. James Selby and his son James Selby, Jr. became the new owners of the world's only Yak-53 single-seat high performance aircraft.

In 1981, the Yak design bureau received government funding to build a piston single-seat light attack aircraft for potential use in Afghanistan from an existing Yak-52 airframe. For unknown reasons, the Russian military wasn't satisfied with the aircraft so most of the equipment was removed and plane was presented as an aerobatic aircraft. To promote this version of the aircraft two height-to-climb records were officially registered for 3,000 and 5,000 meters by Yak design bureau test pilots Makagonov and Molchanyuk.

Unfortunately for the Yak-53, the Yak-50 was already in production and the Yak-55 project had already begun the design process. This being the case, the Yak-53 was given back to the military since the government initially funded the aircraft's design. It wasn't until 2001 that word of the aircraft began circulating through various Soviet technical magazines.

The aircraft was later found that same year by accident 40km from Moscow. Visible from the road, the Russian Glider Team trainer, Oleg Pasechnik and Serpuhov Airclub Chief Engineer, Sergey Makarov rescued the aircraft from a farmer's field where it sat deteriorating. The director of the collective farm received the Yak-53 as a gift from his friend, an air force base chief.

The aircraft was completely restored by Smolensk Aeroservice with the new M-14P, 360hp engine and was flown once more after 20 years of rest on May 4, 2002. After it's brief flight, it was placed into storage and later purchased by the Selby's in May of 2004 with only 16 hours of flight time. Eager to receive FAA approval on the Russian aircraft and get her flying again, it only took two days to reassemble the airframe components and wing assembly. She first took to the skies over the Central California Coast on Thursday, July 8th at 1830 hours.

Jim Selby and Jim Selby, Jr. are based out of the Marina Airport in Marina (CA). They have reconditioned and sold close to 30 CJ-6's with this being their first Yak. Future plans involve the full restoration of a fairly rare 5-cylinder Yak-18 / CJ-5 of which only about 5 are flying in the US today.

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