What is a trijet?

Why we don't see trijets anymore

Dassault Falcon 8X

Yakovlev Yak-42

The Soviet Union's Tupolev Tu line of planes saw a long and successful life (again, the Tupolev Tu-73 was the first trijet plane ever), but the U.S.S.R. eventually had to start replacing them. The Yakovlev Yak-42 was a short range plane designed to succeed many Soviet airliners, including the Tupolev Tu-134 and the turboprop-powered Antonov An-24. The Yak-42 was allegedly the first Soviet plane to use true turbofans and could fit up to 120 passengers. Engineers also built several iterations. These included the Yak-42D, which had an improved flight range, and the Yak-42T, which served as a freight jet instead of a commercial passenger plane. One special version, the Yak-142, was built with electric flight displays instead of the then-standard electromechanical displays.

Regardless of alterations, all Yak-42s shared the same basic external dimensions. The plane measured 119 feet, 4 inches long and 32 feet, 3 inches high. The wingspan stretched 114 feet, 5 inches, and the total wing area measured 1,614 square feet. However, different configurations affected the plane's weight. Yak-42s with 104 seats weighed 76,058 pounds when empty, whereas 42s with 120 seats weighed 76,092 pounds. And while a normal Yak-42 could total as much 125,660 pounds on takeoff, the 42D improved that limit to 126,765 pounds.