Originally Posted by
piperboy84
IIRC the Russian cadets or DOSAF were trained on yak 52’s with a range of about 300 miles and all training facilities being at least 500 from the border
False on two counts: firstly, Yak-52's full-tank range is about 500 NM, and secondly, there were many DOSAAF flying clubs much closer to the border than that - for example, St. Petersburg (then Leningrad) one was less than 90 NM away from Finland.