MOSCOW. Nov 26 (Interfax-AVN) - The Sukhoi design bureau has worked out design documents on the SU-49 trainer for initial and basic training of cadets in Air Force colleges, the bureau's chief Alexander Grigorenko said on Tuesday.
"We have drawn all the required documents on the SU-49 trainer in had copies. The electronic version is to be available by the end of the year," Grigorenko told Interfax-Military News Agency.
The Novosibirsk Aircraft Production Association (NAPO) will handle mass production of the plane. The enterprise will use no- paper technology, the official said.
Grigorenko recalled that the Sukhoi company won the Defense Ministry's contract for the design of a piston-engine trainer. The winner was announced in October 2001, and it took the company about a year to create all the necessary design documents related to the plane.
The SU-49 is a day/night all-weather twin-seater with a take- off weight of 1,500kg. . It will enable cadets to master complicated maneuvers and practice air-to-air and air-to-surface combat engagement.
The SU-49 has a regular airplane configuration with low- mounted wing and retractable three-piece landing gear, Grigorenko stressed. The wing, tail, empennage and fuselage surfaces will be made mostly of composite materials.
The aircraft will be powered by the M-9F radial piston air- cooled engine designed by the Voronezh Engine Plant. The four- stroke nine-cylinder engine is developing 420hp. It provides for a cruising speed of 330 kmph at an altitude of 2,000m. The plane's maximum design speed is 430 kmph.
Experts say the plane is intended for g-load of up to 9g. Its practical fuel-reserve flight range amounts to 1,200km . The specified service life is 10,000 flight hours of 30 years .
The domestic market demand for planes of this class is estimated at 300 pieces for the Air Force and 1,000 pieces for the Russian Defense Sports and Technical Society.