Sue or Su?

All you'll ever need to know about the UK's biggest airshow
User avatar
zigzag
Posts: 488
Joined: Sun 07 Sep 2008, 7:22 am

Sue or Su?

Post by zigzag »

Not sure why the commentator yesterday continually referred to the Flanker as a Sue27. Ive never heard of Sukhois referred to as Sues, always Su, am I missing something?
If you like these pics there are more utterly brilliant shots at https://www.flickr.com/photos/131094099@N08/albums
#MOT

borismorris
Posts: 790
Joined: Thu 14 Apr 2016, 6:48 am
Location: North West Shropshire

Re: Sue or Su?

Post by borismorris »

Ive always thought it was s.u.27.. but then im not a commentator :wink:

Steve p
Posts: 201
Joined: Thu 13 Aug 2015, 5:36 am

Re: Sue or Su?

Post by Steve p »

I suppose it could be sue or s.u, thinking about it migs are always called migs and never m.i.g while tupolevs are always t.u not tue. :dizzy:

cg_341
Posts: 2598
Joined: Sun 09 Aug 2015, 1:39 pm

Re: Sue or Su?

Post by cg_341 »

Mig...
Yak...
Mil... (not Mil emm eye)
Ess you...
Tee you...

...then some numbers.

Or at least that's what I say anyway :)

borismorris
Posts: 790
Joined: Thu 14 Apr 2016, 6:48 am
Location: North West Shropshire

Re: Sue or Su?

Post by borismorris »

cg_341 wrote:Mig...
Yak...
Mil... (not Mil emm eye)
Ess you...
Tee you...

...then some numbers.

Or at least that's what I say anyway :)


If we ever have a Kamov over here will it be a k.a. or a kaaah

Im going to blame that one on Ford... :biggrin:

User avatar
197cup
Posts: 515
Joined: Sun 07 Dec 2008, 7:32 pm

Re: Sue or Su?

Post by 197cup »

It’s much the same when he commentates on a Gripen as he says “yas” not J A S 39.

rebel14
Posts: 147
Joined: Mon 01 Sep 2008, 5:02 pm

Re: Sue or Su?

Post by rebel14 »

Also tri-plex instead of triple-x for the Typhoon 9 ship callsign

G for George
Posts: 118
Joined: Fri 03 Apr 2015, 7:38 pm

Re: Sue or Su?

Post by G for George »

A Hoi named Sue? :tumbleweed:

spaceward
Posts: 117
Joined: Mon 14 May 2012, 12:27 pm

Re: Sue or Su?

Post by spaceward »

Should have asked catering. I’m sure there would have been a “ SOUS CHEF :lol: :lol:

User avatar
Seahornet
Posts: 1053
Joined: Tue 02 Sep 2008, 1:55 pm
Location: Shropshire, Severn Valley

Re: Sue or Su?

Post by Seahornet »

rebel14 wrote:Also tri-plex instead of triple-x for the Typhoon 9 ship callsign

The 29 Sqn Pilots, and ATC invariably say it as "trip'lex", so who are we to disagree?
And as the smart ship grew,
In stature, grace and hue,
In shadowy silent distance grew the iceberg too....

borismorris
Posts: 790
Joined: Thu 14 Apr 2016, 6:48 am
Location: North West Shropshire

Re: Sue or Su?

Post by borismorris »

Seahornet wrote:
rebel14 wrote:Also tri-plex instead of triple-x for the Typhoon 9 ship callsign

The 29 Sqn Pilots, and ATC invariably say it as "trip'lex", so who are we to disagree?

Its our forum and disagreeing is what we do best :wink: :biggrin:

cg_341
Posts: 2598
Joined: Sun 09 Aug 2015, 1:39 pm

Re: Sue or Su?

Post by cg_341 »

Surely it's Triple-X, as in X X X - the 29 squadron badge!

paulb1973
Posts: 336
Joined: Wed 03 Sep 2008, 7:56 pm
Location: Coventry

Re: Sue or Su?

Post by paulb1973 »

Mikoyan - seems to be pronounced Meek-oi-yarn, Ben (Dunnell) always says "sue" 27 etc, although I thought it was S U.

User avatar
The Baron
Posts: 1369
Joined: Tue 01 Dec 2009, 8:23 pm

Re: Sue or Su?

Post by The Baron »

He also says 'Me' when referring to the Messerschmitt 262. I can see why as they're written as Me/Su/He etc. I wonder how he'd get on with Bf (109) though?
Loafer for Mr. Da Vinci.

Dan213
Posts: 483
Joined: Thu 30 May 2013, 12:15 pm

Re: Sue or Su?

Post by Dan213 »

Seemed to have corrected the Triplex pronunciation today, was almost right. On a side note, I think Ben Dunnell is a fantastic commentator but there seemed to be an awful lot of abbreviated terms used that only and enthusiast would know. The one that stuck out for me was Melee as I didn’t have the slightest clue what it was and had to look it up. I would have thought, given the now family nature of the show, that they would have avoided such terminology and abbreviations :smile:

Was also surprised that Sam? Was still mentioning the static B-52 after 3 days
Last edited by Dan213 on Tue 17 Jul 2018, 6:43 am, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
Tmyers123
Posts: 1069
Joined: Thu 03 May 2018, 6:05 pm
Location: West Yorkshire

Re: Sue or Su?

Post by Tmyers123 »

I pronounce it as sue, like you would pronounce the letters MiG or Yak. Also, I was watching a video from MAKS and the guy on the PA said “sue”.

User avatar
Tommy
UKAR Staff
Posts: 9401
Joined: Mon 14 Mar 2011, 11:39 pm

Re: Sue or Su?

Post by Tommy »

When I was in Russia, I was told that it’s pronounced “Sue” or “Soo”. You’re just saying (and anumciating a little more) the first part of “Sukhoi”. Such shortening of manufacturers’ names is common form in Russia in one form or other. As said, it’s “Tu” (“Too”) for Tupolev, “Il” (“ill”) for Ilyushin, “Ka” (“Kah”) for Kamov, “An” (“Anne”) for Antonov etc...

I think Westernisation has led us to say the letters as capitals, but that’s not how the Russians say it.

User avatar
Brevet Cable
Posts: 13725
Joined: Tue 05 Mar 2013, 12:13 pm

Re: Sue or Su?

Post by Brevet Cable »

Dan213 wrote:...there seemed to be an awful lot of abbreviated terms used that only and enthusiast would know. The one that stuck out for me was Melee as I didn’t have the slightest clue what it was and had to look it up.

I'll admit that it confused me.
Not because I didn't know what a melee was, but because I've never heard ( or read in contemporary literature or unit war diaries ) it used to describe WW1 air combat.
Tôi chỉ đặt cái này ở đây để giữ cho người điều hành bận rộn
아직도 숨어있다

User avatar
Wissam24
UKAR Staff
Posts: 8270
Joined: Mon 29 Apr 2013, 9:54 am
Location: London

Re: Sue or Su?

Post by Wissam24 »

"Sue" is correct, "Ess Yu" is incorrect.

It's "Su-27" not "SU-27", after all.
Twitter: @samwise24 | Flickr: samwise24 | Shamelessly copying LN Strike Eagle's avatar ideas since 2016

User avatar
Brevet Cable
Posts: 13725
Joined: Tue 05 Mar 2013, 12:13 pm

Re: Sue or Su?

Post by Brevet Cable »

When I was in the Air Cadets ( late '70s ) it was 'S.U.', along with 'A.N.', 'I.L.' & 'T.U.'
As a STAB in the '80s they were still 'S.U.', 'A.N.', 'I.L.' & 'T.U.'
Now you can blame the latter on thick Army briefers, but given that the ATC officers were all ex-RAF you'd have thought they'd know how to pronounce things.
Tôi chỉ đặt cái này ở đây để giữ cho người điều hành bận rộn
아직도 숨어있다

User avatar
Tommy
UKAR Staff
Posts: 9401
Joined: Mon 14 Mar 2011, 11:39 pm

Re: Sue or Su?

Post by Tommy »

Brevet Cable wrote:When I was in the Air Cadets ( late '70s ) it was 'S.U.', along with 'A.N.', 'I.L.' & 'T.U.'
As a STAB in the '80s they were still 'S.U.', 'A.N.', 'I.L.' & 'T.U.'
Now you can blame the latter on thick Army briefers, but given that the ATC officers were all ex-RAF you'd have thought they'd know how to pronounce things.


As Westerners its probably automatic given our language. I think that there are also some exceptions to the rules. But most of our stuff is used for each letter to represent something. It's GR4 over here, not the "Grrr4". Though tbf, that has a ring to it! But even over here, we say "A Sack" when we talk about the Sea King ASaC7, not "A.S.A.C.7" As much as anything else it's a bloody mouthful.

Broadly, pronouncing it "Ess Yu" doesn't hurt anyone. Everyone knows what you mean. But at the same time, the correct way is "Soo/Sue". If you know the right way of doing it, what's the point in being wrong? :dunno:

Up until Russia, I always pronounced it "Ess Yu".

User avatar
Skyflash
UKAR Staff
Posts: 2236
Joined: Sun 31 Aug 2008, 7:51 pm
Location: Edinburgh

Re: Sue or Su?

Post by Skyflash »

'Sue' may be technically correct, but it has the obvious drawback of sounding utterly bloody ridiculous.

I've been calling it the 'Ess-You-Twenty-Seven' for as long as I can remember, and I am not about to stop now.
Posting comments on an aviation-related chatroom, are ya? Looks like it an' all...

User avatar
The Baron
Posts: 1369
Joined: Tue 01 Dec 2009, 8:23 pm

Re: Sue or Su?

Post by The Baron »

To save the hassle and arguments I generally drop the letters for Russian and German aircraft. They become Sukhoi 27, Messerschmitt 110 etc...
Loafer for Mr. Da Vinci.

User avatar
Wissam24
UKAR Staff
Posts: 8270
Joined: Mon 29 Apr 2013, 9:54 am
Location: London

Re: Sue or Su?

Post by Wissam24 »

The one that's absolutely ridiculous is "Mil-8" and "Mil-24" etc. It's just objectively wrong.
Twitter: @samwise24 | Flickr: samwise24 | Shamelessly copying LN Strike Eagle's avatar ideas since 2016

cg_341
Posts: 2598
Joined: Sun 09 Aug 2015, 1:39 pm

Re: Sue or Su?

Post by cg_341 »

If you say "Sukhoi 27", is "Mil 8" really wrong?

Post Reply