From: "John Beamish" 

I'd like to see one of these at the Toronto CNE air show.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xY0t_mPv6I4

Here is some guy's comments:

My brother sent me a fantastic video of a flight demonstration by the
Russian-built Sukhoi SU-30 fighter aircraft.  Says Wikipedia:

The Sukhoi Su-30 (NATO reporting name ƒ ˜Flanker-Cƒ ™) is a highly agile
military aircraft developed by Russiaƒ ™s Sukhoi Aviation Corporation in
1996. It is a multirole air superiority fighter, but can also play an
effective role as a strike and offensive support aircraft. The aircraft is
comparable with USAƒ ™s F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and F-15E Strike Eagle.

Says retired U.S. Air Force Major General Hank Stelling as recently as
January 5 of this year:

This is for those of you who will understand how remarkable this really is.
 Any way you slice it, pretty impressive.  Great camera work.  This
remarkable aircraft and its pilot demonstrate what I thought impossible for
a high-speed jet fighter.  In the SU-30MK, Russian aviation has surpassed
that of the US and its NATO allies.  This truly impressive fighter can
stall from high-speed flight to stop in less than a second. It can fall
back on its tail, without compressor stall, and go into a flat spin and
recover in less than a minute.  There is no aircraft in any countryƒ ™s
inventory that could stand up to it in a dogfight.

The Wikipedia entry elaborates on some of the technological capabilities of
the aircraft:

Angle of attack: The Su-30MKƒ ™s aerodynamic configuration is an
unstable-in-longitude triplane (see relaxed stability). To increase lifting
effectiveness and enhance maneuverability of the aircraft, canards are
installed. They are deflected automatically to ensure controlled flight at
high angles-of-attack. However, canards are installed only in some Su-30
variants like the Su-30MKI.

Pugachevƒ ™s Cobra maneuver: The integrated aerodynamic configuration,
combined with the thrust vectoring control capability, results in
unprecedented maneuverability and unique takeoff and landing
characteristics. Equipped with a digital fly-by-wire system, the Su-30MK is
capable of performing a number of unique maneuvers. They include the
well-known Pugachevƒ ™s Cobra and the Bell. While performing a somersault
maneuver, the aircraft makes 360-degree turn in the pitch plane without any
loss of altitude. In the controlled flat spin maneuver, the aircraft
performs several full turns in the horizontal plane, with zero forward
speed, virtually on the spot.

2D thrust vectoring control: Differential Ė15-degree deflection of the
enginesƒ ™ axisymmetric nozzles (with turn axes positioned at 32-deg angle
to each other) enables pitch/yaw thrust vectoring control. Depending on the
maneuver to be performed, nozzles deflections can be synchronized with or
differ from the deflections of horizontal tail planes. However only the
Su-30 MKI variant has 2D TVC.

That stuff might sound like gobbledygook to some, but you have to admit
that the aircraft, when mated with the particular pilot who performed in
the video, is sheer poetry to watch.For more information on this topic:

Technorati Tags: flight demonstration, Russian-built, Sukhoi, SU-30,
fighter, aircraft, NATO, reporting name, highly agile, military aircraft,
Russia, Sukhoi Aviation Corporation, multirole, air superiority, strike,
offensive support, F/A-18E/F, Super Hornet, F-15E, Strike Eagle, U.S. Air
Force, Major General Hank Stelling, technological capabilities, aerodynamic
configuration, unstable-in-longitude, maneuverability, canards, high
angles-of-attack, variants, thrust vectoring, control capability, digital
fly-by-wire system, Pugachevƒ ™s Cobra, pitch plane, controlled flat spin
maneuver, horizontal plane, axisymmetric nozzles, pitch/yaw thrust
vectoring, nozzles deflection, horizontal tail planes

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