SU-27s...the Ultimate "I'll Take Two"

Every pilot ends up dreaming about flying faster, more capable aircraft. For the last half-century or so this dreaming almost invariably led pilots to warbirds, ex-military aircraft put into private service. Right now WWII era planes like the P-51 Mustang are all the rage; however, jet aircraft are becoming increasingly available. Though few of us will ever be able to afford our own jet, it's fun to dream about. The EAA's Warbirds division just published an article about the ultimate warbird offering, exclusively from warbird supplier Pride Aircraft. Their product? A pair of SU-27 Flankers!

The SU-27 came into existence as a Soviet counter to the US F-15 Eagle. It took a little longer to get on the line and it is truly a legendary fighter. Although it lacks the stealth technology or advanced weapons systems that keep it from truly competing against the upcoming 4.5 or 5th generation fighters, I've heard opinion that the SU-27 would kick the pants off anything around in a close-in dogfight. Though I have a soft spot in my heart for Mr. Sukhoi's work, I'll leave it to the pros to fight it out (hopefully only in exercises!)

The bottom line is: it doesn't matter. I doubt that there is a single one of us that wouldn't be completely satisfied by the performance offered by a personal SU-27.

After the fall of the Soviet Union, military hardware started hitting the market. I'd seen a few older MiGs on the used aircraft market, but never something this big. Pride Aircraft decided that there would definitely be a market for old SU-27s and bought a couple.

They are being very careful about the process. They've worked with the Sukhoi factory for parts and training. They're in the process of getting pilots certified to fly, instruct and give check rides in the jets too. (Right now, there isn't a single American pilot authorized to do any of these...a Russian factory pilot has been giving training under FAA approval.) Steve Kirik is an L-39 instructor for Pride who used to fly the F-15 for a living. He's also an FAA designated examiner for jet warbirds, so he'll likely be the first examiner for the SU-27. Talk about jobs that don't suck huh?

Unfortunately, the whole 'great power/great responsibility' dyad applies to owning Soviet jets. Buying an SU-27 starts just under $5 Million. Fuel for the planes runs around $20,000 an hour! The big price tag includes a ton of spare parts and ground support equipment...and the later needs to travel with you wherever you take the jets. This means hiring a full-time team of at least two mechanics with expertise in this kind of hardware. I don't even want to think about how much it'd cost to insure these things.

Some lucky person is going to be able to afford these jets. (I've started scheming, but my wife just rolls her eyes.) Hopefully they'll share them with us on the air show circuit. Give us some heritage flights of Cold War adversaries...an F-15 and an SU-27 in formation please.

Be sure to visit Pride Aircraft's SU-27 site. It has great pictures and more videos like the first flight video below. Happy drooling!

photo and video via [Pride]