United Airline From Hong Kong, joined Jan 2001, 8541 posts, RR: 21 Posted (11 years 1 week 6 days 22 hours ago) and read 2689 times:
Hi everyone!
The Tupolev Tu-144s have not had a single journey in the air since the 70s I suppose. Right?
We have seen the interior of a Concorde. Does anyone know what does the interior of a Tupolev Tu-144 look like? What kind of seats do they have?
Also, will they fly again? I mean in air shows or in testings. I think a few went to the US and the US is now using it to work on a New Generation Supersonic Aircraft and is now flying it as a test plane.
N863DA From United States of America, joined Sep 2004, 48 posts, RR: 7 Reply 2, posted (11 years 1 week 6 days 21 hours ago) and read 2625 times:
The TU-144LL - the one up for sale on Ebay - was the NASA/Tupolev joint exploration into the future of supersonic transports.
It flew breifly in 1997/98/99 but the study has since been abandoned - hence the reason it is up for sale by owner, as it were.
That was the aircraft used by the US - never in the US however, always in Russia, (or the CIS at any rate.)
As for the interior - lots of measuring equipment - which should have been removed I assume when the project was abandoned. Thus, holes where measuring equipment should be I guess. No passenger setup of any kind. The aircraft never carried a fare-paying passenger and was never even remotely destined for Aeroflot.
Lindy field From United States of America, joined Mar 2001, 3052 posts, RR: 17 Reply 3, posted (11 years 1 week 6 days 21 hours ago) and read 2597 times:
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I heard that the Tu-144 is full of styrofoam and packing materials.
United Airline From Hong Kong, joined Jan 2001, 8541 posts, RR: 21 Reply 4, posted (11 years 1 week 6 days 13 hours ago) and read 2559 times:
As you may know, they are now up for sale. Who will be buying it? And even if someone buys it, will they use them for Commercial Use like the Concorde? That would be cool!
Jiml1126 From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 5, posted (11 years 1 week 6 days 12 hours ago) and read 2556 times:
Tu-144 DID enters commercial service on Aeroflot's Moscow-Alma Ata (Almaty) for half years. That's what I heard, and I believe it's true. I can't remember where I saw/heard the fact.
IloveA340 From United States of America, joined Oct 1999, 2100 posts, RR: 6 Reply 13, posted (11 years 1 week 5 days 21 hours ago) and read 2449 times:
southwest should buy it. the daily scedual:
Oakland-Kansas City-Baltimore-Dallas-Oakland and do that like 3 times a day.
Jwenting From Netherlands, joined Apr 2001, 10213 posts, RR: 24 Reply 14, posted (11 years 1 week 5 days 21 hours ago) and read 2443 times:
Tu-144s did indeed fly passenger service. I believe 20 flights were made, during which time 2 or 3 aircraft went down. At that point even Kruchev had to admit the aircraft was not fit for service.
It soldiered on some time carrying cargo, but that too soon ended.
RIX From United States of America, joined Aug 2000, 1779 posts, RR: 1 Reply 15, posted (11 years 1 week 4 days 1 hour ago) and read 2405 times:
Dear Jwenting,
Tu144 made 102 passenger flights during 7 months. It was grounded after a crash (one, not 2 or 3; AFAIK, it was a test flight - though by some sources it was a passenger flight; again, no information if there were any fatalities). There was another crash in 1973 but BEFORE the aircraft entered passenger service.
P.S. "Kruchev" died 5 years before the first passenger flight of Tu144 and a year before its first crash. He was not even a Soviet leader when Tu144 made its first flight on December 31, 1968...
Airsicknessbag From Germany, joined Aug 2000, 4723 posts, RR: 45 Reply 16, posted (11 years 1 week 4 days ago) and read 2395 times:
I read an article about the Tu 144 which was published shortly before the LL flew again. It said that particular a/c had flown 80-something hours after it was bulit in 1981. So now you know how many hours those tests took.
There were two crashes, one in 1973, the famous Paris Air Show crash, the other one was on a test flight in 1978 - she crashed on the emergency landing following an inflight fire; the crew of 3 perished.
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