Both the Chinook and Yak 24 are icons in their own right. In their day, both aircraft were the largest cargo helicopter in their respective air forces. Both are tandem rotor aircraft. But which is the best?
Chinook vs Yak 24: What is Tandem Rotor?
I appreciate that the term ‘tandem rotor’ might be slightly foreign to some people. Indeed, many have heard of the term, but simply not know the meaning of it.
For many helicopters, they have both a main rotor and a secondary one for support. Take the S-76, the most famous private helicopter in the world, as an example!
However, with tandem rotors, this is different. Instead of having one main and one secondary rotor, tandem rotor involves two main rotors. A combination of flaps, horizontal and vertical stabilizers are used to maneuver the aircraft.
As the aircraft has two main rotors, they must be engineered so that they never touch one another. This is where the tandem rotor mechanism comes into place.
This is the mechanism that times it so precisely, that neither rotor ever hits the other! Both the Chinook and the Yak 24 are tandem rotor aircraft!
Chinook vs Yak 24: The Basics
After WWII, and the onset of the Cold War, both the US and the USSR strove to out engineer one another. As such, both countries came up with increasingly intricate designs to show the merits of communism or capitalism.
Chinook
The Chinook is actually the younger of the two aircraft. In 1957, Vertol, now Boeing Rotorcraft division, decided to use an old design of Piasecki (the predecessor of Vertol).
Although the base design was the Piasecki H-16, an unsuccessful tamdem rotor helicopter. Vertol was convinced that they could make their new design much more successful than the H-16.
After the US Army announced that it would be retiring its CH-37 Mojave aircraft, Vertol knew that their new design would win the bid. Part of the contract stated that the helicopter needed to be able to carry field artillery and other heavy objects.
As such, the army were very interested in the CH-47, which was the only submission to the contract. Many other militaries too were interested in the CH-47, including the RAF and the US Marine Corps (although they use a smaller variant known as the CH-46!)
Yak 24
In 1951, Joseph Stalin himself, spoke with Alexander Yakovlev. Stalin wanted a helicopter that served several purposes. He wanted a helicopter that was an engineering marvel, one to eclipse anything the west had.
Stalin also wanted a helicopter that could be diverse. He wanted a helicopter that could be used as a troop transport, carry heavy loads and be a luxury passenger transport all at the same time.
Production of a massive tandem rotor aircraft was started in 1955, with the Soviet Air Force being the first to receive the helicopter. Soon after that, the first Yak 24 was delivered to Aeroflot in a VIP configuration.
The VIP Yak 24s were used to carry around Soviet higher ups. Several other variant were designed but never put into production. However, of those that were produced, there were several variants and configurations chosen.
The exact number of Yak 24s produced is unknown. This is mostly down to poor record keeping by the USSR, and many of the documents being destroyed after the breakup of the USSR in 1991.
Chinook vs Yak 24: Specs
Both the Chinook and the Yak 24 have similar specifications. Although several variants of both aircraft exist, the specifications will include those from the main variant of both helicopters.
| Specifications | Chinook CH-47F | Yak 24U |
|---|---|---|
| Length | 98 ft (30 m) | 111 ft 8 in (34.03m) |
| Width | 12 ft 5 in (3.78 m) | 6 ft 3 in (1.91m) |
| Height | 18 ft 11 in (5.77 m) | 21 ft 4 in (6.50 m) |
| Speed | 160 kn (180 mph, 300 km/h) | 94 kn (109 mph, 175 km/h) |
| Range | 200 nmi (230 mi, 370 km) | 143 nmi (165 mi, 265 km) |
| Capacity | – 33–55 troops – 24 stretchers and 3 attendants – 24,000 lb (10,886 kg) of cargo | – 40 soldiers – 18 stretchers – 3,500 kg (7,716 lb) of cargo |
Chinook vs Yak 24: The Aftermath
Since the 1950/60’s, the militaries of the world have moved on. Not just the US, but also the USSR (now Russia and its surrounding countries!)
Chinook
The Chinook has done quite well since the 1960s. Thanks to the Chinook’s large payload, no western helicopter since the Chinook’s inception has been able to rival it.
As such, Boeing have continued to re-engineer the Chinook several times for different uses. For instance, the US Marine Corps needed a large cargo and troop transport aircraft, but one slightly smaller than the Chinook.
Instead of engineering a helicopter similar to the Chinook and doing it that way, Boeing merely shortened the fuselage of the CH-47. Not only did doing this create another helicopter for Boeing, but also another variant for the Chinook- the CH-46.
Even as their fleet of Chinooks grow older year on year, most militaries are looking to keep them for years to come. In fact, many militaries are selling their older Chinooks in order to buy newer, more fuel efficient variants!
Yak 24
The same cannot be said for the Yak 24. In fact, not much is even known about the Yak 24. Sometime before the breakup of the USSR, the Soviet Air Force began to phase out their Yak 24s for bigger Mil Mi-6s.
Aeroflot, the airline who operated the Yak 24s for a commercial purpose, abandoned their Yak 24s some time after before the collapse of the USSR. In fact, many were just left in hangars to be found years after by Russians who’d never seen the Yak 24!
As far as the legacy of the Yak 24 is concerned, it’s disappeared. Only one Yak 24 has been persevered, which resides in the Central Air Force Museum in Monino, Russia.
Chinook vs Yak 24: Opinions
As usual, I have interviewed several different groups of people regarding the question of “Chinook vs Yak 24”.
Pilots
I managed to interview three Chinook pilots (one ex-USAF, one ex-RAF ad one ex-British Airways Helicopters). However, I was only able to interview one Yak 24 pilot (ex-Aeroflot pilot).
According to my Chinook pilots, they believe that the Chinook outclasses the Yak 24 in every regard. One of them pointed out the smoothness of Chinook flights, which was a rarity among Yak 24 flights, as it had a horrible vibration issue.
According to my Yak 24 pilot, he actually agreed with my Chinook pilots. According to him, give the choice, he would fly a CH-47 over a Yak 24! For him, apparently, the Chinook is just a superior helicopter in every regard!
Passengers
I was able to interview some ex-military personnel from both the USSR and US.
For the Americans, there was literally nothing but positives about the Chinook. From start to finish, they gave it a glowing review!
For the Russians I interviewed, some were positive about the Yak 24, but most were overly critical. They agreed that whilst the Yak 24 was an engineering marvel, it was almost too advanced for its time.
Every Russian I interviewed complained about the vibration of the Yak 24, and how unbearable it was.
Avgeeks
I also spoke with several avgeeks about both the Yak 24 and Chinook. As always, I interviewed avgeeks from all over the world!
As a general rule, even those Russian avgeeks I spoke to, were critical of the Yak 24. in fact, one even called the Yak 24 a rip-off of the Chinook, even despite the fact that the Chinook is the younger of the two helicopters!
Summary
On the surface of things, it may seem like yet another comparison of Communist-made and capitalist made aircraft (just as with the 757 and Tu 204!) but it is much more than that!
It is a comparison of cultures. The Russians understood that they could never rely on an aircraft for too long. As such, they never designed them to last that long, yet the opposite is true for the Americans!
The general consensus is that the Chinook is a better aircraft, by pilots, passengers and avgeeks alike (something that rarely happens as well!)
Despite the fact that the Yak 24 is a longer aircraft, it is much thinner than the Chinook, which is almost double the width of a Yak 24! The Chinook is also able to carry more people, cargo and stretchers than the Yak 24 ever could too!
The Chinook is also able to travel much faster and at a longer range than the Yak 24 too!
Chinook vs Yak 24- Who wins? Tell me in the comments!
Featured image courtesy of Olivier CABARETÂ via Flickr.