Hobby Master HA6406 | Su-33 Flanker D Bort 70 "Major-General Timur Apakidze" Soviet Air Force

In 1985 the approval was given for a naval variant of the Su-27 that would provide air superiority for its aircraft carriers. The new aircraft was designated Su-27 (K = Korabelny, Ship Borne) with a factory designation of T-10K which would later become Su-33, NATO Flanker D. Canards were added, strengthened frame and landing gear with a two-wheel nose gear. The drag chute was removed, a retractable tail hook added and wings, horizontal stabilizers and nose cone were made to fold. A retractable in-flight refueling probe was included on the port side. In 1995 Timur Apakidze had the title of Hero of the Russian Federation bestowed upon him for his great work with naval aviation and testing of new technology. After completing studies at the General Staff Academy in 2000 Apakidze received became a Russian Major General and Deputy Commander of Naval Aviation. On July 17, 2001 during an air show; Apakidze was flying his Su-33 when the aircraft became uncontrollable and instead of ejecting he struggled to get the aircraft away from the crowd and died a hero.

Specifications for Sukhoi Su-27K (Su-33) Navy Flanker
Crew – 1
Dimensions
Length – 21.185 m (69 ft 6 in) Wingspan – 14.7 m (48 ft 2 in) Height – 5.72 m (18 ft 9 in)
Weight
Empty – 18,400 kg (40,564 lb) Maximum Take-off – 33,000 kg (72,752 lb)
Performance
Power Plants – 2 X 125.5 kN (28,200 lb st) Saturn Lyul’ka AL-31F3 Afterburning Turbofans Thrust – 12,500 kg Each Engine
Speed Maximum @ 11,000 m (36,000 ft) - Mach 2.165 / 2,300 km/h (1,430 mph) Maximum @ Sea Level – Mach 1.06 / 1,300 km/h (807 mph) Service Ceiling – 17,000 m (55,780 ft) Maximum Range – 3,000 km (1,864 mi)
Armament
Internal Gun – 1 X GSh-301, 30mm Cannon 150 Rounds Twelve External Hardpoints - Maximum 8,000 kg (17,650 lb) R-27 Medium-To-Long-Range AAM / NATO A-10 Alamo R-60 Short-Range Lightweight Infrared Homing AAM / NATO AA-8 Aphid R-73 Short-Range AAM / NATO A-11 Archer R-77 – Medium-Range, Active Radar Homing AAM / NATO A-12 Adder, Exported Version RVV-AE
Air-To-Surface Missiles
Anti-Ship - Kh-31A / Kh-41 Anti-Radiation – Kh-25MP / Kh-31P
Guided bombs Freefall Bombs Cluster Bombs
Unguided Rockets S-8KOM/BM/OM S-13T/OF S-25OFM-PU Launched From O-25 Pods That Can Hold One Rocket. External Fuel Tanks