Warbird Information Exchange

Here are a couple of pictures of a Yak 50 whose air bottle exploded after the engine had started. The blast forced the throttle to full power and it tipped onto its nose and shredded the prop. It looks like a shell had hit it. Caused by a build-up of corrosion, which hadn't been spotted. I got back from a flight just after it happened. I now help to provide fire cover on the airfield (North Weald), and we have to be wary of this sort of thing if there is an incident.

There is no excuse for that Yak explosion. The air bottles should be pulled and visually inspected at every conditional inspection. Also, using a little air tool oil in the system and regularly changing the air Dissicant pellets will all but eliminate corrosion in the air system.
Looks like the owner should have put more money into real maintenance instead of a flashy paint job.
Sadly, this seems to be the norm with many yak/CJ operators though.

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