Iacării Acrobați
Aerobatic Yakkers · Yak-52TW formation
Romania's long-running independent aerobatic formation flies three Romanian-built Yak-52TW aircraft from Bănești, combining close formation, individual breaks and smoke in a compact piston display.
- Founded
- 2006
- Home
- Aerodrom Bănești
- Formation
- Three aircraft
- Aircraft
- Yak-52TW
- Display
- Formation aerobatics
- Status
- Active
The team
A Romanian formation with two names
Iacării Acrobați at home, Aerobatic Yakkers on the international display circuit.
Identity and origins
Iacării Acrobați was formed in 2006 by Romanian pilots Dan Ștefănescu, Ioan Postolache and Dan Coderman. The team also uses the English-language identity Aerobatic Yakkers and describes itself as the private formation that carried forward the legacy of Romania's earlier Red Devils.
The display centres on three Yak-52TW aircraft built in Romania. Close formation, changing geometry, opposing or solo elements and white smoke give the routine its visual structure. Aerodrom Bănești in Prahova County is the team's home.
A team that continued
The loss of Dan Ștefănescu in 2022 was a defining moment in the team's history. Iacării Acrobați subsequently returned to display flying and continues as an active three-aircraft formation. The exact pilots, aircraft assignments and sequence can change without altering the team's established identity.
Display reference
Three Yaks, with a separate Air Bandits format
- Formation arrival The trio establishes its shape and smoke presentation in front of the crowd.
- Changing geometry Loops, rolls and formation changes show spacing and synchronisation.
- Break and individual elements The routine can divide the formation for solo, opposing or crossing figures.
- Rejoin and finish The aircraft regroup for a coordinated closing pass or break.
Core team display
Iacării Acrobați
A self-contained daytime formation routine by three Yak-52TW aircraft, normally using white smoke to make the formation geometry visible.
Joint show concept
Air Bandits
A separate theatrical format developed with Lithuanian aerobatic pilot Jurgis Kairys, pairing the Yaks with a Sukhoi aerobatic aircraft and, where authorised, ground pyrotechnics and simulated combat choreography.
Display content is event-dependent. Air Bandits, dusk lighting, fireworks, ground explosions and a visiting Sukhoi are not standard features of every Iacării Acrobați booking.
The aircraft
Yak-52TW, the tailwheel development
The Yak-52TW is a Romanian-produced development of the Yak-52 aerobatic trainer. It replaces the original tricycle undercarriage layout with a conventional tailwheel arrangement and incorporates changes intended for western operators, while retaining the tandem cockpit, radial engine character and aerobatic systems of the Yak family.
The Aerobatic Yakkers identify their aircraft as 400 hp machines. That operator-specific figure is important: published Yak-52TW references also cover 360 hp examples, so generic type data cannot automatically be treated as the specification of the team's aircraft.
Dimensions and role
- Role
- Two-seat aerobatic aircraft
- Length
- About 7.7 m
- Wingspan
- About 9.9 m
- Height
- About 2.5 m
- Gear
- Conventional tailwheel layout
Power and systems
- Engine
- Vedeneyev M-14 radial family
- Cylinders
- Nine
- Team figure
- 400 hp
- Propeller
- Constant-speed
- Aerobatics
- Inverted-flight fuel and oil systems
Reference performance
- Maximum level speed
- About 330-335 km/h
- Aerobatic limits
- Up to +7 / -5 g at aerobatic weight
- Ceiling
- About 4,000 m
- Range
- Configuration-dependent
- Display aid
- White smoke system
Technical figures are type references, not operating instructions. Installed engine, propeller, fuel capacity, equipment, weight and approved limits vary between Yak-52TW airframes. The team's own published material identifies a 400 hp installation and separately quotes an aircraft capability of 450 km/h; that higher figure is not presented here as maximum level speed.
History
From Bănești to the international circuit
-
2006
The team is established
Dan Ștefănescu, Ioan Postolache and Dan Coderman form the private Romanian aerobatic team that becomes known internationally as the Aerobatic Yakkers.
-
2008
A three-aircraft display takes shape
Contemporary Romanian reporting records the established Aerobatic Yakkers identity and the team's development as a three-Yak formation.
-
2011 onward
Joint flying with Jurgis Kairys
Repeated appearances with the Lithuanian aerobatic pilot develop into the Air Bandits show concept, distinct from the team's normal three-ship routine.
-
2012
Royal recognition
The founders receive the King Michael I Medal for Loyalty for their contribution to Romanian aviation and public display flying.
-
2022
Loss of Dan Ștefănescu
The co-founder and right-wing pilot dies in a Sukhoi Su-31 accident near Strejnic. The team later resumes its formation activity.
-
Continuing
The three-ship identity endures
Iacării Acrobați remains active with the Yak-52TW trio, preserving the formation's Romanian identity without tying this profile to a single season.
Context
What defines the Yakkers
01 / Identity
Romanian by design
The team flies a Romanian-built Yak development and uses both its Romanian name and the Aerobatic Yakkers identity abroad.
02 / Formation
Three-aircraft core
The normal act is a trio. Smoke makes spacing, synchronisation and formation changes readable from the crowd line.
03 / Collaboration
Air Bandits is separate
The joint Jurgis Kairys format adds another aircraft and theatrical effects only when an event books and authorises that version.
