The primary aircraft Tiger Squadron uses is the Nanchang CJ-6A primary military trainer. Designed in 1958 as an all-original Chinese replacement for the Russian Yak-18 then being used, the Nanchang CJ-6A is still in service over 50 years later as the primary trainer for the Chinese Air Force (PLAAF).

It is similar in design and layout to many WW2 aircraft. The flaps, landing gear, starter and brakes are operated pneumatically and it has an anodized aluminum airframe with fabric-covered control surfaces. The original engine is a supercharged Housai HS6A 285-hp
9-cylinder radial of about 620 cubic inch displacement. Many of Tiger Squadron’s Nanchangs run the up-rated Russian M14P engine with 360-hp. The rugged airframe is stressed to +6 and -3 Gs. The main gear retracts fully into the wings and the nose gear remains partially exposed.

To keep factory workers employed, aircraft were retired from service with as few as 3,000 hours on the airframe (the average airframe hours for single-engine aircraft actively operating in the U.S.), so importers went to China and selected retired aircraft for importation, renovation and westernization. There are around 200 Nanchangs in the U.S. The Yakovlev Yak-50 (Як-50) aerobatic aircraft is a single-seat, all-metal, low-wing monoplane with retractable main wheels and exposed tail wheel. The control surfaces are fabric covered to save weight.The aircraft is not equipped with flaps.

The supercharged engine may be the Vedeneyev M14P (standard production line version), M14PF or M14R, producing between 360 and 450 hp and drives the propeller via a reduction gearbox. The landing gear, brakes and engine starter are operated by compressed air.

The Yak-50 has exceptionally fine handling characteristics enhanced by a relatively high power-to-weight ratio. It has a tough and agile airframe (rated at +9 and -5 Gs). The Yak-50 was a two-time World Aerobatic Champion. It has been used as a military trainer by several countries.

A descendant of the single-seat competition aerobatic Yakovlev Yak-50, the two-seater
Yak-52 is powered by a 360 hp Vedeneyev M14P 9-cylinder radial engine. The aircraft has inverted fuel and oil systems permitting inverted flight for as long as two minutes. The engine drives a two-bladed, counter-clockwise rotating, variable pitch, wood and fiberglass laminate propeller.

At 2,200 lbs. empty weight, the Yak-52 is responsive and very capable as an aerobatic aircraft. Yet it is also easy to fly and land. It has been used in international aerobatic competition up to the Advanced level. It is stressed to +7 and –5 Gs, rolls (to the right) at 180 degrees/second and is capable of every maneuver in the Aresti catalog.

The Yak-52, like most Soviet military aircraft, was designed to operate in rugged environments with minimal maintenance. One of its key features, unusual in western aircraft, is its extensive pneumatic system.

The tricycle landing gear is retractable, but it remains partially exposed in the retracted position, affording both a useful level of drag in down maneuvers and a measure of protection should the plane be forced to land “wheels up.”