Winner: Sukhoi Design Bureau
Location Moscow, Russia
Achievement First flight and air display of the super-agile thrust-vectored Su-37 fighter. The Sukhoi Su-37 fighter proved to be a show stopper when the aircraft made its debut at the Farnborough air show in September 1996. This thrust-vector-modified version of the Su-27M equally impressed the Awards judging panel with its "spectacular" agility and "sheer power" - applied not to a research aircraft but to a production prototype.
The combination of the thrust-vectoring on the aircraft's AL-31F engines, developed by the Lulka Design Bureau, together with an integrated flight-control system, allow the aircraft to demonstrate extraordinary manoeuvrability.
Having already been responsible for introducing the "Cobra" manoeuvre, Sukhoi has gone a step further, including a stunning 360í turn in the vertical, dubbed the "Frolov somersault". As seen in its air display the aircraft enters a Cobra-like manoeuvre only to continue beyond 100í to complete a full rotation.
Turns in the horizontal plane are carried out in only 5s, says Sukhoi, giving the aircraft exceptional capabilities for weapons sighting or close-combat engagements.
A key part of the design has been the integration of the thrust vectoring into the aircraft's fly-by-wire controls. Besides the use of modern cockpit instrumentation and a wide-angle head-up display, the pilot has a short-stroke side-stick controller and airborne avionics control stick with strain gauge thrust-controller.
Sukhoi also places much of the success of the Su-37's debut with Eugene Frolov, one of its leading test pilots, after whom the spectacular somersault manoeuvre is named. He piloted the Su-37 on its maiden flight on 2 April, 1996, and has since made over 100 flights in the aircraft, including the Farnborough air display.
Source: Flight International