Yak-18_USSR_stamp
The Yak 18 is the first plane Yuri actually gets to fly, When he joins Saratov Aero-Club.
Yak 18s were actually built at a factory near Saratov. Although based on an earlier fighter, the Yak 18 is a very different plane from the Yak 9D that Yuri saw crash-land. A two-seat trainer, it was widely used in the communist bloc countries to teach military pilots. A later version was fitted with a tricycle undercarriage, and used as an initial trainer for jet-pilots, so it is likely he encountered it again when he began training to fly combat jets at Orenburg.
Yak 18’s and later derivatives are still flying all over the world today. An aerobatic team of Yak 50s, including a Yak 52, a similar-looking but more modern plane, are based in the UK at Henstridge Airfield, Somerset.
For more things Yak related visit this site.