Olympians soar in special Russian jet

Olympians soar in special Russian jet

A Russian plane maker is showing off its latest invention in Rio, hoping to gain the attention of the world's highest profile Olympic athletes and sports teams.

The Sukhoi Sport Jet has been designed specifically for athletes to make use of what would otherwise be hours of downtime.

But it's not your average airplane - in fact, it's more of a fitness centre that flies.

Targeted at top level athletes and sports teams, the idea is that training and recovery is no longer limited to solid ground.

There are no economy, business and first classes there. Instead it's recovery, resting and coaching.

The analysis begins before the flight even takes off with heart rates, oxygen and hydration levels measured from the seat.

That's time for coaches to make game plans and athletes to have a rest.

There's no chance of getting stiff joints on the plane either - it even comes with its own exercycle.

All the while it's measuring your vital health information, which is being sent to a coach at the back of a plane on a screen, who analyses it and then figures out what to do next.

Sukhoi's already partnered with the Russian Olympic Committee and says it has several other clients up its sleeve.

It expects the planes will be mainly be run as charters with an hourly flight cost of around $7000.

The company says that price is competitive and is even eyeing up interest in our part of the world.

"We believe that people like All Blacks and other teams would like to use it as a 'rental tool' - just to charter it and pay on an hourly basis," says Evgeniy Andrachnikov, Sukhoi Sales vice president.

And by showing it off in Rio, Sukhoi hopes to have even more teams signed up when the first planes roll out later next year.

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