The world's 1st supersonic passenger aircraft. Supersonic passenger aircraft. Dossier. Interior layout and seating arrangement

In the 1960s, there was a belief in the world that the future civil aviation for supersonic aircraft. There were many projects of similar airliners, but only two reached the stage of practical operation - the Anglo-French Concorde and the Soviet Tu-144.

Concorde was in operation from 1976 to 2003. Over 27 years of regular and charter flights, more than 3 million passengers have been transported.

The history of operation of the domestic supersonic airliner turned out to be much shorter.

Long trials

The Tu-144 made its first test flight on December 31, 1968, two months ahead of its competitor. He also became the first passenger airliner breaking the sound barrier - this happened in June 1969.

The confident gait of the plane was disrupted by a disaster at the air show in Le Bourget, France. Tu-144 crashed during a demonstration flight. Six crew members and eight people on the ground were killed.

The already slowly progressing flight tests stopped for a while. Engineers continued to argue among themselves about the reliability of certain components and assemblies of the Tu-144.

In fact, work was carried out on two modifications of the airliner at once - Tu-144 and Tu-144D (long-range), which further complicated the task.

We reached the stage of operational testing in December 1975. Crews and airfield support services were trained on the Moscow-Alma-Ata highway. Flights were carried out once a week with the aircraft loaded with mail and cargo.

During operational tests, 445 flights were completed with 835 flight hours, of which 475 hours were in supersonic modes.

Brezhnev accelerated

The test program ended with two technical flights with passengers. They took place on October 20 and 21, 1977. Pilots, flight attendants, and all services had to conduct a “general run-through,” so to speak. The passengers were employees of design bureaus and enterprises that were finishing the Tu-144. The best workers, shock workers, were allowed on the flight. Even the on-board menu on these test flights was the same as what the “real” passengers would be fed.

On October 29, 1977, the Tu-144 received an airworthiness certificate, gaining the right to Passenger Transportation.

They say that the launch of the Tu-144 was accelerated Leonid Brezhnev, who, during a state visit to France in the summer of 1977, was surprised to learn that the supersonic Concorde had been carrying passengers for the past year and a half. Leonid Ilyich, having returned to the USSR, posed the question bluntly - for the 60th anniversary of the October Revolution, the Tu-144 should transport Soviet citizens.

Two hours from Almaty

On November 1, 1977, Soviet television reported the start of supersonic passenger transportation on the Moscow-Alma-Ata line.

The Tu-144 could land and take off at 18 airports in the USSR, but it was assumed that at first it would only carry passengers to the capital of the Kazakh SSR.

Later, the Tu-144 was supposed to master international routes: Moscow - Azores - Havana, Paris - Novosibirsk - Tokyo, and others.

In the meantime, the following entries have appeared in the Domodedovo airport transportation schedule:

“Flight No. 499 - Moscow-Alma-Ata, departure 8 hours 30 minutes.”

“Flight No. 500 - Alma-Ata-Moscow, departure 14 hours.”

The first regular flight of the Tu-144 began on November 1, 1977 at 9:03 am. At 11:03 a.m. the plane landed in Almaty, delivering 80 passengers to their destination.

On the return flight, the Tu-144 plane took off from Almaty at 13:28 and landed in Moscow exactly on schedule at 15:31.

Black caviar and Mimino: how the Tu-144 became a symbol of the era

In 1977, the cost of air tickets to the USSR increased. A ticket to Almaty cost 62 rubles 50 kopecks. Those who wanted to fly on the Tu-144 had to pay a fee “For speed and comfort”, equal to 22 rubles. Thus, a flight on a Tu-144 cost 84 rubles 50 kopecks. Despite high price, the number of people wishing to fly on a supersonic airliner was very large.

Those who had the opportunity to fly on the Tu-144 spoke about it with admiration. Extremely comfortable conditions for its time, well-trained, always smiling flight attendants, almost cosmic sensations during takeoff, flying at an altitude of 17,000 meters at a speed of 2,300 km per hour.

And, of course, the legendary sandwiches with black caviar, which were part of the diet of passengers on the Soviet supersonic airliner. They also served scarce raw smoked sausage and cakes. And behind the cart with snacks was another one with alcoholic drinks. Passengers were offered excellent cognac in classic cognac glasses, or dry wine in small 200 gram bottles.

The Tu-144 instantly became a symbol of Soviet civil aviation; its image was published on Aeroflot advertising posters. This plane also appeared in one of the most popular Soviet comedies, Mimino. There he flies a Tu-144 stewardess Larisa Ivanovna, which the main character unrequitedly wanted.

It is curious that the film was shot when the Tu-144 was not yet cleared for regular flights, and it appeared on screens when the supersonic airliner was already carrying passengers. So “Mimino” became an advertisement for flights on the Tu-144.

"Mimino". Still from the film

“That’s how it should be!”

But the life of this wonderful picture turned out to be much longer than the working biography of the liner.

On May 23, 1978, during a test flight in the vicinity of the city of Yegoryevsk, a Tu-144D with tail number USSR-77111 crashed. The aircraft performed a check and acceptance flight before being transferred for passenger transportation. But suddenly a fire started on board and spread rapidly.

The pilots managed to land the burning car in a field not far from Yegoryevsk and evacuate. Two crew members were killed and the plane burned down completely.

It was quickly established that the cause of the fire was changes in the design of the fuel system, which had nothing to do with the already flying Tu-144 examples. However, airliner flights were suspended.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation demanded that the Tupolev Design Bureau formalize a special decision to continue operation, and on May 29, 1978 it was formalized.

However, the next flight to Alma-Ata on May 30 did not take place. Alexey Tupolev, son of the KB founder and his successor succinctly announced to his subordinates: “That’s how it should be!”

Verdict: unprofitable

It was assumed that the Tu −144 would return to service after work on the Tu-144D model with new engines was completed.

The Tu-144D then indeed made flights on the Moscow-Khabarovsk-Moscow route, but not passenger flights, but cargo flights.

In July 1983, a government decree was issued to stop work on the Tu-144. Already built aircraft were used only for experimental flights and training test pilots.

The main reason for refusing passenger transportation on the Tu-144 was unprofitability. High fuel consumption and high cost of operation required an increase in ticket prices, and for Soviet citizens it became completely unaffordable. In addition, it was argued that the airliner was unreliable and flying on it was harmful to people.

Veterans of the Tupolev Design Bureau believe that most of the problems, including reducing fuel consumption, could have been solved, but the people in charge of Soviet civil aviation found it easier to abandon the Tu-144.

During its career at Aeroflot, the Tu-144 made only 55 flights, carrying 3,284 passengers. But in the memory of those who managed to touch this amazing machine at least once, it remained forever.

Supersonic aircraft are aircraft that are capable of flying at speeds exceeding the speed of sound (Mach number M = 1.2-5).

Story

The advent of jet fighters in the 1940s challenged designers to further increase their speed. The increased speed improved the performance of both bombers and fighters.

The pioneer in the supersonic era was American test pilot Chuck Yeager. On October 14, 1947, while flying an experimental Bell X-1 aircraft with an XLR-11 rocket power plant, he exceeded the speed of sound in controlled flight.

Development

Rapid development supersonic aviation started in the 60-70s. XX century. Then the problems of aerodynamic efficiency, controllability and stability of aircraft were resolved. The high flight speed also made it possible to increase the service ceiling by more than 20,000 m, which was a comfortable altitude for bombers and reconnaissance aircraft.

Before the advent of anti-aircraft missile systems and systems that could hit targets at high altitudes, the main principle of bombing operations was to keep bomber aircraft at maximum altitude and speed. Then supersonic aircraft for various purposes were built and put into mass production - reconnaissance bombers, interceptors, fighters, interceptor bombers. The Convair F-102 Delta Dagger was the first supersonic reconnaissance aircraft, and the Convair B-58 Hustler was the first supersonic long-range bomber.

Currently, new aircraft are being designed, developed and produced, some of which are produced using a special technology that reduces their radar and visual signature - “Stealth”.

Passenger supersonic aircraft

In the history of aviation, only 2 passenger supersonic aircraft were created that carried out regular flights. The first flight of the Soviet Tu-144 aircraft took place on December 31, 1968, its operation period was 1975-1978. The Anglo-French Concorde aircraft made its first flight on March 2, 1969 and was operated transatlantically in 1976-2003.

The use of such aircraft made it possible not only to reduce the time of flight over long distances, but also to use unoccupied air lines at high altitudes (about 18 km) at a time when the altitudes of 9-12 km, which the airliners used, were heavily loaded. Also, supersonic aircraft operated off-air routes (on direct routes).

Despite the failure of several transonic and supersonic aircraft(SSBJ, Tu-444, Tu-344, Tu-244, Lockheed L-2000, Boeing Sonic Cruiser, Boeing 2707) and the decommissioning of two completed projects, the development of modern projects of hypersonic airliners (for example SpaceLiner, ZEHST) and landing ( military transport) rapid reaction aircraft. Launched into production supersonic business jet Aerion AS2.

Theoretical issues

Compared to subsonic flight, flight at supersonic speed is carried out according to a different law, because when the aircraft reaches the speed of sound, changes occur in the flow pattern, as a result, the kinetic heating of the device increases, aerodynamic drag increases, and a change in the aerodynamic focus is observed. All this adds up to a deterioration in the controllability and stability of the aircraft. A hitherto unknown phenomenon of wave resistance also appeared.

Therefore, effective flight when reaching the speed of sound requires not only an increase in engine power, but also the introduction of new design solutions.

Therefore, such aircraft received a change in their appearance - sharp corners and characteristic straight lines appeared compared to the “smooth” shape of subsonic aircraft.

Today the task is to create a truly effective supersonic aircraft not resolved. The creators are required to find a compromise between maintaining normal takeoff and landing characteristics and the requirement to increase speed.

Therefore the conquest modern aviation new milestones in altitude and speed are associated not only with the introduction of new propulsion systems and layout schemes, but also with changes in flight geometry. These changes should improve the aircraft's performance at high speeds without compromising its performance at low speeds, and vice versa. Designers have recently abandoned reducing the area of the wings and the thickness of their profiles, increasing the sweep angle, returning to wings of large relative thickness and low sweep, if they have managed to achieve the requirements of the practical ceiling and speed.

It is important that a supersonic aircraft has good flight performance at low speeds and is resistant to drag at high speeds, especially at surface altitudes.

Aircraft classification:

AND

ABOUT

The successes in the creation of supersonic combat aircraft, including the heavy class, in the 50s created a favorable environment for studying the possibility of creating a supersonic passenger aircraft (SPS). The history of the emergence of the first ATP projects goes back to the first post-war years, when several hypothetical projects were proposed in the USA and Great Britain, which in their technical solutions were very far from practical implementation. In the second half of the 50s, first experimental and then serial supersonic heavy military aircraft appeared on both sides of the Iron Curtain, and almost immediately, on their basis, the world's leading aviation companies prepared SPS projects of various aerodynamic and layout designs. A detailed analysis and further development of the proposed SPS projects based on the first supersonic bombers showed that creating an effective competitive SPS by modifying a military prototype is an extremely difficult task (in contrast to the process of creating the first jet passenger aircraft based on subsonic heavy combat aircraft).

The first supersonic heavy combat aircraft, in their design solutions, mainly met the requirements of a relatively short-term supersonic flight. For the SPS, it was necessary to ensure long-term cruising flight at speeds corresponding to at least M=2, plus the specifics of the task of transporting passengers required a significant increase in the reliability of all elements of the aircraft structure, subject to more intensive operation, taking into account the increase in flight duration in supersonic modes. Gradually, analyzing all possible options for technical solutions, aviation specialists, both in the USSR and in the West, came to the firm opinion that a cost-effective ATP must be designed as a matter of principle new type aircraft.

Andrei Nikolaevich decided to entrust the design of the Tu-144 to Department “K”, which had previously dealt with unmanned vehicles and had sufficient experience in mastering long-term flight at speeds exceeding M=2 (attack unmanned aircraft Tu-121, unmanned reconnaissance aircraft - serial Tu-123 and experienced Tu-139). Andrei Nikolaevich appointed A.A. Tupolev as the chief designer and head of work on the Tu-144. It was under his leadership, with the involvement of the best forces of domestic aviation science and technology, that the ideology and future appearance of the Tu-144 was born in Department “K”. Subsequently, after the death of A.N. Tupolev and the appointment of A.A. Tupolev as the head of the enterprise, the Tu-144 project was led by Yu.N. Popov and B.A. Gantsevsky. Soon the Tu-144 becomes one of the main and priority topics in the activities of the Design Bureau and the entire MAP for the next 10 years.

The aerodynamic appearance of the Tu-144 was determined mainly by obtaining a long flight range in supersonic cruising mode, subject to obtaining the required stability and controllability characteristics and specified take-off and landing characteristics. Based on the promised specific costs of the NK-144, at the initial design stage the task was set to achieve Kmax = 7 in supersonic cruising flight mode. For overall economic, technological, and weight considerations, the cruising flight Mach number was taken to be 2.2. During the development of the aerodynamic configuration of the Tu-144 at the Design Bureau and TsAGI, several dozen possible options were considered. A “normal” design with horizontal tail surfaces in the rear fuselage was studied, but it was abandoned, since such tail surfaces contributed up to 20% to the overall drag balance of the aircraft. They also abandoned the canard design, having assessed the problem of the influence of the destabilizer on the main wing. Finally, based on the conditions for obtaining the required aerodynamic quality and obtaining minimal focus spreads at subsonic and supersonic speeds, we settled on a low-wing design - “tailless” with a composite triangular wing of an ogive shape (the wing was formed by two triangular surfaces with a sweep angle along the leading edge of 78° - for the front float parts and 55° for the rear base part), with four turbofan engines located under the wing, with a vertical tail located along the longitudinal axis of the aircraft, and a three-legged retractable landing gear.

The airframe's design mainly used traditional aluminum alloys. The wing was formed from symmetrical profiles and had a complex twist in two directions: longitudinal and transverse. This achieved the best flow around the wing surface in supersonic mode, in addition, such a twist helped to improve the longitudinal balancing in this mode. Elevons were located along the entire trailing edge of the wing, consisting of four sections on each half-wing. The wing structure is multi-spar, with a powerful working skin made of solid plates made of aluminum alloys; the central part of the wing and elevons were made of titanium alloys. The elevon sections were driven by two irreversible boosters. The rudder was also deflected using irreversible boosters and consisted of two sections independent of each other. The aerodynamic shape of the fuselage was selected from the conditions for obtaining minimal drag in supersonic mode. To achieve this, they even went to some extent to complicate the design of the aircraft.

A characteristic feature of the Tu-144 was the lowering, well-glazed nose of the fuselage in front of the pilot's cabin, which ensured good review at high takeoff and landing angles of attack inherent in an aircraft with a low aspect ratio wing. The lowering and raising of the forward part of the fuselage was carried out using a hydraulic drive. When designing the deviating unsealed part and its units, it was possible to maintain the smoothness of the skin at the junction of the moving part with the sealed cabin and the rest of the fuselage surface. The shape of the engine nacelles was determined mainly by layout considerations and operating reliability conditions power plant. Four NK-144 DTRDFs were placed close to each other under the wing. Each engine had its own air intake, and two adjacent air intakes were combined into a common block. The underwing air intakes are flat with a horizontal wedge. Flow deceleration at supersonic flight speeds was carried out in three oblique shock waves, a direct closing shock and a subsonic diffuser. The operation of each air intake was ensured by an automatic control system, which changed the position of the wedge panels and the bypass flap depending on the operating mode of the NK-144 engine. The length of the engine nacelles was determined by the size of the engines and the requirements of TsAGI and CIAM to ensure the required length of the air intake channels for normal operation of the engines. It should be noted that in contrast to the design of the air intakes and engines of the Concorde, where this process proceeded as a single whole, the design of the NK-144 and engine nacelles with air intakes proceeded as two largely independent processes, which led to some extent to the oversizing of the engine nacelles and subsequently to many mutual inconsistencies in the operation of engines and the air intake system.

It was planned, as on the Concorde, to introduce a landing braking system by reversing the engines; the reverse was planned to be installed on the two outer engines (the reverse system was not completed, as a result, the experimental and production vehicles were operated with a braking parachute). The main landing gear was retracted into the wing, the nose gear was retracted into the front part of the fuselage into the space between the two air intake blocks. The low construction height of the wing required a reduction in the size of the wheels; as a result, a twelve-wheeled trolley with wheels of a relatively small diameter was used in the main landing gear. The main fuel supply was located in the wing caisson tanks. The forward wing caisson tanks and the additional keel tank served to balance the aircraft. The main work on the selection of the optimal aerodynamic design of the Tu-144 in the OKB was headed by G.A. Cheremukhin, the optimization of the power plant for the project was dealt with by a division headed by V.M. Bul. On the Tu-144, many fundamental solutions of the remote control system were actually applied, in In particular, the steering units for driving the aircraft controls processed signals from the system for improving stability and controllability along the longitudinal and track channels. In some modes, this measure made it possible to fly during static instability.

The choice of the ideology of the Tu-144 control system is largely the merit of G.F. Naboishchikov. L.M. Rodnyansky, who had previously worked on control systems at the Design Bureau of P.O. Sukhoi and V.M. Myasishchev, made a great contribution to the creation and development of this fundamentally new control system, and in the early 60s did a lot to fine-tune the very “ raw" Tu-22 control system. The cockpit was designed taking into account the requirements of modern ergonomics; it was designed for four people: the two front seats were occupied by the first and second pilot, behind them was the flight engineer, the fourth seat on the first prototype was intended for the experimental engineer. In the future, it was planned to limit the crew to three pilots. The decoration and layout of the Tu-144 passenger cabin met international requirements for modern design and comfort; the latest finishing materials were used in their finishing. The flight and navigation equipment of the Tu-144 was equipped with the most advanced systems that domestic avionics could provide at that time: a perfect autopilot and an on-board electronic computer automatically maintained the course; pilots could see on a screen located on the instrument panel where this moment where the plane is and how many kilometers are left to its destination; landing approach was carried out automatically at any time of the day in difficult weather conditions etc. - all this was a serious leap forward for our aviation.

Construction of the first prototype Tu-144 (“044”) began in 1965, while a second prototype was being built for static testing. The experimental “044” was initially designed for 98 passengers, later this figure was increased to 120. Accordingly, the estimated take-off weight increased from 130 tons to 150 tons. The prototype machine was built in Moscow in the workshops of the MMZ "Experience", some of the units were manufactured at its branches. In 1967, the assembly of the main elements of the aircraft was completed. At the end of 1967, the experimental “044” was transported to ZhLI and DB, where throughout 1968, finishing work was carried out and the vehicle was equipped with missing systems and units.

At the same time, flights of an analogue of the MiG-21I (A-144, “21-11”), created on the basis of the MiG-21S fighter, began at the LII airfield. An analogue was created at the A.I. Mikoyan Design Bureau and had a wing geometrically and aerodynamically similar to the wing of the experimental “044”. A total of two “21-11” aircraft were built; many test pilots flew on them, including those who were to test the Tu-144, in particular E.V. Elyan. The analogue aircraft successfully flew at speeds of 2500 km/h, and the materials from these flights served as the basis for the final adjustment of the Tu-144 wing, and also allowed test pilots to prepare for the behavior of an aircraft with such a wing.

At the end of 1968, the experimental “044” (tail number 68001) was ready for its first flight. A crew was assigned to the vehicle, consisting of: the ship's commander, Honored Test Pilot E.V.E-lyan (who later received the Hero of the Soviet Union for the Tu-144); second pilot - Honored Test Pilot Hero of the Soviet Union M.V. Kozlov; leading test engineer V.N. Benderov and flight engineer Yu.T. Seliverstov. Considering the novelty and unusualness new car, the OKB made an extraordinary decision: for the first time, they decided to install ejection crew seats on an experimental passenger vehicle. During the month, engine races, runs, and final ground checks of the systems were carried out. From the beginning of the third decade of December 1968, “044” was in pre-launch readiness, the vehicle and crew were fully prepared for the first flight, during all these ten days there was no weather over the LII airfield and the experienced Tu-144 remained on the ground. Finally, on the last day of the year 1968, 25 seconds after the start, “044” for the first time took off from the runway of the LII airfield and quickly gained altitude. The first flight lasted 37 minutes, during the flight the car was accompanied by an analogue aircraft “21-11”.

A supersonic passenger aircraft and it was an aircraft built in the USSR, the first Concorde would take flight only on March 2, 1969. It has been proven in practice that heavy tailless aircraft have citizenship rights in the USSR (before this flight, everything was limited to big amount heavy tailless projects). On June 5, 1969, an experimental aircraft exceeded supersonic speed for the first time at an altitude of 11,000 m; by May 1970, the aircraft was flying at speeds M = 1.25-1.6 at altitudes up to 15,000 m. On November 12, 1970, “044” flew in an hour-long flight half an hour at a speed exceeding 2000 km/h, at an altitude of 16960 m, a maximum speed of 2430 km/h was reached. During testing, the prototype flew repeatedly outside the USSR; in May-June 1971, “044” took part in the salon in Le Bourget , where she first “met” the Anglo-French Concorde. The “044” was powered by experimental NK-144 engines with a specific fuel consumption in supersonic cruising mode of 2.23 kg/kgf/hour; with such specific consumption during testing, the Tu-144 managed to reach a supersonic flight range of 2920 km, which was significantly less than the required range . In addition, during the tests we encountered some design flaws: during flights, increased vibration and heating of the rear fuselage from the quad engine package were observed; even titanium structures did not help. Having completed the test flight program “044” (about 150 flights in total), it remained in one prototype. No more was required of her; she accomplished her task of proving the technical feasibility of creating a supersonic passenger aircraft in the USSR. It was necessary to move forward, improving the design of the aircraft and engines.

Work on the development of the basic design of the 044 aircraft went in two directions: the creation of a new economical afterburning turbojet engine of the RD-36-51 type and a significant improvement in the aerodynamics and design of the Tu-144. The result of this was to meet the requirements for supersonic flight range. The decision of the commission of the USSR Council of Ministers on the Tu-144 version with RD-36-51 was made in 1969. At the same time, at the proposal of MAP-MGA, a decision is made, before the creation of the RD-36-51 and their installation on the Tu-144, on the construction of six Tu-144 with NK-144A with reduced specific fuel consumption. The design of the serial Tu-144 with NK-144A was supposed to be significantly modernized, significant changes to be made in the aerodynamics of the aircraft, obtaining a Kmax of more than 8 in supersonic cruising mode. This modernization was supposed to ensure the fulfillment of the requirements of the first stage in terms of range (4000-4500 km), in the future it was planned transition in series to RD-36-51.

Construction of the pre-production modernized Tu-144 (“004”) aircraft began at MMZ “Experience” in 1968. According to calculated data with NK-144 engines (Cp = 2.01), the estimated supersonic range should have been 3275 km, and with NK-144A (Cp = 1.91) it should have exceeded 3500 km. In order to improve the aerodynamic characteristics of the aircraft in cruising mode M = 2.2, the wing planform was changed (the sweep of the inflow part along the leading edge was reduced to 76 degrees, and the base was increased to 57 degrees), the shape of the wing became closer to “Gothic”. Compared to "044", the wing area has increased, and a more intense conical twist of the wing ends has been introduced. However, the most important innovation in wing aerodynamics was the change in the middle part of the wing, which ensured self-balancing in cruising mode with minimal losses quality, taking into account optimization for flight deformations of the wing in this mode. The length of the fuselage was increased to accommodate 150 passengers, and the shape of the nose was improved, which also had a positive effect on the aerodynamics of the aircraft.

Unlike “044”, each pair of engines in paired engine nacelles with air intakes was moved apart, freeing the lower part of the fuselage from them, unloading it from increased temperature and vibration loads, while changing the lower surface of the wing in the place of the calculated area of flow compression, increasing the gap between the lower surface of the wing and the upper surface of the air intake - all this made it possible to more intensively use the effect of compressing the flow at the entrance to the air intakes on the Kmax than was possible to achieve on the “044”. New layout The engine nacelles required changes to the chassis: the main landing gear was placed under the engine nacelles, with them retracted inside between the air ducts of the engines, they switched to an eight-wheeled trolley, and the scheme for retracting the nose landing gear also changed. An important difference between the “004” and the “044” was the introduction of a front multi-section wing-destabilizer retractable in flight, which extended from the fuselage during takeoff and landing modes, and made it possible to ensure the required balancing of the aircraft with the elevons-flaps deflected. Design improvements, an increase in payload and fuel reserves led to an increase in the aircraft’s take-off weight, which exceeded 190 tons (for “044” - 150 tons).

Construction of the pre-production Tu-144 No. 01-1 (tail No. 77101) was completed at the beginning of 1971, and the aircraft made its first flight on June 1, 1971. According to the factory test program, the aircraft completed 231 flights, lasting 338 hours, of which 55 hours the aircraft flew at supersonic speed. This machine was used to work out complex issues of interaction between the power plant and the aircraft in various flight modes. On September 20, 1972, the car flew along the Moscow-Tashkent highway, while the route was covered in 1 hour 50 minutes, the cruising speed during the flight reached 2500 km/h. The pre-production vehicle became the basis for the deployment of serial production at the Voronezh Aviation Plant (VAZ), which, by decision of the government, was entrusted with the development of the Tu-144 series.

The first flight of serial Tu-144 No. 01-2 (tail No. 77102) with NK-144A engines took place on March 20, 1972. In the series, based on the results of tests of the pre-production vehicle, the aerodynamics of the wing were adjusted and its area was once again slightly increased. The take-off weight in the series reached 195 tons. By the time of operational testing of production vehicles, the specific fuel consumption of the NK-144A was intended to be increased to 1.65-1.67 kg/kgf/hour by optimizing the engine nozzle, and subsequently to 1.57 kg/kgf/hour, while the flight range should was increased to 3855-4250 km and 4550 km, respectively. In reality, they were able to achieve by 1977 during testing and development of the Tu-144 and NK-144A series Av = 1.81 kg/kgf hour in cruising supersonic thrust mode 5000 kgf, Av = 1.65 kg/kgf hour in takeoff afterburner thrust mode 20000 kgf, Av = 0.92 kg/kgf hour in the cruising subsonic mode of thrust 3000 kgf and in the maximum afterburning mode in the transonic mode we received 11800 kgf.

On June 3, 1973, the first production vehicle crashed during a demonstration flight in Le Bourget. The crew led by test pilot M.V. Kozlov was killed (in addition to M.V. Kozlov, co-pilot V.M. Molchanov, Deputy Chief Designer V.N. Benderov, flight engineer A.I. Dralin, navigator G. N. Bazhenov, engineer B.A. Pervukhin). A commission was created to investigate the disaster, in which specialists from the USSR and France took part. Based on the results of the investigation, the French noted that there was no failure in the technical part of the aircraft, and the cause of the disaster was: the presence of unfastened crew members in the cockpit, the sudden appearance of the Mirage aircraft in the field of view of the crew of the Tu-144 aircraft, the presence of a movie camera in the hands of one of the crew members , which, if dropped, could jam the control wheel. Apparently, at that moment, such a conclusion suited everyone. Perhaps E.V. Elyan spoke most succinctly and accurately about the Tu-144 crash at Le Bourget in the 90s: “This disaster is a bitter example of how a confluence of seemingly small, insignificant negligence, in this case on the part of French flight control services, led to tragic consequences."

Production of the Tu-144 with NK-144A continued in Voronezh until the beginning of 1977. A large amount of flight testing was carried out on these machines and flights with passengers began. On Tu-144 No. 02-1 (tail No. 77103), the first flight was carried out on December 13, 1973, the NPK-144 flight and navigation complex and power supply system were tested, tests were carried out in aborted take-off modes, and technical flights were made throughout the cities of the USSR.

On the Tu-144 No. 02-2 (tail No. 77144), first flight on June 14, 1974, studies were carried out on aerodynamics, strength, behavior at high angles of attack, the operation of aircraft systems and equipment was checked in emergency flight situations, in 1975 the car flew in Le Bourget.

Tu-144 No. 03-1 (side number 77105) was built in 1973 and immediately converted into Tu-144D with RD-36-51A engines.

Tu-144 No. 04-1 (tail No. 77106), first flight on March 4, 1975, was used to evaluate the efficiency of the SCV, and some problems were solved on it fuel system. On December 26, 1975, this machine made its first operational flight on the Moscow-Alma-Ata route. By this time, in addition to MAP pilots, MGA pilots had already begun flying the Tu-144. The plane transported cargo and mail along the route; flights took place at altitudes of 18,000 m and at speeds of 2,200 km/h. Currently, Tu-144 No. 04-1 can be seen on display at the Museum in Monino.

Tu-144 No. 04-2 (tail No. 77108), first flight on December 12, 1975, development work was carried out on the systems navigation equipment, according to ABS-144, according to the director approach system, according to autothrottle.

Tu-144 No. 05-1 (tail No. 77107), first flight on August 20, 1975, after factory tests and tests under various programs, was presented in 1977 as a complex object for joint state tests. Based on the results of these tests, it was noted that the flight performance characteristics of the aircraft, with the exception of the practical flight range with a given number of passengers, take-off weight, corresponded to the requirements specified for the Tu-144 (during testing, they obtained a practical supersonic flight range with a take-off weight of 195 tons at commercial load 15 tons 3080 km, with 7 tons - 3600 km It was emphasized that the flight range of 4000-4500 km, with a commercial load of 14-15 tons on the Tu-144 with NK-144A, cannot be realized and it was noted that obtaining the required range is possible with engines RD-36-51A.

After the completion of joint tests, MAP-MGA decides to begin passenger transportation on Tu-144 aircraft with NK-144A. Tu-144 No. 05-2 (tail No. 77109), first flight on April 29, 1976, and Tu-144 No. 06-1 (tail No. 77110), first flight on February 14, 1977, were used for regular passenger transportation along the Moscow-Moscow highway. Alma-Ata. The Tu-144 departed on its first passenger flight on November 1, 1977. Flights over a distance of 3260 km at an altitude of 16000-17000 m at a speed of 2000 km/h were carried out once a week, the number of passengers on board did not exceed 80 people. Until the end of regular passenger operation in May 1978, Aeroflot crews on the Tu-144 performed 55 flights, carrying 3,284 passengers. Tu-144 with NK-144A became the first in the USSR by passenger plane, which received a national airworthiness certificate for the safety of transporting passengers, the rest of Aeroflot’s aircraft at that time did not have such a certificate (the exception was the Tu-134, which was certified in Poland according to English airworthiness standards).

Modification: Tu-144
Wingspan, m: 28.80
Aircraft length, m: 65.70
Aircraft height, m: 12.85
Wing area, m2: 507.00
Weight, kg
- empty plane: 91800
-normal takeoff: 150000
-maximum take-off: 195000
Engine type: 4 x NK-144A turbofan engines
Thrust, kgf
-normal: 4 x 15000
-forced: 4 x 20000
Maximum speed, km/h: 2500 (M=2.35)
Cruising speed, km/h: 2200
Practical range, km: 6500
Supersonic flight range, km: 2920
Practical ceiling, m: 18000-20000
Crew, persons: 3
Payload 150 passengers or 15,000 kg of cargo.

Tu-144 before its first flight.

Tu-144 after takeoff.

On December 31, 1968, the experimental supersonic aircraft Tu-144 (tail number USSR-68001) made its first flight. The Tu-144 managed to take off two months earlier than its Anglo-French competitor, the Concorde airliner, which made its first flight on March 2, 1969.

Tu-144 is a supersonic passenger aircraft developed in the 1960s by the design bureau of Andrei Tupolev (now Tupolev OJSC, part of the United Aircraft Corporation).

Research into the development of a supersonic passenger aircraft (SPS) began in the late 1950s in the USA, England and France. In the early 1960s, the first preliminary designs of the SPS already appeared. This was the reason for the development of a similar aircraft in the USSR. On July 16, 1963, a resolution was issued by the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR “On the creation of the A.N. Tupolev Design Bureau SPS Tu-144 with four jet engines and on the construction of a batch of such aircraft.” Alexey Tupolev was appointed lead designer for the aircraft (since 1973 Boris Gantsevsky, since 1979 Valentin Bliznyuk). General management was carried out by Andrey Tupolev. The development of the engine was entrusted to the Nikolai Kuznetsov Design Bureau.

When working on the project, the developers had to face a number of complex technical problems: aerodynamics, kinetic heating, elastic and thermal deformations of the structure, new lubricants and sealing materials, new life support systems for passengers and crew. The development of the design and aerodynamics of the wing required a lot of effort (200 options were studied in the wind tunnel). The use of titanium alloys in construction required the creation of new machines and welding machines. These problems, together with the Andrei Tupolev Design Bureau, were solved by specialists from the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute (TsAGI), the Central Institute of Aviation Engine Engineering (CIAM), the Siberian Scientific Research Institute of Aviation (SibNIA) and other organizations. Since 1965, regular consultations have been held with the designers of the French company Aerospatial, which developed the Concorde SPS. During the preparation of working drawings, more than 1,000 specialists were seconded from the design bureau of Oleg Antonov and Sergei Ilyushin. When designing the aircraft, two analogue aircraft of the MiG-21I were used as a working model (now one of them is stored in the Air Force Museum in Monino).

In July 1965, the preliminary design of the Tu-144 was ready. In the same year, a model of an aircraft with a wingspan of about two meters was exhibited at the air show in Le Bourget (France). On June 22, 1966, a full-size mockup of the aircraft was approved. In parallel with the design, the experimental production of the OKB in Zhukovsky was producing two prototypes (flight and for static tests). The Voronezh and Kuibyshev aircraft factories also participated in their production.

On December 31, 1968, the crew led by test pilot Eduard Elyan took it into the air for the first time. On June 5, 1969, the prototype reached the speed of sound, and on June 26, 1970, it doubled it. For testing the Tu-144, Eduard Elyan was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Simultaneously with the flight tests, research was carried out at 80 ground stands, where all the most important design and layout solutions were worked out. With the help of these stands, for the first time in the USSR, a comprehensive system for assessing failures taking into account their consequences was developed. State tests continued until May 15, 1977. On October 29, 1977, the aircraft received an airworthiness certificate (for the first time in the USSR).

The Tu-144 was first shown at an aviation festival at Sheremetyevo Airport on May 21, 1970. In the summer of 1971, trial operation of the prototype began at Aeroflot. Flights were made from Moscow to Prague (Czechoslovakia, now the Czech Republic), Berlin (GDR, now Germany), Warsaw (Poland), Sofia (Bulgaria). In 1972, the Tu-144 was demonstrated at air shows in Hanover (Germany) and Budapest (Hungary).

The first production Tu-144 was assembled in the spring of 1971 in Zhukovsky. In 1972, production began at the Voronezh Aviation Plant. A total of 16 aircraft were built. Another one remained unfinished. Production aircraft differed from the prototype by having a fuselage length increased by 5.7 meters, a slightly modified wing shape and the presence of retractable front wings. The number of seats for passengers increased from 120 to 140. The first flight of the production aircraft took place on September 20, 1972 on the route Moscow - Tashkent - Moscow. In March 1975, the Moscow-Alma-Ata high-speed airline opened (mail and cargo were transported). On October 20, 1977, the first flight with passengers was carried out.

The Tu-144 is an all-metal low-wing aircraft designed according to the tailless design. The aircraft's wing is triangular, of low aspect ratio, and has a variable sweep angle (76° at the root and 57° at the ends of the wing). The wing skin is made of solid aluminum alloy plates. Along the entire trailing edge there are elevons made of titanium alloys. Elevons and rudders are deflected using irreversible boosters (an auxiliary device to increase the force and speed of the main mechanism).

The aircraft has four turbojet bypass engines with an afterburner NK-144A designed by Nikolai Kuznetsov's OKB (on the Tu-144D - non-afterburning RD-36-51A designed by Peter Kolesov's OKB-36), which are located close to each other under the wing. Each engine has its own separate air intake. The air intakes are grouped in pairs.

The main volume of fuel is located in 18 wing tanks. A balancing tank is installed at the rear of the fuselage. Fuel was pumped into it during flight to shift the center of mass during the transition from subsonic to supersonic speed.

The aircraft has a tricycle landing gear with a nose strut. The main supports have a two-axle eight-wheel bogie. All wheels are equipped with brakes. The supports are retracted forward along the flight into niches between the air intake channels.

The cockpit is integrated into the contours of the fuselage and does not have the usual protruding canopy. Therefore, the forward unsealed part of the fuselage with the radar and antenna systems tilts down during takeoff and landing, opening the windshields of the pilot's cabin for visual viewing. To improve takeoff and landing characteristics, a retractable front wheel was used. horizontal tail.

To increase the reliability of operation on the aircraft, quadruple redundancy of all major systems was used. An on-board electronic computer was used to control the aircraft. The landing approach could be carried out automatically at any time of the day and in any weather. For the first time in the USSR, the Tu-144 used an automatic system for monitoring the technical condition of on-board systems, which made it possible to reduce the labor intensity of maintenance. Baggage on the plane was placed in containers in the luggage compartments.

Basic technical data of the serial SPS Tu-144D:

The length of the aircraft without PVD is 64.45 m;

Wingspan - 28.8 m;

Aircraft height - 12.5 m;

Wing area with overflow - 506.35 sq. m;

Maximum take-off weight - 207000 kg;

The empty weight of the aircraft for the 150-passenger version is 99,200 kg;

Cruising supersonic speed flight - 2120 km/h;

Practical flight range, with commercial load:

7 tons (70 passengers) - 6200 km;

11-13 tons (110-130 passengers) - 5500-5700 km;

15 tons (150 passengers) - 5330 km.

Crew - 4 people.

The main disadvantages of the Tu-144 aircraft were the high cost of production and operation, increased noise, and it was not economical and consumed a large amount of fuel.

The creation and development of the Tu-144 became the largest and most complex program in the history of Soviet aircraft construction. As a result of long work, it was possible to create aircraft of the highest world class, in its fundamentals flight performance not inferior to the corresponding aircraft created in the West.

However, fate was unfair to the unique car. The first major failure was the crash on June 3, 1973, during a demonstration flight at the Le Bourget air show, in which 14 people were killed - six crew members and eight Frenchmen on the ground - and 25 were injured.

May 23, 1978 - an improved prototype version of the aircraft, Tu-144D, equipped with improved engines, flew forced landing near Yegoryevsk near Moscow due to a fire caused by the destruction of one of the fuel lines. Two of the seven crew members on board were killed.

On June 1, 1978, Aeroflot management decided to cancel Tu-144 passenger flights. In addition to the disasters, the fate of the Tu-144 was affected by its commercial unprofitability.

One of the improved Tu-144Ds was used for some time on the Moscow-Khabarovsk line to deliver urgent cargo. In total, the Tu-144 made 102 flights under the Aeroflot flag, 55 of which were passenger flights.

Until the mid-1990s, Tu-144 aircraft were used for various tests, as well as for research into the ozone layer of the Earth’s atmosphere, solar eclipses, focused sonic boom. Cosmonauts undergoing training under the Buran program trained on the Tu-144. In July 1983, the Tu-144D set 13 world aviation records.

From 1995 to 1999, one significantly modified Tu-144D (No. 77114) called Tu-144LL was used by the American space agency NASA for research in the field of high-speed commercial flights in order to develop a plan for the creation of a new, modern supersonic passenger aircraft.

The experience gained during the creation of the Tu-144 was used in the development of heavy supersonic aircraft Tu-22M and Tu-160.

At the request of the Ministry of Science and by decision of the MAP, several aircraft were installed as exhibits on the territory of the Air Force Museum in Monino, the Civil Aviation Museum in Ulyanovsk, and aircraft factories in Voronezh, Kazan and Samara. One aircraft was sold to a private technology museum in Sinheim (Germany).

Several aircraft were melted down in the 1990s.

Two aircraft TU-144LL No. 77114, which was used for NASA tests, and TU-144D No. 77115 are stored at the airfield in Zhukovsky. One of them was exhibited at the MAKS air show, most recently in 2013.

The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources

In the Soviet Union, the design bureau of academician Andrei Tupolev was involved in the creation of the supersonic Tu-144 aircraft. At a preliminary meeting of the design bureau in January 1963, Tupolev said: “Reflecting on the future of air transportation of people from one continent to another, you come to an unequivocal conclusion: supersonic airliners are undoubtedly needed, and I have no doubt that they will come to life...” Appointed lead designer of the project son of the academician - Alexey Tupolev. More than a thousand specialists from other organizations worked closely with his design bureau. The creation of the aircraft was preceded by extensive theoretical and experimental work, which included numerous tests in wind tunnels and natural conditions during flights of an analogue aircraft.

The developers had to rack their brains to find the optimal design for the machine. The speed of the designed airliner is fundamentally important - 2500 or 3000 km/h. The Americans, having learned that the Concorde is designed for 2500 km/h, announced that just six months later they would release their passenger Boeing 2707, made of steel and titanium. Only these materials could withstand the heating of the structure when in contact with air flow at speeds of 3000 km/h and above without destructive consequences. However, solid steel and titanium structures still have to undergo serious technological and operational testing. This will take a lot of time, and Tupolev decides to build the Tu-144 from duralumin, with a speed of 2500 km/h in mind. The American Boeing project was subsequently completely closed.

In June 1965, the model was shown at the annual Paris Air Show. Concorde and Tu-144 turned out to be strikingly similar to each other. Soviet designers said - nothing surprising: the general shape of the aircraft is determined by the laws of aerodynamics and the requirements for a certain type of machine.

But what should the shape of an airplane wing be? We settled on a thin delta wing with the front edge shaped like the letter “8”. The tailless design - inevitable with such a design of the load-bearing plane - made the supersonic airliner stable and well controllable in all flight modes. Four engines were located under the fuselage, closer to the axis of the aircraft. The fuel is placed in coffered wing tanks. The trim tanks, located in the rear fuselage and wing flaps, are designed to change the position of the aircraft's center of gravity during the transition from subsonic to supersonic flight speeds. The nose of the plane was made sharp and smooth. But how can pilots have forward visibility in this case? They found a solution - the “bowing nose.” The fuselage had a circular cross-section and had a cockpit nose cone that tilted downward at an angle of 12 degrees during takeoff and 17 degrees during landing.

For the first time, the Tu-144 took to the skies on the last day of 1968. The car was flown by test pilot E. Elyan. As a passenger aircraft, the TU-144 was the first in the world to overcome the speed of sound in early June 1969, while at an altitude of 11 kilometers. The Tu-144 reached the second speed of sound (2M) in mid-1970, at an altitude of 16.3 kilometers. The Tu-144 incorporates many design and technical innovations. Here I would like to note such a solution as the front horizontal tail. When using PGO, flight maneuverability was improved and the speed was reduced when the aircraft was landing. The domestic Tu-144 could be operated from two dozen airports, while the French-English Concorde, having a high landing speed, could land only at a certified airport. The designers of the Tupolev Design Bureau did a tremendous job. Take, for example, full-scale testing of a new aircraft wing. They took place on a flying laboratory - a MiG-21I aircraft, converted specifically for testing the design and equipment of the wing of the future Tu-144.

Work on the development of the basic design of the "044" aircraft went in two directions: the creation of a new economical afterburning turbojet engine of the RD-36-51 type and a significant improvement in the aerodynamics and design of the Tu-144. The result of this was to meet the requirements for supersonic flight range. The decision of the commission of the USSR Council of Ministers on the Tu-144 version with RD-36-51 was made in 1969. At the same time, at the proposal of the MAP - MGA, a decision is made, before the creation of the RD-36-51 and their installation on the Tu-144, on the construction of six Tu-144 with NK-144A with reduced specific fuel consumption. The design of the serial Tu-144 with NK-144A was supposed to be significantly modernized, significant changes to be made in the aerodynamics of the aircraft, obtaining a Kmax of more than 8 in supersonic cruising mode. This modernization was supposed to ensure the fulfillment of the requirements of the first stage in terms of range (4000-4500 km), in the future it was planned transition in series to RD-36-51.

Clickable 2000 px

Construction of the pre-production modernized Tu-144 aircraft ("004) began at MMZ "Experience" in 1968. According to calculated data with NK-144 engines (Cp = 2.01), the estimated supersonic range was supposed to be 3275 km, and with NK-144A (Avg = 1.91) exceed 3500 km. In order to improve the aerodynamic characteristics of the aircraft at cruising mode M = 2.2, the wing planform was changed (the sweep of the floating part along the leading edge was reduced to 76°, and the base one was increased to 57°), The shape of the wing became closer to “Gothic.” Compared to the “044”, the wing area increased, and a more intense conical twist of the wing ends was introduced. However, the most important innovation in the aerodynamics of the wing was the change in the middle part of the wing, which ensured self-balancing in cruising mode with minimal losses. quality, taking into account optimization of flight deformations of the wing in this mode, the length of the fuselage was increased to accommodate 150 passengers, and the shape of the nose was improved, which also had a positive effect on the aerodynamics of the aircraft.

Unlike "044", each pair of engines in paired engine nacelles with air intakes was moved apart, freeing the lower part of the fuselage from them, unloading it from increased temperature and vibration loads, while changing the lower surface of the wing in the place of the calculated area of flow compression, increasing the gap between the lower surface wing and the upper surface of the air intake - all this made it possible to more intensively use the effect of compressing the flow at the entrance to the air intakes on the Kmax than was possible to achieve on the "044". The new layout of the engine nacelles required changes to the chassis: the main landing gear was placed under the engine nacelles, with them retracted inside between the air ducts of the engines, they switched to an eight-wheeled trolley, and the scheme for retracting the nose landing gear also changed. An important difference between “004” and “044” was the introduction of a front multi-section destabilizer wing retractable in flight, which extended from the fuselage during takeoff and landing modes, and made it possible to ensure the required balancing of the aircraft with the elevons-flaps deflected. Design improvements, an increase in payload and fuel reserves led to an increase in the aircraft's take-off weight, which exceeded 190 tons (for "044" - 150 tons).

The first flight of serial Tu-144 No. 01-2 (tail No. 77102) with NK-144A engines took place on March 20, 1972. In the series, based on the results of tests of the pre-production vehicle, the aerodynamics of the wing were adjusted and its area was once again slightly increased. The take-off weight in the series reached 195 tons. By the time of operational testing of production vehicles, the specific fuel consumption of the NK-144A was intended to be increased to 1.65-1.67 kg/kgf/hour by optimizing the engine nozzle, and subsequently to 1.57 kg/kgf/hour, while the flight range should was increased to 3855-4250 km and 4550 km, respectively. In reality, they were able to achieve by 1977 during testing and development of the Tu-144 and NK-144A series Av = 1.81 kg/kgf hour in cruising supersonic thrust mode 5000 kgf, Av = 1.65 kg/kgf hour in takeoff afterburner thrust mode 20000 kgf, Av = 0.92 kg/kgf hour in cruising subsonic mode of thrust 3000 kgf and in maximum afterburning mode in transonic mode we received 11800 kgf. Tu-144 fragment

In a short period of time, in strict accordance with the program, 395 flights were completed with a total flight time of 739 hours, including more than 430 hours in supersonic modes.

At the second stage of operational testing in accordance with the joint order of ministers aviation industry and civil aviation dated September 13, 1977 No. 149-223, there was a more active connection of civil aviation facilities and services. A new testing commission was formed, headed by Deputy Minister of Civil Aviation B.D. Rude. By decision of the commission, then confirmed by a joint order dated September 30 - October 5, 1977, crews were appointed to conduct operational tests:
First crew: pilots B.F. Kuznetsov (Moscow State Transport Administration), S.T. Agapov (ZhLIiDB), navigator S.P. Khramov (MTU GA), flight engineers Yu.N. Avaev (MTU GA), Yu.T. Seliverstov (ZhLIiDB), leading engineer S.P. Avakimov (ZhLIiDB).
Second crew: pilots V.P. Voronin (MSU GA), I.K. Vedernikov (ZhLIiDB), navigator A.A. Senyuk (MTU GA), flight engineers E.A. Trebuntsov (MTU GA) and V.V. Solomatin (ZhLIiDB), leading engineer V.V. Isaev (GosNIIGA).
Third crew: pilots M.S. Kuznetsov (GosNIIGA), G.V. Voronchenko (ZhLIiDB), navigator V.V. Vyazigin (GosNIIGA), flight engineers M.P. Isaev (MTU GA), V.V. Solomatin (ZhLIiDB), leading engineer V.N. Poklad (ZhLIiDB).
Fourth crew: pilots N.I. Yurskov (GosNIIGA), V.A. Sevankaev (ZhLIiDB), navigator Yu.A. Vasiliev (GosNIIGA), flight engineer V.L. Venediktov (GosNIIGA), leading engineer I.S. Mayboroda (GosNIIGA).

Before testing began, a lot of work was done to review all the materials received in order to use them “for credit” for meeting specific requirements. However, despite this, some civil aviation specialists insisted on implementing the “Operational Test Program for the Tu-144 Aircraft,” developed at GosNIIGA back in 1975 under the leadership of leading engineer A.M. Teteryukov. This program essentially required the repetition of previously completed flights in the amount of 750 flights (1200 flight hours) on MGA routes.

The total volume of operational flights and tests for both stages will be 445 flights with 835 flight hours, of which 475 hours are in supersonic modes. 128 paired flights were performed on the Moscow-Alma-Ata route.

The final stage of testing was not stressful from a technical point of view. Rhythmic work according to schedule was ensured without serious failures or major defects. The engineering and technical crews “had fun” by assessing household equipment in preparation for passenger transportation. Flight attendants and relevant specialists from GosNIIGA, who were involved in the tests, began to conduct ground training to develop the technology for servicing passengers in flight. The so-called “pranks” and two technical flights with passengers. The “raffle” was held on October 16, 1977 with a complete simulation of the cycle of ticket check-in, baggage check-in, passenger boarding, flight of actual duration, passenger disembarkation, baggage check-in at the destination airport. There was no end to the “passengers” (the best workers of OKB, ZhLIiDB, GosNIIGA and other organizations). The diet during the “flight” was top level, since it was confirmed according to the first class menu, everyone thoroughly enjoyed it. The “raffle” made it possible to clarify many important elements and details of passenger service. On October 20 and 21, 1977, two technical flights were carried out along the Moscow-Alma-Ata highway with passengers. The first passengers were employees of many organizations that were directly involved in the creation and testing of the Tu-144 aircraft. Today it is even difficult to imagine the atmosphere on board the plane: there was a feeling of joy and pride, great hope for development against the backdrop of first-class service, to which technical people are absolutely not accustomed. On the first flights, all the heads of the parent institutes and organizations were on board the plane.

The technical flights took place without serious comments and showed the full readiness of the Tu-144 aircraft and all ground services for regular transportation. On October 25, 1977, the Minister of Civil Aviation of the USSR B.P. Bugaev and the Minister of Aviation Industry of the USSR V.A. Kazakov approved the main document: “Act on the results of operational tests of the Tu-144 aircraft with NK-144 engines” with a positive conclusion and conclusions.

Based on the presented tables of compliance of the Tu-144 aircraft with the requirements of the Temporary Airworthiness Standards for Civil Aircraft of the USSR, the full volume of submitted evidentiary documentation, including acts on state and operational tests, on October 29, 1977, Chairman of the State Aviation Register of the USSR I.K. Mulkidzhanov approved the conclusion and signed the first airworthiness certificate in the USSR, type No. 03-144, for the Tu-144 aircraft with NK-144A engines.

The road was open for passenger traffic.

The Tu-144 could land and take off at 18 airports in the USSR, while the Concorde, whose takeoff and landing speed was 15% higher, required a separate landing certificate for each airport. According to some experts, if the Concorde engines had been placed in the same way as the Tu-144, the accident on July 25, 2000 would not have occurred.

According to experts, the design of the Tu-144 airframe was ideal, but the shortcomings concerned the engines and various systems.

In June 1973, the 30th International Paris Air Show took place in France. There was enormous interest generated Soviet airliner Tu-144 is the world's first supersonic passenger jet. On June 2, thousands of visitors to the air show in the Paris suburb of Le Bourget watched the exit to runway the second production copy of the Tu-144. The roar of four engines, a powerful take-off - and now the car is in the air. The sharp nose of the airliner straightened and aimed at the sky. The supersonic Tu, led by Captain Kozlov, made its first demonstration flight over Paris: having gained the required altitude, the car went beyond the horizon, then returned and circled over the airfield. The flight proceeded normally, no technical problems were noted.

The next day, the Soviet crew decided to show everything that the new aircraft was capable of.

The sunny morning of June 3 did not seem to foretell trouble. At first, everything went according to plan - the audience raised their heads and applauded in unison. The Tu-144, having shown the “top class”, began to decline. At that moment, a French Mirage fighter appeared in the air (as it later turned out, it was filming an air show). A collision seemed inevitable. In order not to crash into the airfield and spectators, the crew commander decided to rise higher and pulled the steering wheel towards himself. However, the height had already been lost, creating large loads on the structure; As a result, the right wing cracked and fell off. A fire started in the plane, and a few seconds later the flaming Tu-144 rushed to the ground. A terrible landing occurred on one of the streets of the Parisian suburb of Goussainville. The giant machine, destroying everything in its path, crashed to the ground and exploded. The entire crew - six people - and eight Frenchmen on the ground were killed. Goosenville also suffered - several buildings were destroyed. What led to the tragedy? According to most experts, the cause of the disaster was the attempt of the Tu-144 crew to avoid a collision with the Mirage. During landing, the Tu was caught in a wake from the French Mirage fighter.

This version is given in Gene Alexander’s book “Russian Airplanes Since 1944” and in an article in Aviation Week and Space Technology magazine for June 11, 1973, written on fresh tracks. The authors believe that pilot Mikhail Kozlov landed on the wrong runway, either due to a mistake by the flight director, or due to the carelessness of the pilots. The controller noticed the error in time and warned the Soviet pilots. But instead of going around, Kozlov made a sharp turn - and ended up right in front of the French Air Force fighter. At that time, the co-pilot was filming a story about the Tu crew for French television with a movie camera and therefore was not wearing a seatbelt. During the maneuver, he fell onto the center console, and while he was returning to his place, the plane had already lost altitude. Kozlov sharply pulled the steering wheel towards himself - overload: the right wing could not stand it. Here is another explanation for the terrible tragedy. Kozlov received orders to get the most out of the car. Even during takeoff, at low speed, he took an almost vertical angle. For an aircraft with such a configuration, this is fraught with enormous overloads. As a result, one of the external nodes could not stand it and fell off.

According to the employees of the A.N. Tupolev Design Bureau, the cause of the disaster was the connection of an undebugged analog block of the control system, which led to a destructive overload.

The spy version belongs to writer James Alberg. Briefly it is like this. The Soviets tried to “furnish” the Concorde. Group N.D. Kuznetsova created good engines, but they could not operate at low temperatures, unlike the Concorde engines. Then Soviet intelligence officers got involved. Penkovsky, through his agent Greville Wine, obtained part of the Concorde drawings and sent them to Moscow through an East German trade representative. British counterintelligence thus identified the leak, but instead of arresting the spy, it decided to release disinformation into Moscow through his own channels. As a result, the Tu-144 was born, very similar to the Concorde. It is difficult to establish the truth, since the “black boxes” did not clarify anything. One was found in Bourges, at the crash site, but, judging by reports, damaged. The second one was never discovered. It is believed that the Tu-144 “black box” became a point of contention between the KGB and the GRU.

According to the pilots, emergency situations occurred on almost every flight. On May 23, 1978, the second Tu-144 crash occurred. An improved experimental version of the aircraft, Tu-144D (No. 77111), after a fuel fire in the engine nacelle area of the 3rd power plant due to the destruction of the fuel line, smoke in the cabin and the crew turning off two engines, made an emergency landing on a field near the village of Ilyinsky Pogost, not far from the city Yegoryevsk.

After landing, crew commander V.D. Popov, co-pilot E.V. Elyan and navigator V.V. Vyazigin left the plane through the cockpit window. Engineers V.M. Kulesh, V.A. Isaev, V.N. Stolpovsky, who were in the cabin, left the plane through the front entrance door. Flight engineers O. A. Nikolaev and V. L. Venediktov found themselves trapped in their workplace by structures that were deformed during landing and died. (The deflected nose cone touched the ground first, worked like a bulldozer blade, picking up soil, and rotated under its belly, entering the fuselage.) On June 1, 1978, Aeroflot stopped supersonic passenger flights forever.

Work on improving the Tu-144 aircraft continued for several more years. Five released serial aircraft; another five were under construction. A new modification has been developed - Tu-144D (long-range). However, the choice of a new engine (more economical), RD-36-51, required significant redesign of the aircraft, especially the power plant. Serious design gaps in this area led to a delay in the release of the new airliner. Only in November 1974 did the serial Tu-144D (tail number 77105) take off, and nine (!) years after its first flight, on November 1, 1977, the Tu-144 received a certificate of airworthiness. Passenger flights opened on the same day. During their short operation, Tu-144 airliners carried 3,194 passengers. On May 31, 1978, flights were stopped: a fire broke out on one of the production Tu-144Ds, and the plane crashed during an emergency landing.

The disasters in Paris and Yegoryevsk led to a decrease in government interest in the project. From 1977 to 1978, 600 problems were identified. As a result, already in the 80s, it was decided to remove the Tu-144, explaining this with “a bad effect on people’s health when crossing the sound barrier.” Nevertheless, four out of five Tu-144Ds in production were still completed. Subsequently, they were based in Zhukovsky and took to the air as flying laboratories. A total of 16 Tu-144 aircraft were built (including long-range modifications), which made a total of 2,556 sorties. By the mid-90s, ten of them had survived: four in museums (Monino, Kazan, Kuibyshev, Ulyanovsk); one remained at the plant in Voronezh, where it was built; another one was in Zhukovsky along with four Tu-144Ds.

Subsequently, the Tu-144D was used only for freight transport between Moscow and Khabarovsk. In total, the Tu-144 made 102 flights under the Aeroflot flag, of which 55 were passenger flights (3,194 passengers were carried).

Later, the Tu-144 made only test flights and several flights with the aim of setting world records.

The Tu-144LL was equipped with NK-32 engines due to the lack of serviceable NK-144 or RD-36-51, similar to those used on the Tu-160, various sensors and test monitoring and recording equipment.
A total of 16 Tu-144 aircraft were built, which made a total of 2,556 sorties and flew 4,110 hours (among them, aircraft 77144 flew the most, 432 hours). The construction of four more aircraft was never completed.
What happened to the planes

A total of 16 aircraft were built - sides 68001, 77101, 77102, 77105, 77106, 77107, 77108, 77109, 77110, 77111, 77112, 77113, 77114, 77115, 77116 and 4.
Those remaining in flying condition do not currently exist. The sides of the Tu-144LL No. 77114 and TU-144D No. 77115 are almost completely complete with parts and can be restored to flight condition.

In repairable condition, TU-144LL No. 77114, which was used for NASA tests, is stored at the airfield in Zhukovsky.
TU-144D No. 77115 is also stored at the airfield in Zhukovsky. In 2007, both aircraft were repainted and exhibited for public viewing at the MAKS-2007 air show.

Aircraft No. 77114 and No. 77115 will most likely be installed as monuments or displayed at the airfield in Zhukovsky. In 2004-2005, some transactions were made with them to sell them for scrap metal, but protests from the aviation community led to their preservation. The danger of selling them for scrap metal has not been completely eliminated. The questions of whose ownership they will become have not been finally resolved.

Blogger igor113 studied the Tu-144 aircraft in detail on the Ulyanovsk field,

The photograph contains the signature of the first cosmonaut who landed on the moon, Neil Armstrong, pilot cosmonaut Georgiy Timofeevich Beregovoy and all the dead crew members. Tu-144 No. 77102 crashed during a demonstration flight at the Le Bourget air show. All 6 crew members (Honored test pilot Hero of the Soviet Union M.V. Kozlov, test pilot V.M. Molchanov, navigator G.N. Bazhenov, deputy chief designer, engineer Major General V.N. Benderov, leading engineer B.A. Pervukhin and flight engineer A.I. Dralin) died.

From left to right. Six crew members on board the TU-144 aircraft No. 77102: Honored Test Pilot Hero of the Soviet Union M.V. Kozlov, Test Pilot V.M. Molchanov, Navigator G.N. Bazhenov, Deputy Chief Designer, Engineer Major General V. N. Benderov, leading engineer B.A. Pervukhin and flight engineer A.I. Dralin (unfortunately, she did not specify who is in order). Next is the pilot-cosmonaut twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Major General Georgy Timofeevich Beregovoy, behind him on the left is Vladimir Aleksandrovich Lavrov, then the first American cosmonaut to land on the moon Neil Armstrong, then (standing behind Neil) is Stepan Gavrilovich Korneev (head of the Internal Affairs Directorate from the Department of External Relations Presidium of the Academy of Sciences), in the center Andrey Nikolaevich Tupolev - Soviet aircraft designer, academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences, colonel general, three times Hero of Socialist Labor, Hero of Labor of the RSFSR, then Alexander Alexandrovich Arkhangelsky, chief designer of the plant, Soviet aircraft designer, doctor technical sciences, Honored Worker of Science and Technology of the RSFSR, Hero of Socialist Labor. Far right is Tupolev Alexey Andreevich (son of A.N. Tupolev) - Russian aircraft designer, academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences since 1984, Hero of Socialist Labor. The photo was taken in 1970. Captions on the photo of G.T. Beregovoy and Neil Armstrong.

source neferjournal

Concord..

Concorde accident.

The aircraft is currently not in service due to a crash on July 25, 2000. On April 10, 2003, British Airways and Air France announced their decision to cease commercial operations of their Concorde fleet. The last flights took place on October 24. Concorde's final flight took place on November 26, 2003, with G-BOAF (the last aircraft built) departing Heathrow, flying over the Bay of Biscay, passing over Bristol, and landing at Filton Airport.

Tupolev's supersonic aircraft is often called the "lost generation." Intercontinental flights were recognized as uneconomical: in an hour of flight, the Tu-144 burned eight times more fuel than a regular passenger plane. For the same reason, long-distance flights to Khabarovsk and Vladivostok were not justified. It is inappropriate to use the supersonic "Tu" as transport aircraft due to its low carrying capacity. True, passenger transportation on the Tu-144 nevertheless became a prestigious and profitable business for Aeroflot, although tickets were considered very expensive at that time. Even after the official closure of the project, in August 1984, the head of the Zhukovsky flight test base Klimov, the head of the design department Pukhov and deputy chief designer Popov, with the support of supersonic flight enthusiasts, restored and put into operation two Tu-144Ds, and in 1985 they obtained permission to carry out flights to set world records. The crews of Aganov and Veremey set more than 18 world records in the class of supersonic aircraft - in speed, rate of climb and flight range with cargo.

On March 16, 1996, a series of research flights of the Tu-144LL began in Zhukovsky, which marked the beginning of the development of the second generation of supersonic passenger airliners.

95-99 years. Tu-144D with tail number 77114 was used by the American NASA as a flying laboratory. Received the name Tu-144LL. The main purpose is research and testing of American developments to create our own modern supersonic aircraft for passenger transportation.

Here's the story...

sources
nnm.ru
aminpro.narod.ru
neferjournal.livejournal.com
testpilot.ru
igor113.livejournal.com
alexandernaumov.ru
topwar.ru
www.airwar.ru
sergib.agava.ru

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