Russian supersonic passenger aircraft. Supersonic passenger aircraft. Dossier. About the Mach number

“Turn on supersonic!”

Supersonic passenger aircraft - what do we know about them? At least that they were created relatively long ago. But, for various reasons, they were not used for as long and not as often as they could have. And today, they exist only as design models.

Why is that? What is the peculiarity and “secret” of supersonic sound? Who created this technology? And also - what will be the future of supersonic aircraft in the world, and of course - in Russia? We will try to answer all these questions.

"Farewell flight"

So, fifteen years have passed since the last three functioning supersonic passenger aircraft made their last flights, after which they were written off. This was back in 2003. Then, on October 24, they all together “said goodbye to the sky.” The last time we flew by low altitude, over the capital of Great Britain.

Then we landed at London Heathrow Airport. These were Concorde type aircraft belonging to aviation company British Airways. And with such a “farewell flight” they ended a very short story passenger transportation, at speeds exceeding sound...

That's what you might have thought a few years ago. But now it is already possible to say with confidence. This is the finale of only the first stage of this story. And probably all its bright pages are yet to come.

Today - preparation, tomorrow - flight

Today, many companies and aircraft designers are thinking about the prospects of supersonic passenger aviation. Some are making plans to revive it. Others are already preparing for this with all their might.

After all, if it could exist and function effectively just a few decades ago, today, with technologies that have seriously stepped forward, it is quite possible not only to revive it, but also to solve a number of problems that forced leading airlines to abandon it.

And the prospects are too tempting. The possibility of flying, say, from London to Tokyo in five hours seems very interesting. Cross the distance from Sydney to Los Angeles in six hours? And get from Paris to New York in three and a half? With passenger aircraft, which are capable of flying at higher speeds than sound travels, this is not at all difficult.

But, of course, before the triumphant “return” of such air space, - scientists, engineers, designers, and many others - still have a lot of work to do. It is necessary not only to restore what once was by offering new model. Not at all.

The goal is to solve many problems associated with passenger supersonic aviation. Creation of aircraft that will not only demonstrate the capabilities and power of the countries that built them. But they will also turn out to be really effective. So much so that they occupy a worthy niche in aviation.

History of "supersonic" Part 1. What happened in the beginning...

Where did it all begin? In fact - from simple passenger aviation. And he has been like this for more than a century. Its design began in the 1910s in Europe. When craftsmen from the most developed countries of the world created the first aircraft, the main purpose of which was to transport passengers over various distances. That is, a flight with many people on board.

The first among them is the French Bleriot XXIV Limousine. It belonged to the aircraft manufacturing company Bleriot Aeronautique. However, it was used mainly for the amusement of those who paid for pleasure “walks”-flights on it. Two years after its creation, an analogue appears in Russia.

It was the S-21 Grand. It was designed on the basis of the Russian Knight, a heavy bomber created by Igor Sikorsky. And the construction of this passenger aircraft was carried out by workers of the Baltic Carriage Plant.

Well, after that, progress could no longer be stopped. Aviation developed rapidly. And the passenger one, in particular. At first there were flights between specific cities. Then the planes were able to cover distances between states. Finally, aircraft began to cross oceans and fly from one continent to another.

Evolving technologies and everything large quantity innovations allowed aviation to travel very quickly. Much sooner than trains or ships. And for her there were practically no barriers. There was no need to change from one transport to another, not only, say, when traveling to some particularly distant “end of the world”.

Even when it is necessary to cross land and water at once. Nothing stopped the planes. And this is natural, because they fly over everything - continents, oceans, countries...

But time was passing quickly, the world was changing. Of course, the aviation industry also developed. Airplanes over the next few decades, right up to the 1950s, changed so much when compared with those that flew back in the early 1920s and 30s that they became something completely different, special.

And so, in the middle of the twentieth century, the development of the jet engine began at a very rapid pace, even in comparison with the previous twenty to thirty years.

A small informational digression. Or - a little physics

Advanced developments have allowed aircraft to “accelerate” to speeds greater than the speed at which sound travels. Of course, first of all, this was applied in military aviation. After all, we are talking about the twentieth century. Which, sad to say, was a century of conflicts, two world wars, the “cold” struggle between the USSR and the USA...

And almost every new technology, created by the leading states of the world, was primarily considered from the point of view of how it could be used in defense or attack.

So, airplanes could now fly at unprecedented speeds. Faster than sound. What is its specificity?

First of all, it is obvious that this is a speed that exceeds the speed at which sound travels. But, remembering the basic laws of physics, we can say that in different conditions, it may differ. And “exceeds” is a very loose concept.

And that’s why there is a special standard. Supersonic speed is one that exceeds sound speed up to five times, taking into account the fact that depending on temperature and other environmental factors, it can change.

For example - if we take normal Atmosphere pressure, at sea level, then in this case, the speed of sound will be equal to an impressive figure - 1191 km/h. That is, 331 meters are covered in a second.
But what is especially important when designing supersonic aircraft is that as you gain altitude, the temperature decreases. This means the speed with which sound travels is quite significant.

So let's say, if you rise to a height of 20 thousand meters, then here it will already be 295 meters per second. But there is another important point.

At 25 thousand meters above sea level, the temperature begins to rise, since this is no longer the lower layer of the atmosphere. And so it goes on. Or rather, higher. Let's say at an altitude of 50,000 meters it will be even hotter. Consequently, the speed of sound there increases even more.

I wonder - for how long? Having risen 30 kilometers above sea level, you find yourself in a “zone” where sound travels at a speed of 318 meters per second. And at 50,000 meters, respectively - 330 m/s.

About the Mach number

By the way, it is interesting that to simplify the understanding of the features of flight and work in such conditions, the Mach number is used in aviation. general description such, can be reduced to the following conclusions. It expresses the speed of sound that occurs under given conditions, at a particular altitude, at a given temperature and air density.

For example, the flight speed, which is equal to two Mach numbers, at an altitude of ten kilometers above the ground, under normal conditions, will be equal to 2,157 km/h. And at sea level - 2,383 km/h.

History of "supersonic" Part 2. Overcoming barriers

By the way, for the first time a pilot from the USA, Chuck Yeager, achieved flight speeds of more than Mach 1. This happened in 1947. Then he “accelerated” his plane, flying at an altitude of 12.2 thousand meters above the ground, to a speed of 1066 km/h. This is how the first supersonic flight took place on earth.

Already in the 1950s, work began on design and preparation for mass production. passenger aircraft, capable of flying at speed - faster than sound. They are led by scientists and aircraft designers from the most powerful countries in the world. And they manage to succeed.

That same Concorde, a model that will finally be abandoned in 2003, was created in 1969. This is a joint British-French development. The symbolically chosen name is “Concorde”, from French, translated as “concord”.

It was one of two existing types of supersonic passenger aircraft. Well, the creation of the second (or rather, chronologically, the first) is the merit of the aircraft designers of the USSR. The Soviet equivalent of the Concorde is called the Tu-144. It was designed in the 1960s and made its first flight on December 31, 1968, a year before the British-French model.

To this day, no other types of supersonic passenger aircraft have been implemented. Both the Concorde and the Tu-144 flew thanks to turbojet engines, which were specially rebuilt in order to operate at supersonic speed for a long time.

The Soviet analogue of the Concorde was operated for a significantly shorter period. Already in 1977 it was abandoned. The plane flew at an average speed of 2,300 kilometers per hour and could carry up to 140 passengers at a time. But at the same time, the price of a ticket for such a “supersonic” flight was two, two and a half, or even three times more than for an ordinary one.

Of course, Soviet citizens did not use such in great demand. And maintaining the Tu-144 was not easy and expensive. That’s why they were abandoned so quickly in the USSR.

Concordes lasted longer, although tickets for the flights they flew were also expensive. And the demand was not great either. But still, despite this, they continued to be exploited, both in Great Britain and in France.

If you recalculate the cost of a Concorde ticket in the 1970s at today's exchange rate, it will be about two tens of thousands of dollars. For a one way ticket. One can understand why the demand for them was somewhat less than for flights using aircraft that do not reach supersonic speeds.

Concorde could take on board from 92 to 120 passengers at a time. He flew at a speed of more than 2 thousand km/h and covered the distance from Paris to New York in three and a half hours.

Several decades passed like this. Until 2003.

One of the reasons for the refusal to operate this model was a plane crash that occurred in 2000. At that time, there were 113 people on board the crashed Concorde. They all died.

Later, an international crisis began in the field of passenger air transportation. Its cause is the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, in the United States.

Moreover, on top of that, the warranty period for the Concorde is ending. Airbus airline. All this together made the further operation of supersonic passenger aircraft extremely unprofitable. And in 2003, all Concordes were written off one by one, both in France and in the UK.

Hopes

After this, there were still hopes for a quick “return” of supersonic passenger aircraft. Aircraft designers talked about creating special engines that would save fuel, despite the flight speed. We talked about improving the quality and optimizing the main avionics systems on such aircraft.

But, in 2006 and 2008, new resolutions of the International Organization were issued civil aviation. They defined the latter (by the way, they are valid also on this moment) standards for permissible aircraft noise during flight.

And supersonic planes, as you know, did not have the right to fly over populated areas, that’s why. After all, they produced strong noise pops (also due to the physical characteristics of the flight) when they moved at maximum speeds.

This was the reason that the “planning” of the “revival” of supersonic passenger aviation was somewhat slowed down. However, in fact, after the introduction of this requirement, aircraft designers began to think about how to solve this problem. After all, it also took place before, it’s just that the “ban” focused attention on it - the “noise problem”.

What about today?

But ten years have passed since the last “ban”. And planning smoothly turned into design. Today, several companies and government organizations are engaged in the creation of passenger supersonic aircraft.

Which ones exactly? Russian: Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute (the same one that is named after Zhukovsky), Tupolev and Sukhoi companies. Russian aircraft designers have an invaluable advantage.

The experience of Soviet designers and creators of the Tu-144. However, it is better to talk about domestic developments in this area separately and in more detail, which is what we propose to do next.

But it’s not just the Russians who are creating a new generation of supersonic passenger aircraft. This is also a European concern - Airbus, and the French company Dassault. Among the companies in the United States of America that are working in this direction are Boeing and, of course, Lockheed Martin. In the land of the rising sun, the main organization designing such an aircraft is the Aerospace Research Agency.

And this list is by no means complete. It is important to clarify that the overwhelming majority of professional aircraft designers working in this field are divided into two groups. Regardless of country of origin.

Some believe that it is in no way possible to create a “quiet” supersonic passenger aircraft at the current level of technological development of mankind.

Therefore, the only way out is to design a “simply fast” airliner. It, in turn, will go to supersonic speed in those places where this is allowed. And when flying, for example, over populated areas, return to subsonic.

Such “jumps,” according to this group of scientists and designers, will reduce flight time to the minimum possible, and not violate the requirements for noise effects.

Others, on the contrary, are full of determination. They believe that it is possible to fight the cause of the noise now. And they made a lot of effort to prove that it is quite possible to build a supersonic airliner that flies quietly in the very coming years.

And a little more fun physics

So, when flying at a speed of more than Mach 1.2, the airframe of the aircraft generates shock waves. They are strongest in the tail and nose areas, as well as some other parts of the aircraft, such as the edges of the air intakes.

What is a shock wave? This is an area where air density, pressure and temperature experience sudden changes. They occur when moving at high speeds, faster than sound speed.

To people who are standing on the ground, despite the distance, it seems that some kind of explosion is happening. Of course, we are talking about those who are in relative proximity - under the place where the plane flies. That is why supersonic aircraft flights over cities were banned.

It is precisely such shock waves that representatives of the “second camp” of scientists and designers are fighting against, who believe in the possibility of leveling out this noise.

If we go into detail, the reason for this is literally a “collision” with air at a very high speed. At the wave front there is a sharp and strong increase in pressure. At the same time, immediately after it, there is a drop in pressure, and then a transition to a normal pressure indicator (the same as it was before the “collision”).

However, a classification of wave types has already been carried out and potentially optimal solutions have been found. All that remains is to complete the work in this direction and make the necessary adjustments to the aircraft designs, or create them from scratch, taking into account these amendments.

In particular, NASA specialists came to realize the need for structural changes in order to reform the characteristics of the flight as a whole.

Namely, changing the specifics of shock waves, as far as possible at the current technological level. What is achieved by restructuring the wave, through specific design changes. As a result, the standard wave is considered as an N-type, and the one that occurs during flight, taking into account the innovations proposed by experts, as an S-type.

And with the latter, the “explosive” effect of pressure changes is significantly reduced, and people located below, for example, in a city, if an airplane flies over them, even when they hear such an effect, it is only like a “distant slam of a car door.”

Shape is also important

In addition, for example, Japanese aviation designers, not so long ago, in mid-2015, created an unmanned glider model D-SEND 2. Its shape is designed in a special way, allowing to significantly reduce the intensity and number of shock waves that occur when the device flies at supersonic speed.

The effectiveness of the innovations proposed in this way by Japanese scientists was proven during tests of D-SEND 2. These were carried out in Sweden in July 2015. The course of the event was quite interesting.

The glider, which was not equipped with engines, was raised to a height of 30.5 kilometers. By using hot air balloon. Then he was thrown down. During the fall, he “accelerated” to a speed of Mach 1.39. The length of D-SEND 2 itself is 7.9 meters.

After the tests, Japanese aircraft designers were able to confidently declare that the intensity of the shock waves when their brainchild flies at a speed exceeding the speed of sound propagation is two times less than that of the Concorde.

What are the features of D-SEND 2? First of all - his bow not axisymmetric. The keel is shifted towards it, and at the same time, the horizontal tail unit is installed as all-moving. It is also located at a negative angle to the longitudinal axis. And at the same time, the tail tips are located lower than the attachment point.

The wing, smoothly connected to the fuselage, is made with normal sweep, but stepped.

According to approximately the same scheme, now, as of November 2018, the supersonic passenger AS2 is being designed. Professionals from Lockheed Martin are working on it. The customer is NASA.

Also, the Russian SDS/SPS project is now at the stage of improving its form. It is planned that it will be created with an emphasis on reducing the intensity of shock waves.

Certification and... another certification

It is important to understand that some projects of passenger supersonic aircraft will be implemented in the early 2020s. At the same time, the rules established by the International Civil Aviation Organization in 2006 and 2008 will still be in force.

This means that if before that time there is no serious technological breakthrough in the field of “quiet supersonic”, then it is likely that aircraft will be created that will reach speeds above one Mach only in zones where this is permitted.

And after that, when the necessary technologies do appear, in such a scenario, many new tests will have to be carried out. In order for aircraft to obtain permission to fly over populated areas. But these are only speculations about the future; today it is very difficult to say anything for sure on this matter.

Question of price

Another problem mentioned earlier is the high cost. Of course, today, many engines have already been created that are much more economical than those that were used twenty or thirty years ago.

In particular, those that can provide aircraft movement at supersonic speed are now being designed, but at the same time do not “eat up” as much fuel as the Tu-144 or Concorde.

How? First of all, this is the use of ceramic composite materials, which reduce temperatures, and this is especially important in hot zones of power plants.

In addition, the introduction of another, third, air circuit - in addition to the external and internal ones. Leveling the rigid coupling of a turbine with a fan, inside an aircraft engine, etc.

But nevertheless, even thanks to all these innovations, it cannot be said that supersonic flight, in today's realities, is economical. Therefore, in order for it to become accessible and attractive to the general public, work to improve engines is extremely important.

Perhaps the current solution would be a complete redesign of the design, experts say.

By the way, it will also not be possible to reduce the cost by increasing the number of passengers per flight. Because those aircraft that are being designed today (meaning, of course, supersonic aircraft) are designed to transport a small number of people - from eight to forty-five.

A new engine is a solution to the problem

Among the latest innovations in this area, it is worth noting the innovative jet turbofan power plant created this year, 2018, by GE Aviation. In October it was introduced under the name Affinity.

This engine is planned to be installed on the mentioned AS2 passenger model. There are no significant technological “new products” in this type of power plants. But at the same time, it combines the features of jet engines with high and low bypass ratios. This makes the model very interesting for installation on a supersonic aircraft.

Among other things, the creators of the engine claim that during testing it will prove its ergonomics. The fuel consumption of the power plant will be approximately equal to that which can be recorded for standard airliner engines currently in operation.

That is, this is a statement that the power plant supersonic aircraft will consume approximately the same amount of fuel as a conventional airliner, unable to accelerate to speeds above Mach one.

How this will happen is still difficult to explain. Since the design features of the engine are not currently being disclosed by its creators.

What could they be - Russian supersonic airliners?

Of course, today there are many specific projects for supersonic passenger aircraft. However, not all are close to implementation. Let's look at the most promising ones.

So, Russian aircraft manufacturers who inherited the experience of Soviet masters deserve special attention. As mentioned earlier, today, within the walls of TsAGI named after Zhukovsky, according to its employees, the creation of the concept of a new generation supersonic passenger aircraft has almost been completed.

IN official description model provided by the press service of the institute, it is mentioned that this is a “light, administrative” aircraft, “with low level sonic boom." The design is carried out by specialists, employees of this institution.

Also, in a message from the TsAGI press service, it is mentioned that thanks to the special layout of the aircraft body and the special nozzle on which the noise suppression system is installed, this model will demonstrate the latest achievements in the technological development of the Russian aircraft industry.

By the way, it is important to mention that among the most promising TsAGI projects, in addition to what has been described, is a new configuration of passenger airliners called the “flying wing.” It implements several particularly relevant improvements. Specifically, it makes it possible to improve aerodynamics, reduce fuel consumption, etc. But for non-supersonic aircraft.

Among other things, this institute has repeatedly presented finished projects that have attracted the attention of aviation enthusiasts from all over the world. Let's say - one of the last, - model supersonic business a jet capable of traveling up to 7,000 kilometers without refueling and reaching a speed of 1.8 thousand km/h. This was presented at the exhibition “Gidroaviasalon-2018”.

“...design is going on all over the world!”

In addition to the Russian ones mentioned above, the following models are also the most promising. American AS2 (capable of speeds up to Mach 1.5). Spanish S-512 (speed limit - Mach 1.6). And also, currently at the design stage in the USA, Boom, from Boom Technologies (well, it will be able to fly at a maximum speed of Mach 2.2).

There is also the X-59, which is being created for NASA by Lockheed Martin. But it will be a flying scientific laboratory, not a passenger plane. And no one has planned to put it into mass production yet.

The plans of Boom Technologies are interesting. Employees of this company say that they will try to reduce the cost of flights on the supersonic airliners created by the company as much as possible. For example, they can give an approximate price for a flight from London to New York. This is about 5000 US dollars.

For comparison, this is how much a ticket costs for a flight from the English capital to “New” York, on a regular or “subsonic” plane, in business class. That is, the price of a flight on an airliner capable of flying at speeds greater than Mach 1.2 will be approximately equal to the cost of an expensive ticket on an airplane that could not make the same fast flight.

However, Boom Technologies bet that it will not be possible to create a “quiet” supersonic passenger airliner in the near future. Therefore, their Boom will fly at the maximum speed it can develop only over water. And when you are above land, switch to a smaller one.

Given that the Boom will be 52 meters long, it will be able to carry up to 45 passengers at a time. According to the plans of the company designing the aircraft, the first flight of this new product should occur in 2025.

What is known so far about another promising project- AS2? It will be able to carry significantly fewer people - only eight to twelve people per flight. In this case, the length of the liner will be 51.8 meters.

Over water, it is planned to be able to fly at a speed of Mach 1.4-1.6, and over land - 1.2. By the way, in the latter case, due to its special shape, the plane, in principle, will not generate shock waves. For the first time, this model should take to the air in the summer of 2023. In October of the same year, the aircraft will make its first flight across the Atlantic.

This event will be dedicated to memorable date- the twentieth anniversary of the day the Concordes last flew over London.

Moreover, the Spanish S-512 will take to the skies for the first time no later than the end of 2021. And deliveries of this model to customers will begin in 2023. The maximum speed of this aircraft is Mach 1.6. It can accommodate 22 passengers on board. The maximum flight range is 11.5 thousand km.

The client is the head of everything!

As you can see, some companies are trying very hard to complete the design and begin creating aircraft as quickly as possible. For whom are they willing to rush in such a hurry? Let's try to explain.

So, during 2017, for example, the volume of air passenger traffic amounted to four billion people. Moreover, 650 million of them flew long distances, spending from 3.7 to thirteen hours on the way. Next - 72 million out of 650, moreover, they flew first or business class.

It is these 72,000,000 people, on average, that those companies that are engaged in the creation of supersonic passenger aircraft are counting on. The logic is simple - it is possible that many of them will not mind paying a little more for a ticket, provided that the flight will be approximately twice as fast.

But, even despite all the prospects, many experts reasonably believe that the active progress of supersonic aviation, created for the transport of passengers, may begin after 2025.

This opinion is confirmed by the fact that the mentioned “flying” laboratory X-59 will first take to the air only in 2021. Why?

Research and Outlook

The main purpose of its flights, which will take place over several years, will be to collect information. The fact is that this aircraft must fly over various populated areas at supersonic speed. Residents of these settlements have already expressed their consent to conduct tests.

And after the laboratory plane completes its next “experimental flight”, people living in those populated areas, over which it flew, must talk about the “impressions” that they received during the time when the airliner was above their heads. And especially clearly express how the noise was perceived. Did it affect their livelihoods, etc.

The data collected in this way will be transmitted to the Federal Aviation Administration in the United States. And after their detailed analysis by experts, perhaps the ban on supersonic airliner flights over populated land areas will be lifted. But in any case, this will not happen before 2025.

In the meantime, we can watch the creation of these innovative aircraft, which will soon mark the birth of a new era of supersonic passenger aviation with their flights!

The supersonic aircraft TU-144 is a pioneer among passenger airliners with hypersonic speed, designed by USSR engineers in the late 1960s of the last century. The first Soviet supersonic passenger aircraft took off on December 31, 1968. Eduard Elyan, who has the title of Honored Test Pilot, flew at his helm.

The world's first supersonic passenger aircraft, the TU-144, was built in 1971 in the city of Zhukovsky, after which its production began at the aircraft plant in Voronezh. A total of 16 airliners were created.

History of creation

Aeronautics developed rapidly in the middle of the last century. The USSR and the USA tried to overtake each other in the invention of fighters and sought to build hypersonic airliners.

Pros for airlines:

reduction of time in the air;
no need for intermediate landings to refuel the engine;
possibility of transporting goods on long routes.

Soviet aviators studied the experience of their colleagues during international air shows.

In 1963, work began on passenger airliner. The USSR Council of Ministers recommended that it meet the following requirements:

the flight distance should reach 4-4.5 thousand kilometers;
cruising speed of the Tu-144 is 2300-2700 kilometers per hour;
Cabin capacity is up to 100 passengers.

This model began to be created in 1964, and in 1965 it was exhibited in Le Bourget, France. Designer Alexey Tupolev emphasized that it should take off a couple of months before Concorde, which is what happened.

The new car was built on the basis of the MiG-21.

The design of which was modified: the horizontal tail was eliminated, the length of the fuselage was reduced and the wing span was increased.

In 1971, after a test flight between large European states, experimental use of the machine by Aeroflot began. The Voronezh aircraft plant began serial production.

Designer of the Soviet supersonic passenger aircraft TU-144

The son of aircraft designer Andrei Tupolev, Alexey Tupolev - Hero of Socialist Labor, laureate of the Lenin and State Prizes, awarded three Orders of Lenin, the Order of the Red Banner of Labor and the "Badge of Honor" - since 1942 he worked in his father's design bureau, developed the TU-2, TU-16.

His biography says that in 1953, Alexey Andreevich defended his candidate’s dissertation, and in 1963, his doctoral dissertation. For the next decade, he worked as the chief designer of the Moscow machine plant "Experience" and deputy general designer of OKB A.N. Tupolev.

With the participation of A.A. Tupolev created many samples of technology.

Aviation technology	a brief description of
	It had 2 turbojet 2-circuit engines, T-shaped tail. Used as a passenger aircraft and in Air Force schools
	Low-wing aircraft with 4 mid-flight 2-circuit turbojet engines in the lower part of the fuselage. 3-wheel landing gear with retractable safety tail. Air-cooled disc brakes. Made more than 100 flights under the Aeroflot flag
	3-engine jet passenger aircraft, one of the fastest in the world. Created according to the design of a cantilever low-wing aircraft with a swept wing, T-shaped tail, rear-mounted engines and APU. Mass production stopped in 2013
	Soviet pilots called this strategic bomber the “White Swan”. The largest and most powerful combat aircraft in the history of aviation and the heaviest combat aircraft. Integral low-wing aircraft with 3-leg landing gear, all-moving stabilizer and cue
	Soviet supersonic passenger aircraft with a narrow fuselage, manufactured to replace the TU-154 on the lines. Fly-by-wire control system, electronic digital engine control system, supercritical wing profiles, digital computers on equipment units. Implements regular flights across world space
	Spaceship-rocket plane. It was intended to deliver astronauts and cargo to orbital stations. The only flight into space was made on November 15, 1988 without a crew on board in automatic mode.
	2-engine jet multi-role monoplane, long-range bomber with a swept wing. A vector-synchronous optical sight connected to an autopilot was used to throw bombs. TU-16 naval aviation accompanied US air strike groups and participated in the Arab-Israeli and Afghan wars
	The first jet bomber of the Soviet Union, it was used to train Air Force flight personnel during retraining for new equipment.
	A laboratory vehicle with a turbojet engine, take-off weight - 100-150 tons. In May 1990, records were set: the altitude was reached 6000 m in 4 minutes 23 seconds, 9000 m in 6 minutes 3.5 seconds, the “ceiling” was 12530 m. Suffered a disaster in the 1990s, after which it was cut into scrap metal
	Under this designation, 2 projects were developed: 1 - the creation of a manned rocket plane "Zvezda"; 2 - construction of the first drone of the Soviet Union of the Yastreb-2 system. Equipped with a rescue system

Flight characteristics of Tu-144

Engine	TRDTSFx4, NK-144 A
Thrust, kgf	afterburner - 13000; afterburner - 17500
Wingspan, m	28
Wing area, sq. m	503
Length, m	67,05
Height, m	12,50
Maximum take-off weight, kg	195000
Empty weight, kg	85000
Payload, kg	15000
Maximum speed of Tu-144 at altitude, km/h	2500
Cruising speed, km/h	2200
Practical ceiling, m	18000

TU-144 device

9 series were designed, including 1 prototype of series 0, 1 - 1, 2 test gliders of series 1 and 16 aircraft.

Passenger cabin of Tu-144

The airframe material is heat-resistant aluminum alloy AKCH-1 and alloys VAD-23 and OTCH-1. Portholes – with heat-resistant fluorocrylate plexiglass.

The fuselage is divided into 3 parts:

Nasal. It is electrically deflected by 11 degrees during takeoff and by 17 during landing. The backup drive operates from a nitrogen cylinder under a pressure of 150 kg/sq.m. cm.
Central. It has a cabin that forms a sealed compartment with the bow and is divided into 3 salons. In the right row there are blocks of 3 seats, in the left - 2. In the rear part there are blocks of both 3 and 2 seats. In 1 salon there are comfortable double chairs. On the left side there are 2 doors for passengers and 4 service doors. For emergency exit to the wing there are hatches on the right and left. Some models are equipped with a lower hatch for the crew to exit.
Tail. There is a fuel tank and a parachute compartment.

The Tu-144 cabin is designed for 4 people, for whom anti-g suits and oxygen masks are provided.

Tu-144 cockpit

Wing area – 503 sq. m, span – 28 m. Tail with 2-section rudder.

Each engine has an adjustable air intake; during the assembly process, the engines were modified to install one of the types - NK-144 or RD3651A (the aircraft with which later became known as TU-144D).

The fuel system consists of 8 groups of tanks. Fuel - T-6 or T-8 aviation kerosene. Tanks of 4 hydraulic systems are combined. Anti-icing is provided.

The chassis is a front support with 2 paired wheels.

Equipment components:

power supply system;
dashboard;
recorders;
radio-electronic equipment;
auto control AVSU-144;
navigation and flight control complex;
electronic engine control system;
fuel automatics.

Modifications of the passenger TU-144

Title and picture	Description	Brief technical characteristics
TU-144 (“044”) - prototype	The first of two hypersonic airliners for passengers. First flight - in 1968. On June 3, 1971, it crashed during a demonstration flight at Le Bourget, killing 6 crew members.	4 NK-144 turbofan engines, retractable front horizontal tail for the duration of the flight, allowing you to reduce speed when landing. Supersonic flight range - 2920 km
TU-144 (“004”) - pre-production	Pre-production prototype No. 77101 with NK-144 engines. In 1968-1970 9 aircraft were produced. 1 flight was carried out on July 1, 1971	The fuselage diameter is increased, the long nose section is deflectable, there are PGOs and main landing gear
TU-144 VTA (military transport)	Project
TU-144D (“004D”) - long-range	An experimental and production aircraft with an RD-36-51A engine, built since 1969. 5 cars were produced. First flight - November 30, 1974. May 23, 1978 - accident near Yegoryevsk	Fuselage length - 64.45 m, aircraft height - 12.5 m, wingspan - 28.8 m
TU-144DA (modernized)	Project	Fuel capacity increased to 125 tons, take-off weight - to 123 tons. Engines "61"
TU-144K (missile carrier)	Project, worked on it in the 1970s
TU-144LL (“Moscow”) - “flying laboratory”	Development began in 1988 from the TU-144D model. By 1996, 3 of them had been converted. First flight – November 29, 1996. 19 experimental flights were completed and 8 with the participation of test pilots from the USA	NK-231 engines were installed, the wing was strengthened. Equipped with research equipment. Some of the equipment was taken from TU-204 and TU-160
TU-144P - “jammer”	The project was developed on the basis of the TU-144D for the Navy in the 1980s
TU-14PR - “reconnaissance jammer”	The project was developed in the 1970s
DP-2 - long-range interceptor	1970s project

Disasters on TU-144

During a flight demonstration in Le Bourget, France, on June 3, 1973, a tragedy occurred with the TU-144 aircraft, which was witnessed by 350 thousand citizens. The airliner was descending when a Mirage fighter appeared in the sky.

To avoid a collision, the commander decided to climb higher, but lost altitude. As a result of the resulting load, the right wing cracked and fell off, a fire started, and the plane crashed onto a street in the suburb of Goosenville. 6 crew members and 8 spectators on the ground were killed, and buildings were damaged.

Video of the Le Bourget disaster, 1973

Five years later, on May 23, 1978, a plane crash occurred during a test flight of a TU-144D near the city of Yegoryevsk in the Moscow region.

A fire started on board, the pilots were able to land, but 2 crew members died and the plane burned down.

This was the reason for removing the TU-144 from passenger flights.

Airplane in popular culture

The memory of beautiful aircraft is kept in museums:

Air Force Museum in the village of Monino, Shchelkovo district, Moscow region;
Ulyanovsk Museum of Civil Aviation;
The Museum of Technology in Sinsheim, Germany, where the most high-quality restored exhibit is located, located next to the Concorde.

Cinematography also did not stand aside:

the film “Mimino” (1977), where, according to the authors’ plans, the TU-144 flew to Delhi and San Francisco;
children's film “A Drop in the Sea” (1973);
"Incredible adventures of Italians in Russia." It was planned to show the TU-144 in the final frames, but due to the recent disaster at Le Bourget it was urgently replaced by the IL-62;
"The Tale of the Human Heart" (1974);
"Poem of Wings" (1979).

The TU-144D model is used in computer games, where the aircraft can be controlled virtually.

Advantages and disadvantages

pros	Minuses
Front horizontal tail, improving flight maneuverability and reducing speed during landing	The cost of the flight for passengers is 20 rubles. more than on a regular plane
Ability to operate from different runways	High specific fuel consumption in cruising mode
Use of the TU-144D model by NASA specialists as a flying laboratory	Difficult to maintain
Setting 13 world records	Short flight range, due to which there were restrictions in operation
High passenger capacity of the Tu-144 cabin	Low strength of structural panels
Convenience and comfort for flight participants	Tragic cases

To date, there are no remaining TU-144s in flying condition. Some of them can be seen as museum exhibits, the rest were dismantled or cut into non-ferrous metals in the 1990s of the 20th century.

Many Western experts saw Tu 144 only a copy of the English-French Concorde, but the Soviet airliner is heavier, much more powerful and faster. The aircraft, manufactured in the Soviet Union, was superior in a number of technical aspects to similar developments that were still at the design stage in the West.

The history of the creation of the Tu 144 aircraft

Not commercial considerations or experience international airlines, and the vast expanses of the Soviet Union became the rationale for the emergence Tu 144. It has been calculated that each flight creates an average time savings of 24.9 hours, which is important for passengers such as doctors, scientists and military officers. Only supersonic airliners could increase this saving to 36 hours. This provided the basis for the production of 75 aircraft.

The order was entrusted to the OKB department, which was headed by A.A. Tupolev in July 1963. At OKB N.D. Kuznetsov developed a new NK-144 engine, made of high-strength materials that can withstand high temperatures and equipped with an afterburner chamber with an adjustable nozzle.

At the Mikoyan Design Bureau at the base MiG-21 built A-144- flying analogue Tu-144, the wing of which is a smaller copy of the wing of a supersonic airliner. Test flights on the analogue confirmed that new car can do without horizontal tail.

On the last day of 1968, accompanied by an analogue aircraft A-144 the first prototype flew for the first time Tu-144- much earlier than Concorde. The crew is test pilot E. Elyan and right pilot M. Kozlov, engineer Yu. Seliverstov and head of flight tests V. Benderov.

On June 5, 1969, the speed M=1 was exceeded. At the end of May 1970, they reached speed M=2 at an altitude of 16,300 m.

Finally, the car reached a speed of M=2.4 with a calculated cruising speed of M=2.35 (2500 km/h). Of course, this prototype is far from a passenger car, since the interior of the cabin was filled with testing equipment, and the crew members sat in ejection seats under shootable hatches.

After the demonstration Tu-144 at Sheremetyevo on May 21, 1970, nothing was heard about this project until the appearance of the first production aircraft in 1973. To the surprise of many, the plane was almost completely rebuilt.

Description of the design of the Tu 144 aircraft

Aerodynamic design Tu-144- this is a low-wing aircraft without horizontal tail, the fin with a rudder was located along the axis of the aircraft, engines were installed below the wing, the landing gear was two main struts with four wheels and one two-wheeled front one.

The new wing had leading edges formed by two straight lines, with trapezoidal tips, in addition, it received a pronounced twist and curvature with curved leading and trailing edges, especially at the tips. Wing area expanded to 438 m 2 . The elevons with a redesigned control system were extended to the tips and modified.

Titanium alloys were used in large quantities in the wing design, the areas of honeycomb cladding and stiffening elements were increased, and there were more welds instead of rivets. The fuselage was lengthened by 6.3 m.

The power plant was completely reconstructed, the left and right engine nacelles (two engines each) were moved apart. The air intakes were redone, changing their profile. The engines were moved to the rear of the vehicle, so that the nozzles protruded beyond the wing edge.

The front landing gear was lengthened and moved 9.6 m to the nose, retracting forward into an unpressurized niche. The main landing gear was converted into eight-wheeled trolleys, attached to trusses in the engine nacelles and retracted forward with a rotation of 90 0 between the air intake ducts.

A completely new and most noticeable element was the addition of a retractable PGO (fore horizontal tail) for high lift. This folding wing was attached to the top of the fuselage behind the cockpit.

The main volume of fuel is located in the wing caissons, and in the rear part of the hull there is a balancing tank, used to pump fuel into it from other tanks to eliminate a strong alignment shift during the transition from subsonic speed to supersonic and vice versa.

U Tu-144 a characteristic difference is the glazed lowered nose of the body, providing pilots with visibility at high angles of attack during the takeoff and landing regime, which is typical for a low aspect ratio wing. This lowering part does not in any way violate the tightness of the crew compartment, but the interface with the fuselage skin is made in such a way that the smoothness of the joint is preserved.

The cockpit accommodated three crew members, two pilots in front, and a flight engineer slightly behind them. The on-board computer and autopilot maintained the specified flight parameters, the display showed the location of the aircraft and the rest of the route to the arrival point. Automation brought the plane onto the landing glide path in difficult weather conditions, day and night.

The three cabins of the liner could easily accommodate 150 passengers. There was a luggage compartment at the tail of the plane, the passage between the seats was free, and was 1.93 meters high.

Flight characteristics of the Tu 144 aircraft

Wing span – 28.8 m.
The length of the aircraft is 64.45 m.
The height of the aircraft is 12.5 m.
Wing area – 506.35 m 2 .
The empty weight of the aircraft (150 pax version) is 99.2 tons.
Maximum take-off weight – 207 tons.
Supersonic cruising speed is 2120 km/h.
Range with commercial load: 7 tons (70 passengers) – 6200 km.

11 – 13 t. (110 – 130 passengers) – 5500 – 5700 km.

15 tons (150 passengers) – 5330 km.

Interesting facts about the Tu 144 aircraft

An interesting solution for Tu-144– this is the use of the front horizontal tail in takeoff and landing modes. The release of the PGO and the part of the hull deflected in front made it possible to reduce the landing speed to normal.

At engines Tu144 there was no reverse - this was compensated by powerful chassis cooling fans and a braking parachute.

Two sad facts: on June 3, 1973, at an air show in France, there was a dangerous collision between a plane and a Mirage fighter. Having performed a collision avoidance maneuver too quickly, Tu-144 fell on residential areas. The crew members were killed and 8 people in the city with them, 25 residents were injured.

During the next tests on May 23, 1978, a fire occurred in the fuel supply system. The pilots had to land on the first available field, two crew members were pinched by fragments of the aircraft structure and could not be saved, the remaining six people remained alive, the plane was completely burned out.

Tu-144 became the first passenger airliner to reach supersonic speed.

Fatal flaw Tu-144 There was a constant noise in the passenger compartment while the air conditioning system was cooling at supersonic speed.

High top speed Tu-144 Unlike "Concord", was a compelling factor for its use as NASA's flying laboratory.

Video: Tu 144 take off

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 failure assessment system was developed, taking into account their consequences. 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 cockpit windshields for visual viewing. To improve takeoff and landing characteristics, a retractable front horizontal tail was used.

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, an automatic control system was used on the Tu-144. technical condition on-board systems, allowing 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

The Tu-144, which according to NATO codification was called the Charger, is a supersonic Soviet passenger aircraft developed by the Tupolev Design Bureau.

Built in the 1960s, it was the first supersonic airliner to be operated by airlines for commercial air travel.

History of Tu-144

The first flight of the Tu-144 prototype aircraft was carried out on December 31, 1968. During the creation, work was carried out simultaneously in two directions. The first implied the creation of a non-afterburning, economical turbojet engine of the RD-36-51 type, the second was aimed at improving the aerodynamic characteristics of the Tu-144.

As a result, they planned to complete the task of achieving supersonic flight. In 1969, by decision of the USSR Council of Ministers commission, the option of equipping the aircraft with the RD-36-51 power plant was adopted.

In parallel, the MGA organization made a decision to build six Tu-144s with more fuel-efficient NK-144A engines. The modernization with new engines satisfied the requirements for the supersonic flight range of the first stage (4-4.5 thousand km); it was planned to equip production models with RD-36-51 engines.

The first pre-production modernized Tu-144 aircraft began to be assembled in 1968 at the MMZ “Experience”. According to calculated data, NK-144 engines could provide a supersonic flight range of 3275 km, and NK-144A - 3500 km.

To improve the aerodynamic characteristics of the car, the shape of the wing was changed. The degree of sweep was changed: along the leading edge it was 76°, and along the base - 57°. Unlike “044”, the wing area was increased, and intensive conical twist of the end parts of the wing was introduced. But the main thing that improved aerodynamics was the change in the central part of the wing, which ensured self-balancing in cruising speed modes. The changes affected the length of the fuselage, which could accommodate up to 150 passengers. The improvement of aerodynamic data was facilitated by reworking the shape of the forward fuselage. The twin engines along with the engine nacelles were moved apart, thereby freeing up space in the lower part of the fuselage. This arrangement entailed changes in the chassis system: the main landing gear supports were placed under the engine nacelles, and the retraction took place inside between the air ducts of the engines.

As a result of design improvements, an increase in fuel reserves and payload, the aircraft’s take-off weight increased to 190 tons (in the “044” project this figure was 150 tons).

The first pre-production copy of the Tu-144 was released at the beginning of 1971, and its first flight took place on June 1, 1971. According to the factory testing program, 231 flights were carried out, 55 flight hours were completed in supersonic mode.

On September 20, 1972, the plane flew along the route Moscow - Tashkent, which was covered in 1 hour 50 minutes. During the flight, the cruising speed of the vehicle reached 2500 km/h.

Serial production of the Tu-144 airliner was established at the Voronezh Aviation Plant.

The production model, which was equipped with NK-144A engines, was first flown on 03/20/1972. Unlike the pre-production vehicle, the wing area was slightly added, which resulted in an increase in take-off weight to 195 tons.

On June 3, 1973, the first production aircraft crashed in front of 350 thousand spectators. The crew wanted to repeat the feat of the Concorde, which had performed a “fighter” maneuver the day before - to fly over the runway and take off again. However, this could not be done. Starting from an altitude of 1200 m, the plane suddenly began to dive and, only reaching 120 m above the ground, began to slowly rise. The overload far exceeded the permissible level, as a result of which first the left wing fell off, and then the tail section. The aircraft's structure was completely destroyed. The crash occurred near a small French city Goussainville. As a result of the disaster, the entire crew of the liner and 7 local residents, 28 people were injured.

First passenger flight with the participation of Tu-144 took place on October 1, 1977. Until May 1978, the aircraft operated 55 passenger and 47 cargo flights.

A total of 17 copies of the Tu-144 supersonic airliner were produced, 14 of which were produced in Voronezh. Equipment passenger cabins ordered from the GDR. Currently, two Tu-144 aircraft are stored in the aviation museums of Monino and Ulyanovsk.

Design

Tu-144 is an all-metal low-wing aircraft, which was made according to the “tailless” design. The fuselage of the aircraft is made as a semi-monocoque and has a smooth working skin with stringers and a set of frames. The Tu-144 has a tricycle chassis and a nose strut.

Part power plant includes four NK-144A turbojet engines, the Tu-144D modification includes the afterburning RD-36-51A. Each of the engines has its own air intake. The air intakes are arranged in pairs. The nose landing gear retracts into the space at the front of the fuselage between the air intakes.

Variable sweep aircraft wing. The wing skin is made of aluminum alloy sheets. Titanium elevons are located on the trailing edge. They, together with the rudders, perform deflection due to irreversible boosters. The cabin is made movable like a “duck” to ensure better review during takeoff and landing of an airplane.

Most of the fuel is stored in 18 wing tanks. A balancing tank was placed at the rear of the fuselage. It receives fuel at the stage of transition from subsonic speed to supersonic. The landing could be carried out at any time of the day and in any weather conditions. A new technical solution was the debut use in the history of Soviet aircraft construction on this aircraft of an automated system for monitoring the performance of on-board systems. This in turn reduced the time and labor intensity of machine maintenance.

Tu-144 aircraft were used not only as airliners. They were used during studies of solar eclipses, the ozone layer, and focused sonic boom. These aircraft became training centers for cosmonauts who trained under the Buran program. In 1983, test pilot S.T. Agapov set thirteen world aviation records on the Tu-144D, which have not been broken to this day.

Tu-144 characteristics:

aircraft length without PVD - 64.45 m;

wingspan - 28.8 m;

aircraft height - 12.5 m;

wing area with influx - 506.35 m2;

maximum take-off weight - 207000 kg;

empty weight of the aircraft for the 150-passenger version - 99200 kg;

cruising supersonic flight speed - 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.

Tu-144 video

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