Sukhoi Su-31

Su-31
Jurgis Kairys in his Sukhoi Su-31
General information
Type	Sports aircraft,
National origin	Russia
Manufacturer	Sukhoi
Status	Active
History
First flight	1992
Developed from	Sukhoi Su-29

2008 World Aerobatics Champion Ramón Alonso in a Sukhoi Su-31.

The Sukhoi Su-31 is a Russian single-engined aerobatic aircraft designed by Sukhoi as a lighter and more powerful version of the Sukhoi Su-29.

Design and development

The design of the aircraft started in 1991 as a single-seat development of the earlier Sukhoi Su-29 with a more powerful Vedeneyev M14PF engine and new landing gear. The low-wing cantilever monoplane first flew in June 1992 as the Su-29T and the first production aircraft flying in 1994.

Variants

Su-29T

Prototype single-seat aerobatic monoplane

Su-31

Production variant with fixed landing gear, sometimes known as the Su-31T.

Su-31M

Improved variant with a pilot extraction system.

Su-31M2

Further improved variant of the Su-31M with weight reduction, single piece canopy/windscreen and larger wing introduced in 1999.

Su-31U

Proposed retractable landing gear variant of the Su-31T.

Su-31X

Export variant of the Su-31T

Specifications

Data from Su-26, 29, 31 Specifications

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 6.83 m (22 ft 5 in)
• Wingspan: 7.8 m (25 ft 7 in)
• Height: 2.76 m (9 ft 1 in)
• Wing area: 11.83 m² (127.3 sq ft)
• Empty weight: 700 kg (1,543 lb)
• Max takeoff weight: 1,050 kg (2,315 lb)
• Powerplant: 1 × Vedeneyev M14PF 9-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine, 300 kW (400 hp)
• Propellers: 3-bladed constant-speed propeller

Performance

• Maximum speed: 331 km/h (206 mph, 179 kn)
• Stall speed: 106 km/h (66 mph, 57 kn)
• Never exceed speed: 450 km/h (280 mph, 240 kn)
• Range: 1,100 km (680 mi, 590 nmi)
• g limits: +12 -10
• Roll rate: 401 deg/s - 7 rad/s
• Rate of climb: 24 m/s (4,700 ft/min)

See also

Related development

• Sukhoi Su-26
• Sukhoi Su-29

External links

• Su-31 Air Races Datasheet Archived 2012-02-06 at the Wayback Machine