Yak-9 First Impressions?

[Imperator_TFD]

For those who were complaining about not having enough ammunition to shoot down any more than 1-2 fighters:

 

Try 7 in one sortie with enough ammo left over to strafe and kill 3 ground targets.  The 37mm is an incredibly effective 'sniper' weapon in the right hands and even more so if you use the HE ammo.  Just go easy on the trigger finger.

 

http://il2.theunprofessionals.com.au:8080/en/sortie/96334/?tour=20

 

 

Edited June 19, 2020 by Imperator_TFD

[Lolrawr]

yak 9 going 600kph at sea lvl no problem, leaving yak 1 and 7 well behind, it can catch up to fw easy. 

It has the same engine as the lagg and all other yaks, the same reliable Klimov engine, know world wide for cutting edge perfomance.

 

Edit: Maybe you guys forgot to close the radiator, thats an extra 400hp. Also try using a skin with cyrillic painting, i heard it helps dodge bullets, become invisible in times of need, big mustache man always protects, you just need to ask.

Also l2p.

Edited August 15, 2021 by Lolrawr

[6./ZG26_Klaus_Mann]

12 hours ago, Lolrawr said:

yak 9 going 600kph at sea lvl no problem, leaving yak 1 and 7 well behind

Nope, it is exactly as good as Yak-7 and Yak-1 late.

 

13 hours ago, Lolrawr said:

it can catch up to fw easy

Well, it will out accelerate a 190, because the 190 isn't any good at accelerating or climbing at low Speed. The 190 has a better Top Speed at Full Power, but only as fast as the Yaks in Combat Power.

13 hours ago, Lolrawr said:

Also l2p

Yup. Yaks are still sitting Ducks if you stay above 450km/h and will overheat quickly in a steep climb.

[Lolrawr]

10 minutes ago, 6./ZG26_Klaus_Mann said:

Nope, it is exactly as good as Yak-7 and Yak-1 late.

yeah no.

 

10 minutes ago, 6./ZG26_Klaus_Mann said:

Well, it will out accelerate a 190, because the 190 isn't any good at accelerating or climbing at low Speed. The 190 has a better Top Speed at Full Power, but only as fast as the Yaks in Combat Power.

 

i was going 580kph, yak 9 does 90-100 degree flat turn and catches up, leaving the already trailing yak 1 and 7 far behind. Also snipes me from 900 meters. Want the recording?

 

Also, if you run out of bullets your yak becomes a tungsten bullet. Want recordings of yak 9 ramming and simply flying away like nothing happened while my wings fly off? I got those too.

 

You just don't know how to use it. Told you, close radiator, scribble cyrillic letters and conserve ammo, use the plane as ammo, don't worry about the rest, moustache daddy protecc.

 

Also l2p.

[6./ZG26_Klaus_Mann]

@LolrawrMultiplayer always has weird time dilation/porridge issues and is never representative of the game, just ping and netcode.

[DD_Arthur]

41 minutes ago, 6./ZG26_Klaus_Mann said:

@LolrawrMultiplayer always has weird time dilation/porridge issues and is never representative of the game, just ping and netcode.

 

In this case?   No, just a bit of good 'ol traditional luftwhining.  

 

 

[ACG_pezman]

47 minutes ago, Lolrawr said:

i was going 580kph, yak 9 does 90-100 degree flat turn and catches up, leaving the already trailing yak 1 and 7 far behind. Also snipes me from 900 meters. Want the recording?

This.

 

I've tried to energy trap the Yak-9T and have been shocked at how much energy it retains.  At the speeds I engaged this Yak at I assumed any >90 turns they did would be wide and allow me to extend past them on slashing attacks.  It wasn't, the Yak just turned on a dime and seemed to retain nearly all their speed.  I attacked from 11 o'clock high in a shallow dive and extended out to their 4-5 o'clock.  I was trying to prevent them from doing exactly what they did.

 

I hadn't planned on doing any turning, just a gentle zoom to maximize my energy, but I was forced to with how close this Yak-9T was going to be... even after that turn... and their energy didn't seem to be low as I wasn't extending quickly. 

 

I decided that the best move was to force them to make another 180 degree to drain their E, I should have been far higher by this point, but to my amazement they hung through the second turn.  I was lower on E then I wanted to be and the only option I had was to dive.  They were .34km (EU normal) behind me and falling behind... but after doing two high G, high drag (should have been), turns they were way to damn close.  It didn't make sense.  He should have at least blacked out, even if he had a G-suit allowing me to extend still.

 

All just anecdotal though, I wasn't recording.

[Lolrawr]

8 hours ago, DD_Arthur said:

just a bit of good 'ol traditional luftwhining.

You seem to have missed  the part where i said that i have it recorded, but ofc that would not server your interest so you just  simply omit it and call people crybabies.

 

Also i misspoke, he didn't do a 90-100 degree turn, it was actually a 270 degree FLAT turn  while i was going underneath him at 500kph.

Note that listed max speed at sea lvl is 537kph iirc, and Klaus said in an above post that above 450kph they can't really manouvre that well, althought he does a sharp FLAT turn while i start a shallow climb ending at 430`ish kph and at 1.94 km away.

 

He didn't have cyrillic markings this time, but to be fair he didn't need them as he was chasing and wasn't shot at. All he had to do is close the radiator and get that juicy extra 400hp. I'm telling you guys, you are flying the yak 9 wrong. Follow my advice and success is guaranteed.

I also heard that flying with the canopy open allows the pilot to breathe that invigorating rhodyna fresh air which motivates him to pedal harder wich can further boost performance. NOT FULLY TESTED YET. 

 

And don't get me started with the soviet era stealth tech. Where do you think all the yaks and lalas went after the war? They were destroyed you say? NAY, they are actually living in your home rent free, but you don't know that because you can't see them and what you can't see you can't know. CHECK MATE ATHEISTS!

 

Told you, want to see it with your own eyes? Just ask. But you don't want that ofc

[6./ZG26_Klaus_Mann]

@LolrawrClosing the Rads on Yak-9 slows it down. Least Drag Position is 50% for Yak-9 and Yak-7.

[Lolrawr]

3 minutes ago, 6./ZG26_Klaus_Mann said:

Closing the Rads on Yak-9 slows it down.

No, it actually slows down time, allowing the yak to move faster. It may appear as lag or desync but the simple fact is that our ape brain can't comprehend such technology yet. 

[LLv34_Flanker]

S! 

 

I have seen interesting maneuvers, control harmony beyond any documents and E retentions in this game by Red(commies) planes that it is not even funny anymore. Nor surprising. But such is life "Enjoy" the game as it is and all is good and dandy Have a nice day all, don't be too serious over a game. 

[354thFG_Panda_]

2 hours ago, 6./ZG26_Klaus_Mann said:

@LolrawrClosing the Rads on Yak-9 slows it down. Least Drag Position is 50% for Yak-9 and Yak-7.

This got changed some update ago. The yak7B still experiences this but the yak 9s do not. They can reach speeds of up to 547~550kmh sea level in autumn Kuban standard conditions while yak 7B is stuck at ~534kmh

Edited August 16, 2021 by LR.TheRedPanda

[DD_Arthur]

3 hours ago, Lolrawr said:

You seem to have missed  the part where i said that i have it recorded, but ofc that would not server your interest so you just  simply omit it and call people crybabies.

 

I’m not calling you a crybaby;

 I calling you a laughable, deluded buffoon.?

[-=PHX=-SuperEtendard]

3 hours ago, LLv34_Flanker said:

S! 

 

I have seen interesting maneuvers, control harmony beyond any documents and E retentions in this game by Red(commies) planes that it is not even funny anymore. Nor surprising. But such is life "Enjoy" the game as it is and all is good and dandy Have a nice day all, don't be too serious over a game. 

Where are these "control harmony" and "E retention" documents of the Yak fighters? honestly curioust to see them. Expecting some nice charts with max G pulled vs stick force deflection at different indicated airspeeds, also lift coefficient and lift/drag curves for their wing configuration.

Similar effort to what Yak Panther has done to see how to improve the Tempest and Typhoon flight models.
 

Edited August 16, 2021 by -=PHX=-SuperEtendard

[Lolrawr]

1 hour ago, DD_Arthur said:

 I calling you a laughable, deluded buffoon.

 

The feeling is mutual. Remeber to close the radiator next time that way the jokes won't fly over your head.

[the_emperor]

The Yak-9 is oddly  fast in the game. up to 540-550kph on the deck (Kuban autumn), though russian sources (only secondary thus far unfortunately) state ~520kph max.

But I dont mind as the only evasive manoeuvre  I know is the straight line on the deck as fast as I can ?

I genuinely like the Yak-9, only the weak armament with the low ammo count haunts me.

Cheers

Edited August 17, 2021 by the_emperor

[oc2209]

4 hours ago, the_emperor said:

The Yak-9 is oddly  fast in the game. up to 540-550kph on the deck (Kuban autumn), though russian sources state ~520kph max.

 

I have a book on Yaks, written by Russians using Russian sources; it states two different examples of production (not prototype) Yak-9s reaching 535 and 539 KPH at sea level.

 

So while 550 KPH is far too optimistic, 540 isn't too much beyond the realm of plausibility. There was considerable inconsistency in aircraft quality (mainly in surface smoothness, gap sealing, weight variations, etc) depending very much on which factory a given Yak was built in.

 

You should also consider that the Yak-9 (no suffix, like -9T, -9D, etc) was only built to the tune of 500 units. So it's easy to find Yak-9 statistics that might be erroneously giving stats for heavier 9 variants (most were heavier, adding either a larger cannon, extra fuel, or bomb capacity), and not the plain 9's original production run.

[the_emperor]

@oc2209

fantastic thank you very much. I did not know that only 500 planes were built of that model.

Does your book contain primary scources for the figures and can you share them? I am desperately looking for any primary scources on soviet aircrafts, as they are very hard to come by.

Cheers

[Reggie_Mental]

Gratuitous Yak9T shot...

 

 

and another one...

 

 

Last one, promise...

Edited August 17, 2021 by Reggie_Mental

[Lolrawr]

2 hours ago, oc2209 said:

539 KPH at sea level.

 

When you translate numbers from cyrillic to latin you need to read from right to left. It's actually 935 KPH.

Ingame Yak 9 is 40% slower than irl.

Jason pls buff ty.

[I./JG52_Woutwocampe]

About the Yak 9 in career. Its only available for a small time window in Kuban while the 1b is all over the map for the entire career. I always thought the Yak 9 was instrumental for the vvs in Kuban. Am I missing something here?

[LukeFF]

1 hour ago, I./JG52_Woutwocampe said:

About the Yak 9 in career. Its only available for a small time window in Kuban while the 1b is all over the map for the entire career. I always thought the Yak 9 was instrumental for the vvs in Kuban. Am I missing something here?

 

No, there weren't a lot of Yak-9s in the Kuban at this time. Somewhere, a long time ago, @BlackSix presented original documentation showing this. 

[oc2209]

7 hours ago, the_emperor said:

@oc2209

fantastic thank you very much. I did not know that only 500 planes were built of that model.

Does your book contain primary scources for the figures and can you share them? I am desperately looking for any primary scources on soviet aircrafts, as they are very hard to come by.

 

If you want to see the book itself (at least the blurb about it and a few reviews), you can find it on Amazon. Just search for "Yakovlev Fighters of World War Two" under the Books category, and it should come up. The authors are Yefim Gordon, Sergey Komissarov, Dmitriy Komissarov, and it was first published in 2015.

 

According to the introduction, information was taken directly from archives from the Yakovlev design bureau, Research Institute of the Soviet Air Force, and the Flight Research Institute.

 

The 535 KPH at sea level Yak-9 test I mentioned earlier, for example, gives the plane's c/n, factory number, the date of the test, and whichever of the above institutes was involved in the testing.

 

Interestingly, I just found another reference to a Yak-9T prototype that was tested with speeds of 544 KPH at sea level, and 613 KPH at 4,080m. Once again, the reasons for the speed gains were all related to the quality of the finishing work, mainly in proper sealing.

 

4 hours ago, I./JG52_Woutwocampe said:

About the Yak 9 in career. Its only available for a small time window in Kuban while the 1b is all over the map for the entire career. I always thought the Yak 9 was instrumental for the vvs in Kuban. Am I missing something here?

 

That's the reason I bought the 1B long after buying the 9. Even though I consider the 9 superior to the 1B, waiting for the 9 to become available is tortuous. I don't really like the 7 that much, so I'd rather fly the 1B while waiting.

 

On 8/15/2021 at 10:09 PM, Lolrawr said:

He didn't have cyrillic markings this time, but to be fair he didn't need them as he was chasing and wasn't shot at. All he had to do is close the radiator and get that juicy extra 400hp. I'm telling you guys, you are flying the yak 9 wrong. Follow my advice and success is guaranteed.

 

He's right, guys.

 

Spoiler

 

 

I used the Cyrillic writing skin, but didn't always follow the radiator advice.

 

Nonetheless, I was untouchable in a 1v4.

 

One of the 109s crashed early on without being hit, presumably from fear.

Edited August 18, 2021 by oc2209

[I./JG52_Woutwocampe]

1 hour ago, LukeFF said:

 

No, there weren't a lot of Yak-9s in the Kuban at this time. Somewhere, a long time ago, @BlackSix presented original documentation showing this. 

 

Are you referring to this?

 

https://forum.il2sturmovik.ru/topic/6073-як-9-в-небе-сталинграда-и-не-только/?tab=comments#comment-545589

[oc2209]

Okay, 1v8 and I still wasn't hit.

 

@Lolrawr is clearly on to something big here.

 

Really big.

 

Spoiler

 

 

So technically it was 1v7 because a 190 crashed after my initial head-on merge with the group. Again, I'm sure fear was the cause.

 

I did legitimately shoot down 3 190s, damaged 2. My aiming went to hell on the last one, as it was the last of my ammo. I think worrying I'm about to run out of ammo makes me shoot worse. I'm being deadly serious about that.

 

(in all honesty, this was my third attempt at a 1v8. The first two ended with me being badly damaged in the first minute)

[RossMarBow]

The Yak9s are very nice aircraft to fly.
I find they benefit from cold weather a lot because you can really close the rads down.
If the maps cold enough I take if over the la5.

It's one of the few aircraft that actually feel like they are built to be fight planes.

 

Only annoying thing is usually you hit blackout limits before you can take advantage of your turning ability against germoids

[the_emperor]

Regarding the perfomance of the Yak-9 I have found these charts published by the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute in 1994:

and I really want the late Lagg-3 in this game. it seems to be the fastes of all Klimov 105PF driven planes

 

 

Edited August 18, 2021 by the_emperor

[LukeFF]

13 hours ago, I./JG52_Woutwocampe said:

Are you referring to this?

 

https://forum.il2sturmovik.ru/topic/6073-як-9-в-небе-сталинграда-и-не-только/?tab=comments#comment-545589

 

Yes

[Denum]

I like it, but if terms of raw killing power the 109s just have way better guns in game. 

 

Will fly the 9 over the 1B though.

 

Because those guns are junk. I'd rather ram my enemy.

[the_emperor]

I wonder though, what is the difference in the radiator design between the Yak-9 and Yak1b127- The one of the Yak-1 looks a bit morre sophisticatet (does not mean its better, but is seems more set into the fuselage and further away from the oil radiator) and the Yak1 does seem to have a bit more ammo. 20 rpg.

[oc2209]

10 hours ago, brahguevara said:

The Yak9s are very nice aircraft to fly.
 

It's one of the few aircraft that actually feel like they are built to be fight planes.

 

Only annoying thing is usually you hit blackout limits before you can take advantage of your turning ability against germoids

 

I consider the Yak-9 to be the low-level equivalent of the Spitfire, but without the excessive elevator sensitivity. G-fatigue is consequently easier to manage in the Yak. I also prefer the nose-mounted gun configuration to the Spit's by far.

 

1 hour ago, Denum said:

I like it, but if terms of raw killing power the 109s just have way better guns in game.

 

It's not the qualities of the guns (German 20mm HE obviously has more punch, but the gun has a noticeably lower rate of fire than the Russian 20mm) as much as the ammo capacities.

For German guns to fit 200-250 r.p.g for their cannons in the 109 and 190 respectively--that's well beyond the competition. More ammo is always better, no matter what. Which is why Russian ammo limits are far more frustrating to me than the amount of guns or hitting power of the guns.

 

Since the Yak-7 can fit 400 r.p.g of 12.7mm and the usual 120 rounds of 20mm, you would assume that the deletion of a 12.7mm in the Yak-9 would allow a lot more rounds to be fit for both remaining guns; or at least for one of them. Like 300 rounds for the 12.7mm, or a 250/150 split with the cannon. Anything would be better than 200/120.

 

1 hour ago, Denum said:

 

Will fly the 9 over the 1B though.

 

Because those guns are junk. I'd rather ram my enemy.

 

Not sure what you mean. The 1B's guns are identical to the Yak-9's, but carry a small amount of extra ammo (for some reason). 

[Denum]

2 hours ago, oc2209 said:

 

I consider the Yak-9 to be the low-level equivalent of the Spitfire, but without the excessive elevator sensitivity. G-fatigue is consequently easier to manage in the Yak. I also prefer the nose-mounted gun configuration to the Spit's by far.

 

 

It's not the qualities of the guns (German 20mm HE obviously has more punch, but the gun has a noticeably lower rate of fire than the Russian 20mm) as much as the ammo capacities.

For German guns to fit 200-250 r.p.g for their cannons in the 109 and 190 respectively--that's well beyond the competition. More ammo is always better, no matter what. Which is why Russian ammo limits are far more frustrating to me than the amount of guns or hitting power of the guns.

 

Since the Yak-7 can fit 400 r.p.g of 12.7mm and the usual 120 rounds of 20mm, you would assume that the deletion of a 12.7mm in the Yak-9 would allow a lot more rounds to be fit for both remaining guns; or at least for one of them. Like 300 rounds for the 12.7mm, or a 250/150 split with the cannon. Anything would be better than 200/120.

 

 

Not sure what you mean. The 1B's guns are identical to the Yak-9's, but carry a small amount of extra ammo (for some reason). 

Belt composition on the 1B is AP AP HE, where the 9 is AP HE. 

 

Just due to game design even though the guns are identical. The 9 is more effective because AP is under powered. 

 

 

The UB isn't much help either. Frankly if that's all I have left I try to run for home. 

 

 

Worth buying, that's subjective. They're plenty of fun to fly I suppose. It's very fast and smaller then most fighters. 

 

If I had money to just buy one I'd snag the 9 ser 1 as it's pretty fun. 

 

Edited August 18, 2021 by Denum

[oc2209]

2 minutes ago, Denum said:

Belt composition on the 1B is AP AP HE, where the 9 is AP HE. 

 

Just due to game design even though the guns are identical. The 9 is more effective because AP is under powered. 

 

The UB isn't much help either. Frankly if that's all I have left I try to run for home.

 

The AP of both guns are vitally necessary for killing pilots and starting engine fires.

 

UB is an excellent pilot killer when employed specifically for that purpose; and when it can't be used to that end, it's good for wing strikes. 20mm should never be wasted on the wings if at all possible. 20mm should be used only for the tail/pilot/engine; i.e, center of mass shots.

[Denum]

Tell you what, you take the 20mm AP and I'll take the 20mm HE. 

 

I already know how it's going to go ?

 

But back on topic 

 

The Yaks are pretty good at getting the 109 drivers (human players. The AI will G out pretty easily without your involvement) to burn up their endurance with their magic seats. Made a few players go to sleep just by riding the edge of G loc as fast possible. 

 

Just don't take the fight vertical. The game doesn't really stall so there's a good chance your pursuer will be able to pop a shot into you.

 

Edited August 18, 2021 by Denum

[the_emperor]

one has to keep in mind, that the soviet 20mm, though same diameter, fires smaller projectile than their brit/us/ger counterpart:

(20x99-20x99-20x82-20x82-20x138)

 

One has to admire that the soviet were able to give their fighter a fantastic all round view...the 109 realy feels not that good regarding the big blind spot for your 6 oclock

Edited August 18, 2021 by the_emperor

[Denum]

Absolutely. There will be a performance difference. But there's a pretty notice gap between the 151/20 and Shvak. Like real noticeable.

 

But as I had said, I'd sooner have a full HE belt in my Shvak then the AP/HE mix in game. 

[oc2209]

50 minutes ago, Denum said:

Belt composition on the 1B is AP AP HE, where the 9 is AP HE. 

 

Just due to game design even though the guns are identical. The 9 is more effective because AP is under powered.

 

 

36 minutes ago, Denum said:

Tell you what, you take the 20mm AP and I'll take the 20mm HE. 

 

I already know how it's going to go ?

 

I don't want to get the thread locked, but goddamn are you a boring broken record.

 

Here, have a laugh at this:

 

Spoiler

 

 

The AI wingmen even hit me with some 20mm while I was firing, for good measure.

 

Yup, looks that short burst from dead six that killed the pilot and started a fire was all the HE's doing. I wonder if the HE curved around the plane and went into the cockpit and engine from above?

[Denum]

No logs, tac-view? 

 

How do you know what did what there? 

 

This hit lit me on fire. I can guarantee you it was the HE that did it. 

 

Or perhaps this one that killed my pilot and did no damage the plane. 

 

 

Just oooof my dude. 

 

 

 

Will agree with @brahguevara

 

The Yaks in winter are an absolute joy because they are real stinkin fast.

 

 

 

 

Edited August 18, 2021 by Denum

[=621=Samikatz]

TBH with the Berezin armed Yaks I've never struggled with the armament. The plane's spectacular handling combined with the nose mounting means you can pretty reliably shoot for engines and cockpits

[Denum]

1 minute ago, =621=Samikatz said:

TBH with the Berezin armed Yaks I've never struggled with the armament. The plane's spectacular handling combined with the nose mounting means you can pretty reliably shoot for engines and cockpits

Oh you can make it work for sure. 

 

They aren't harmless. 

 

Just if you take two identically skilled pilots, the one with the HE will win here.