WINGS From Portugal, joined May 2005, 2603 posts, RR: 59 Posted (1 year 10 months 3 weeks 2 days 22 hours ago) and read 8093 times:
For some time I have meaning to start a tribute to various airplanes which I believe had a great impact on commercial aviation. For my first tribute I have chosen the Tupolev 144.
The Tupolev Tu-144 was a supersonic transport (SST) constructed under management of the Soviet Tupolev design bureau headed by Alexei Tupolev.
Building of the first prototype of TU-144 ("044") was started in 1965. Simultaneously the second prototype was being built for static tests. Prototype "044" was initially intended for 98 passengers, later on this number was increased to 120. Correspondingly design take-off weight was increased from 130 tones to 150 tones. The prototype was built at "Opyt" Plant. In 1967 main aircraft components assembly was completed. In late 1967 the "044" prototype was moved to Zhukovskiy where the aircraft was being added with lack parts during all year 1968.
In late 1968 the "044" prototype (side No.68001) was prepared for the first flight. The flight crew was assigned as follows: test pilot E. Yelian , co-pilot -- M.Kozlov, leading test engineer V.Benderov and flight engineer Y. Seliverstov. In view of novelty and uncommonness of the new machine the Design Bureau began extraordinary approach: it was first time when prototype passenger aircraft was provided with ejection crew seats. During whole month they performed engines running, rolling, final ground checks of the systems. From the end of December , 1968, the machine was completely ready to perform the first flight. And finally on the last day of 1968 "044" lifted-off in Zhukovskiy for the first time and rapidly climbed. The first flight lasted for 37 minutes.
According to flight crew the aircraft proved to be flexible and easily piloted. The first flight became the vent of world-wide importance and main milestone in history of Russian and International aviation. It was the first flight of Soviet supersonic passenger aircraft, and it had achieved this two months before the Concorde would take to the skies on March 2 1969.
The development of the Tu-144 is said to be closely related to industrial espionage against the French company Aérospatiale, which was developing Concorde, although the Tu-144 flew first. The similarity of the Tu-144 to the Franco-British supersonic aircraft was superficially very great, but the differences in the control, navigation, and engine systems were dramatic. Another significant difference is that the Tu-144 wing did not have the complex curves found on that of Concorde, instead using small retractable canard surfaces to manoeuvre at low speeds.
At the Paris Air Show on June 3, 1973, the development program suffered a severe blow when the first Tu-144S production aircraft (reg 77102) crashed. While in the air it undertook a violent downwards manoeuvre. Trying to pull out of the subsequent dive, the plane broke up and crashed, destroying 15 houses and killing all six on board and eight on the ground. Unfortunately this would not be the last time in which the Tu-144 would suffer an accident.
The Tu-144S went into service on December 26, 1975, flying mail and freight between Moscow and Alma-Ata in preparation for passenger services, which commenced in November 1977 and ran a semi-scheduled service until the first Tu-144D experienced an in-flight failure during a pre-delivery test flight, and crash-landed with crew fatalities on May 23, 1978. The Aeroflot flight on June 1, 1978 would be the Tu-144's 55th and last scheduled passenger service. A scheduled Aeroflot freight-only service recommenced using the new production variant Tu-144D aircraft on 23 June 1979, including longer routes from Moscow to Khabarovsk made possible by the more efficient RD-36-51 engines used in the Tu-144D version. Including the 55 passenger flights, there were 102 scheduled Aeroflot flights before retirement of commercial services.
A total of 16 airworthy Tu-144s were built: the prototype Tu-144 reg 68001, a pre-production Tu-144S reg 77101, nine production Tu-144S reg 77102--110, and five Tu-144D reg 77111--115. A seventeenth Tu-144 (reg 77116) was never completed. There was also at least one ground-test airframe constructed for static testing in parallel with the prototype 68001 development.
The Tu-144S model had NK-144 turbofan engines, whereas the later Tu-144D model featured more powerful RD-36-51 engines with better fuel efficiency (particularly during supercruise, not requiring afterburner) and longer range. It was also one of the last commercial airplanes with a brake-parachute, together with early Tu-134.
Although its last commercial passenger flight was in 1978, production of the Tu-144 would not cease until six years later, in 1984 when construction of the partially complete Tu-144D reg 77116 airframe was stopped. During the 1980s, the last two production aircraft to fly were used for airborne laboratory testing, including research into ozone depletion at high altitudes.
In the early 1990s a wealthy businesswoman, Judith DePaul, and her company IBP Aerospace negotiated an agreement with Tupolev and NASA, (also Rockwell and later Boeing). They offered a Tu-144 as a testbed for its High Speed Commercial Research program, intended to design a second-generation supersonic jetliner. In 1995, Tu-144D [reg 77114] built in 1981 (but with only 82 hours, 40 minutes total flight time) was taken out of storage and after extensive modification at a total cost of US$350 million was designated the Tu-144LL (where LL is an abbreviation for Flying Laboratory). It made a total of 27 flights in 1996 and 1997. In 1999, though regarded as a success, the project was cancelled for lack of funding.
The only Tu-144 on display outside the former Soviet Union was acquired by the Auto & Technikmuseum Sinsheim in Germany, where it was shipped --- not flown --- in 2001 where it stands in its original Aeroflot livery, on display next to an Air-France Concorde.
General Characteristics:
Crew: 3
Capacity: 120-140 passengers General characteristics
Length: 65.50 m (215.54 ft)
Wingspan: 28.80 m (94.48 ft)
Height: 10.50 m (34.42 ft)
Wing area: 438.0 m² (4,715 ft²)
Empty weight: 85,000 kg (187,400 lb)
Loaded weight: kg (lb)
Max takeoff weight: 180,000 kg (397,000 lb)
Fuel capacity: 70,000 kg (154,000 lb)
Performance
Maximum speed: Mach 2.35 (2,500 km/h, 1,550 mph)
Cruise speed: Mach 2.16 (2,300 km/h, 1,430 mph)
Range: 6,500 km (3,500 nm, 4,000 mi)
Service ceiling: 18,000 m (59,100 ft)
Rate of climb: m/s (ft/min)
Wing loading: kg/m² (lb/ft²)
Afay1 From United States, joined Oct 2001, 1236 posts, RR: 2 Reply 1, posted (1 year 10 months 3 weeks 2 days 20 hours ago) and read 7968 times:
I doubt that the Soviet government would characterize it as a commercial aircraft contributing to world commerce. Aside from that comment, bravo on the fitting tribute!
Stitch From United States, joined Jul 2005, 12153 posts, RR: 51 Reply 5, posted (1 year 10 months 3 weeks 2 days 19 hours ago) and read 7801 times:
Good tribute, WINGS. The PBS show "NOVA" did an interesting review behind Soviet espionage on the Concorde project in "Supersonic Spies". Had some nice footage of 68001's first flight.
After the crash of 77102 (supposedly trying to evade a French military plane taking pictures of her), I understand that changes to the airframe included a more complex "double-delta" wing (ala Concorde's) and the engines being spaced farther apart in two seperate modules (of two engines each) rather then the original "four in a box".
GDB From United Kingdom, joined May 2001, 9934 posts, RR: 69 Reply 10, posted (1 year 10 months 3 weeks 2 days 17 hours ago) and read 7590 times:
Good tribute to a fascinating aircraft.
However-if Concorde had a very limited impact on commercial avaition, TU-144 had none.
Never really being in proper service.
The aircraft just did not work.
Had it, the USSR would have gleefully put it on routes to Cuba, and/or New York (via SNN?)-look, no US SST, but we've got one!
A Sputnik/Vostok with wings and passengers.
The fact the USSR never tried to actually operate it internationally, or on long term domestic services (who'd dare complain about overland sonic booms in the USSR?), speaks volumes.
Partial reheat in the whole of supercruise-so range/payload is gone, without a decent variable intake system-they even, desperately, asked BAC if they could buy and adapt Concordes system, not in the Cold War-could be applied to large supersonic military aircraft, Concorde's system was a BAC Guided Weapons Division product-part numbers even had 'GW' prefix's, very high cabin noise-pax seated next to each other on the short lived, limited internal services-communicated by passing written messages, vibration problems and biblical engine unrealiability.
The original version got airborne before the first Concorde prototypes-as directed by the Kremlin, but was even further from an operational aircraft than even Concorde Prototypes 001/002-which today we'd call 'Technology Demonstrators'.
However, the redesign from Concordes 001/002 to production standard, while extensive, was small fry compared to the virtually new airliner that Tupelov showed at Paris in 1973, compared to what flew in 1968.
The wing design in particular was poor, as well as other aspects such as the intake config.
Tupelov was a good design team, but they were handed a near impossible task, with crazy timeframe requirements.
In late 1997, NASA visited BA Concorde Engineering.
They wanted to see how a tiny fleet of unique, long out of production air vehicles was maintained, issues like vendor support etc.
They thought Concorde was a sort of Franco-British counterpart to the Apollo Programme. A large effort requiring a lot of new technology.
If so, then TU-144 was the airline version of the N1 Moon Rocket -done to beat the US Apollo effort, but started years too late, with political interference and impossible timescales, requiring the designers to 'shunt engineer' or try to circumvent areas where they were lagging.
With inevitable results.
But, thanks for the tribute, it was a fascinating aircraft to be sure.
(NASA brought one back with much better engines in the late 1990's for research, since AF and BA could not spare any Concordes, I doubt Airbus-the descendant of it's builders, would like Boeing having that sort of access either).
A342 From Germany, joined Jul 2005, 3301 posts, RR: 1 Reply 11, posted (1 year 10 months 3 weeks 2 days 16 hours ago) and read 7552 times:
Quoting Stitch (Reply 5): After the crash of 77102 (supposedly trying to evade a French military plane taking pictures of her), I understand that changes to the airframe included a more complex "double-delta" wing (ala Concorde's) and the engines being spaced farther apart in two seperate modules (of two engines each) rather then the original "four in a box".
I think there are some mistakes in your post. First, the Concorde doesn't have a double-delta wing. The Tu-144 had it from the start. Compared to the prototype, the Tu-144S had the following major differences: The sweep in the first part of the double-delta was reduced. As you say, it has a different engine arrangement. Also it has the retractable canards. BUT: These changes were already made before the crash ! It was a Tu-144S that crashed.
Stitch From United States, joined Jul 2005, 12153 posts, RR: 51 Reply 14, posted (1 year 10 months 3 weeks 2 days 14 hours ago) and read 7404 times:
Quoting A342 (Reply 11): I think there are some mistakes in your post. First, the Concorde doesn't have a double-delta wing. The Tu-144 had it from the start. Compared to the prototype, the Tu-144S had the following major differences: The sweep in the first part of the double-delta was reduced. As you say, it has a different engine arrangement. Also it has the retractable canards. BUT: These changes were already made before the crash ! It was a Tu-144S that crashed.
You're right. Concorde and the TU-144 had an ogee wing, which was a variation on the double delta which was used by Lockheed in their L-2000 SST proposal.
And you are also correct in noting that the TU-144 had those changes implemented to her prior to Paris, as GDB outlined.
Alessandro From Sweden, joined Sep 2001, 4826 posts, RR: 0 Reply 15, posted (1 year 10 months 3 weeks 2 days 14 hours ago) and read 7386 times:
Shame that the Tu-144 that was up for sale was without engines. I wonder about the tires who made them and how much better would the Michelin tires used by the Concorde after the accident be?
Richierich From United States, joined Nov 2000, 2858 posts, RR: 4 Reply 18, posted (1 year 10 months 3 weeks 2 days 12 hours ago) and read 7250 times:
WINGS: Thanks for a great history on a fascinating aircraft, although I think its impact to the world of aviation was actually pretty small. Concorde may have been second, but it clearly made a much bigger footprint in the annals of history than the Tu-144.
Sort of strange that the Le Bourget area was witness to two thirds of the world's supersonic transport crashes - Tu-144 at Goussainville in 1973 and the Concorde crash at Gonesse in 2000. Different times, different circumstances, but strangely ironic.
Question: what exactly happened at the Paris Air Show crash? Were the pilots "showing off" or going outside of the known range for the aircraft? After all, it was an air show. Or was it a design/structural fault?
B2707SST From United States, joined Apr 2003, 1302 posts, RR: 58 Reply 19, posted (1 year 10 months 3 weeks 2 days 12 hours ago) and read 7191 times:
Quoting Stitch (Reply 14): You're right. Concorde and the TU-144 had an ogee wing, which was a variation on the double delta which was used by Lockheed in their L-2000 SST proposal.
To be more precise, Concorde and the "prototype" TU-144 used ogee delta planforms, while the "production" TU-144 and the L-2000 used a double-delta. Although the prototype's wing strongly resembled Concorde's in plan, it was purely optimized for supersonic cruise and lacked Concorde's intricate twist and droop, which enhance low-speed lift and help control center-of-lift movement at supersonic speed.
The production TU-144 was radically redesigned compared to the prototype: the fuselage was significantly enlarged, the engine inlets were split into two pods, the main landing gear was moved, the wing was totally redesigned with a new
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(concorde is a beauty though)
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Awesome Video Keesje thanks for sharing. I just love the sound of this beast. 