TYPE:
Single and two seat aerobatic light aircraft
HISTORY:
Sukhoi's highly regarded aerobatic aircraft have won numerous
international aerobatic events.
Sukhoi is perhaps better known as one of the two preeminent Russian
high performance combat aircraft designers, but it turned its
attention to design and flying a single seat aircraft for unlimited
aerobatics competitions in the early 1980s. The prototype of the
single seat Su26, the originator of the series, flew for the first
time in June 1984, and remarkably competed in the World Aerobatic
Championships held in Hungary only two months later.
Features introduced on the initial Su26 include the Vedneyev, now
VOKBM, M14 nine cylinder piston radial engine, which is highly
regarded for its simplicity, power to weight ratio, fuel economy and
low oil consumption. The airframe itself is extremely strong, capable
of withstanding +11 and 9g, while the wing's aerofoil section is
symmetrical and attached to the airframe at zero incidence and
dihedral for similar positive and negative angle of attack flight
characteristics.
Modifications to the Su26 including a squared off vertical tail and
less glass led to the Su26M, which participated in the 1986 World
Aerobatic Championships in the UK. The Su26MX is an export version.
The success of the Su26 led Sukhoi to design a two seat, dual control
development, the Su29, which first flew during 1991. Differences
include the second seat, greater span wing and increased length. The
Su-29M has lightweight ejection seats.
The ultimate development is the Su31, which first flew in June 1992 as
the Su29T. The Su31 is a single seater based on the Su29 but with a
more powerful engine. The basic version is the Su31T, the Su-31X is
for export and the Su31U has retractable undercarriage. Production
began in 1994.
The main features of the new aeroplane were:
high power-to-weight ratio achieved through a rugged design, the
weight of the airframe being kept down to a minimum;
special aerodynamic symmetric-profile wing configuration to enable
superior piloting performance;
a robust airframe structure capable of sustaining +12/-10 G loads;
extensive use of composite materials in the design;
ergonomic cockpit configuration.
The design work involved revision of the existing strength standards
for highly-manoeuvrable aerobatic sports aircraft to support a new
level of pilot performance and to confirm, using unbiased monitoring
systems, that the pilot can safely perform an entire range of aerial
stunts under forward acceleration up to +12g. The design of the new
plane incorporated the requests and comments of sports pilots from the
USSR national team, as well as modern trends in the development of
aerobatics. As a result, the design was based on new guidelines for
developing a highly-manoeuvrable aerobatic aeroplane.
The Su-31 differed from its predecessor in more
extensive use of composite materials, whose share in the airframe
design was 65%, which made it possible to achieve a dramatic reduction
in weight while keeping the strength and durability of the structure.
The pilot obtained a more congenial cockpit environment. Fitted with a
boosted M-14PF engine, the Su-31's thrust-to-weight ratio reached
unity. This meant that the Su-31 gave the pilot an option to perform
“helicopter-like" manoeuvres.
The Su-31 has been in series production since 1994.
In 1992, at the World Championships in aerobatics, which took place in
France, pilot Yurgis Kairis won bronze; in the autumn, at the air show
in Farnborough, he took the Su-31 to heights of breathtaking
aerobatics that had never before been possible for any pilot of a
sports aeroplane.
The export version, theSu-31Kh, differs from the Su-31 in that it has
additional fuel tanks installed in the wing to increase its ferry
range. The 16 Su-31Kh aeroplanes produced were delivered to users in
the USA, UK, Spain, Australia, Italy and elsewhere.
The Sukhoi aerobatic aircraft has emerged as a
family of superior aerobatic aeroplanes, allowing pilots to use them
for training and world class aerobatics competitions and exhibition
shows. Since 1996, a majority of international contestants have been
entering competitions with Sukhoi aeroplanes.
POWERPLANT:
Su29 - One 265kW VOKBM M-14PT nine cylinder radial piston engine
driving a constant speed three blade propeller. Su31T - One 295kW
M14PF driving a three blade constant speed prop.
PERFORMANCE:
Su29 - Max speed 325km/h. Initial rate of climb 3150ft/min. Service
ceiling 13,120ft. Range with max fuel 1200km. Su31T - Max speed
330km/h. Initial rate of climb 4725ft/min. Service ceiling 13,125ft.
Range with internal fuel 290km, max ferry range up to 1200km.
WEIGHT:
Su29 - Empty 735kg, MTOW 1204kg. Su31T - Empty equipped 670kg, MTOW 968kg.
DIMENSIONS:
Su26M - Wing span 8.20m, length 7.29m, height 2.89m, Wing area 12.2m2,
Su31T - Wing span 7.80m , length 6.90m, height 2.76m, Wing area
11.8m2.
CAPACITY:
Accommodation for pilot only in Su26, Su26M, Su31T and Su31U. Seating
for two in tandem in Su29.
PRODUCTION:
Production includes approximately 60 Su29s, 70 Su26s and 25 Su-31s.
Su 39
Su Fighters
Sukhoi Su-30
Sukhoi Su-35
Frogfoot Su-37
Su-34 Fighter
Su-30 MK
Russian Fighter Jets Sukhoi
Regards,
Er Ayushi Saxena [ B E ]
Webmaster
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