January 20, 2010
“No tire-kickers”
Photo: Pride Aircraft
So warns Pride Aircraft in its advertisement offering a pair of Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker Cs for sale. No “aircraft dreamers,” either. So you’ll have to be content to just read it and weep, or drool, but please, not on your moisture-adverse keyboard. Pride, which restores and sells what you might call “sporty” aircraft (for the past 10 years, mostly Aero Vodochody L-39 jet trainers), acquired the fourth-generation Ukranian fighters from an entrepreneur whose company had planned to use them for high-altitude research. When the plan fell through, Pride overhauled the aircraft to better-than-new, “zero-timed” the engines, re-labeled all cockpit markings in English, and had the fighters FAA-licensed.
Asking price is $4.95 million per. Pride recommends that the buyer log some jet time, and offers a customized training program.
Does anyone know who bought these? There is some speculation on the internet that the USAF owns them.
Comment by Rodney Tong — October 24, 2012 @ 12:56 pm