SU-31

About

The Sukhoi Su-31 is a Russian single-engined aerobatic aircraft designed by Sukhoi as a lighter and more powerful version of the earlier Sukhoi Su-29. Design work began in 1991 as a single-seat development of the Su-29, and the prototype made its first flight in June 1992 — debuting publicly at the World Aerobatic Championships in Le Havre, France, the same month. The first production aircraft followed in 1994.

The Su-31 incorporated lessons learned from the earlier Su-26 and Su-29 series with substantially more composite content — the wings are 70% composite construction — and a more powerful Vedeneyev M14PF radial engine. The semi-reclined pilot seating position is inclined at 35 degrees to optimize g-force tolerance during extreme maneuvers, and the airframe is stressed for plus 12 / minus 10 g — at the edge of unlimited-aerobatic demands. The Su-31 went on to win medals at multiple World and European Aerobatic Championships through the 1990s and 2000s.

The unmistakable Sukhoi-aerobat silhouette — short-coupled, low-wing, with the distinctive Russian flat-fronted cowling that characterizes the entire Su-26/Su-29/Su-31 family — appears in foam, balsa, and giant-scale RC kits at modern competition fly-ins. The Su-31 sits at the high end of the Russian unlimited-aerobatic line.

In the simulator

A demanding aerobatic mount with the lighter, more responsive feel of the Su-31 compared to the heavier Su-26. Use it for the unlimited-aerobatic vocabulary: vertical lines, knife-edge passes, slow rolls, and hovering on the prop. A natural sibling of the SU-26 family in this same pack and the SU-31 Matador livery variant in this same pack.