Sukhoi Su-29

Single Piston

The Sukhoi Su-29 is a single-seat unlimited-category aerobatic monoplane designed in the Soviet Union during the mid-1980s specifically to dominate international aerobatic competition. Built at the Sukhoi Design Bureau—better known for its fighter jets—the Su-29 brought military-grade engineering precision to the civilian aerobatics world, featuring a composite airframe, symmetrical airfoil, and a 360-horsepower Vedeneyev M-14P nine-cylinder radial engine that delivers a thrust-to-weight ratio rivaling many aerobatic biplanes. The aircraft can sustain +12/-10 g loads and roll at rates exceeding 400 degrees per second, making it one of the most capable platforms ever certified for unlimited freestyle and known-compulsory sequences. Its design influenced the later two-seat Su-31 trainer variant. The Su-29 earned its reputation in the hands of pilots like Svetlana Kapanina and Jurgis Kairys, who used the type to win multiple World Aerobatic Championships during the 1990s and 2000s. Though production ended in the early 2000s, the Su-29 remains a prized mount in airshow circuits and competition aerobatics, valued for its docile handling at the edges of the envelope and its ability to execute maneuvers—lomcevaks, tumbles, knife-edge spins—that push the boundaries of controlled flight. SkyMeter has tracked 4 flights across 1 airframes and 1 operators, with HAMMERHEAD AEROBATICS the largest observed operator.