	Sukhoi Su-31T Aerobatic single seat aircraft

The Russian Sukhoi's series of aerobatic aircraft are considered to be the ultimate of their class and have won many medals and awards in international aerobatic competition to support that opinion.  This series includes the Su-26 and the Su-29, but the ultimate development of the series is the Su-31 which first flew in 1992 as the Su-29T.  The Su-31 is based upon the Su-29 but with a more powerful engine.  The "T" model has fixed landing gear while the Su-31U has retractable undercarriage.  Production began in 1994.  The features of the entire series are the Vedneyev (now VMKB) M-14 nine-cylinder piston radial engine, the strong airframe capable of withstanding +11 and -9g forces, the symmetric wing airfoil section attached to the fuselage at zero incidence and dihedral for similar positive and negative angle of attack flight characteristics, all leading to its aerodynamic abilities.

Specifications (for the 31T):
Wingspan: 25 feet 7 inches
Length: 22 feet 8 inches
Height: 9 feet 1 inch
Wing area: 127 sq ft
Powerplant: VMKB M-14PF @ 395 hp driving a three-bladed constant speed propeller
Weight: 1,480 pounds empty equipped, 2,134 pounds max takeoff
Max speed: 185 knots
Initial rate of climb: 3,540 feet/minute
Service Ceiling: 13,125 feet
Range with internal fuel: 155 nautical miles
Max ferry range: 645 nautical miles

The simulation is painted in aerobatic colors of red with white (and black) stripes and includes working flaps, lights, strobes and spoilers.  (The landing gear is fixed, so don't try to retract them!)  It flies very well and is able to perform at least the usual series of aerobatic maneuvers (I can't say I've tried them all, but loops, rolls and upside-down flying is pretty easy with it).  If you like buzzing the city buildings and bridges in FS5, you'll love flying this!  Put the .AIR file in your PILOTS subdirectory and the others in your TEXTURE subdirectory.  Flight Shop is required to fly it, of course.

April, 1996
Dennis Wasnich
1003 Cherry Street
Montpelier, OH 43543
Internet: dwasnich@bright.net
(Feedback is welcome!)
