- Tu-144S (“004”) - Production aircraft with NK-144A.
- Tu-144D (“004D”) - Production aircraft with RD-36-51A.
- Tu-144LL - Flying laboratory with NK-32-1.
Tu-144 modifications
- Tu-144 (“044”)- prototype (1968)
- Tu-144S (“004”)- Serial aircraft with NK-144A. (1971)
- Tu-144D (“004D”)- Serial aircraft with RD-36-51A. (1974)
- Tu-144DA- project with “61” engines. (late 70's)
- Tu-144P- jammer project. (late 70's)
- Tu-144PR- project of the reconnaissance director. (late 70's)
- Tu-144K
- Tu-144KP- project of an aviation-missile complex. (late 70's)
- DP-2- long-range interceptor project. (late 70's)
- Tu-144LL- Flying laboratory based on Tu-144D with NK-32-1. (1996)
Tu-144 diagram
| Tu-144 | ||
|---|---|---|
| First flight | December 31, 1968 | |
| Crew, people | 4 | |
| Dimensions | ||
| Tu-144 | ||
| Fuselage length, m | 59,4 | |
| Aircraft height, m | 10,5 | |
| Wingspan, m | 27,65 | |
| Wing area, m2 | 438 | 411 |
| Wing extension | 1,74 | |
| Wing sweep along the leading edge | center section | 78^o |
| consoles | 55^o | |
| Masses | ||
| Tu-144 | ||
| Take-off, kg | with 98 passengers | 130000 |
| with 120 passengers | 150000 | |
| maximum | 180000 | |
| Empty, kg | 85000 | 12000 (120) |
| Fuel weight, kg | approx. 70000 (92000) | |
| Power point | ||
| Tu-144 | ||
| Engines | 4 DTRDF NK-144 | |
| Thrust, kG | maximum | 4х 13000 |
| afterburner | 4х 17500 | |
| Thrust-to-weight ratio | 0.44 | |
| Specific fuel consumption in supersonic cruising mode, kg/kgf x h | 2,23 | |
| Flight data | ||
| Tu-144 | ||
| Maximum flight speed at an altitude of 17 km, km/h (M=) | 2430 (2,35) | |
| Cruising speed, km/h (M=) | 2300 | |
| Approach speed, km/h | 290 | |
| Landing speed, km/h | 270 | |
| Practical flight range (supersonic), km | 2920 | |
| Practical ceiling, m | 20000 | |
| Mileage, m | 1500 | |
Passenger supersonic
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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). 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 the duration of flights in supersonic modes. Gradually, analyzing all possible options for technical solutions, aviation experts, both in the USSR and in the West, came to the firm opinion that a cost-effective ATP must be designed as a fundamentally new type of aircraft.
The A.N. Tupolev Design Bureau approached the solution to the problem of designing SPS in the early 60s. The OKB's first technical proposals for SPS were mainly based on long-range bomber projects: primarily on projects of the Tu-22 family aircraft ("105A" and "106A" - "134"), as well as the project of the strategic attack aircraft "135" - 135P. Later, when work began on the Tu-144, S.M. Yeger proposed a preliminary design of the Tu-144 with NK-144 engines, which in its layout solutions repeated the Tu-135P project. In addition to the OKB of A.N. Tupolev, preliminary work on the topic of SPS in the USSR was carried out by OKB-23 of V.M. Myasishchev. In this design bureau at the end of the 50s, based on technical solutions for the strategic carrier aircraft M-50/M-52 and M-56/M-57, proposals were prepared for several original SPS projects (M-53, M-55A, M-55B and M-55V).
The beginning of the 60s was marked by the development of practical work on the Anglo-French SPS "Concorde" (the beginning of research on the topic in 1955-1956) with a cruising supersonic flight speed of more than M = 2 and a flight range with 120-140 passengers on board 6000-6500 km . At the same time, the main US aviation companies, based on their vision of the market for future SPS, began work on designing a much larger SPS than the Concorde, designed to transport 250-300 passengers at a cruising speed of up to M = 3 at a range of 7000-8000 km (projects companies Boeing, Lockheed, Douglas).
Creation
An analysis of the conditions for the existence of the future SPS, carried out in the USSR in relation to the level of domestic aircraft manufacturing and its immediate prospects, as well as the economic capabilities of the country and the needs of the Civil Air Fleet, showed that for the USSR the most preferable way is to create a domestic SPS, in terms of its expected flight performance data, close to the English -French Concorde. During the creation of the Soviet SPS, domestic aviation science and industry were faced with a number of scientific and technical problems that our subsonic passenger and military supersonic aviation had not encountered. First of all, to ensure the required flight performance characteristics of the SPS (two-mach flight at a range of up to 6500 km with 100-120 passengers, combined with acceptable takeoff and landing data), it was necessary to ensure a significant improvement in the aerodynamic perfection of the aircraft during cruising flights at M = 2-2, 2. The aerodynamic quality in these modes had to be increased to 7.5-8.0, which significantly exceeded the values obtained for the aerodynamic designs of domestic heavy supersonic combat aircraft of that period (the calculated value of Kmax for M = 2 for the Tu-22 was 4.4 ; for M-50 - 5.5; for M-52 - 5.6; for Tu-135 and M-56 - 6.4). It was necessary to solve the issues of stability and controllability of a heavy aircraft when flying in subsonic, transonic and supersonic regions, to develop practical methods for balancing the aircraft in all these modes, taking into account minimizing aerodynamic losses. A long flight at speed M=2 was associated with research and ensuring the structural strength of airframe units at elevated temperatures (close to 100-120? C); it was necessary to create heat-resistant structural materials, lubricants, sealants, as well as develop types of structures capable of long-term operation in conditions of cyclic aerodynamic heating. Very high demands were placed on the power plant units: it was necessary to create powerful and economical engines that operate stably in supersonic flight conditions, to solve the problems of regulating air intakes operating in a wide range of altitudes and speeds, ensuring regulation of the required air flow at the inlet with the lowest possible aerodynamic losses. It was most rational to carry out a long supersonic cruising flight at high altitudes; accordingly, the head and unit design bureaus were tasked with developing principles for creating new air conditioning systems, and then specific units and systems that would provide comfortable conditions for passengers and crew at high altitudes (up to 20 km ) and during long flights with significant heating of the airframe structural elements. It was necessary to create a number of new devices and systems that provide automatic flight control, accurate navigation in conditions of long-term supersonic flight and automatic landing. There is a need to study the environmental features of ATP operation associated with the release of large amounts of engine exhaust gases into the atmosphere at high altitudes and their impact on the ozone layer, the effects of noise and sonic boom on people, animals and buildings, the impact of long flights at high altitudes on passengers and crew associated with exposure to solar radiation. When creating the ATP, based on the conditions for its painless implementation into the existing transport system, it was necessary to take into account the features of domestic and international air transportation systems, existing airports and air traffic control when designing the ATP.
All these tasks, with the involvement of Western experience to a certain extent, were studied in detail at TsAGI, at the A.N. Tupolev Design Bureau, and other design bureaus involved in the program for creating the Soviet SPS. The official basis for the start of work on the domestic first-generation SPS (SPS-1), designated Tu-144, was Decree of the USSR Council of Ministers No. 798-271 of July 16, 1963 and MAP Order No. 276 of July 26 of the same year. OKB A.N. Tupolev was asked to design and build an SPS with a cruising flight speed of 2300-2700 km/h, the practical range of a supersonic flight with 80-100 passengers was specified as 4000-4500 km; in the overload version with additional fuel tanks and with 30-50 passengers - 6000-6500 km. Operation from first class airfields with a normal take-off weight of 120-130 tons. It was planned to build 5 copies of the Tu-144 in 1966-1967 (2 copies for strength tests). Considering the technical difficulty of obtaining the maximum flight range of the first domestic SPS, it was decided to carry out work in two stages: at the first stage, the practical flight range achieved was to be 4000-4500 km, at the second stage the Tu-144 was to reach a range of 6500 km. The engines for the Tu-144, in accordance with CIAM recommendations, were specified as dual-circuit turbofans with afterburners. OKB N.D. Kuznetsov, based on the DTRD NK-8 gas generator, undertook to create for the future Soviet SPS DTRDF, designated NK-144, with a take-off thrust of 20,000 kgf and specific fuel consumption in supersonic cruising mode at the level of 1.35-1.45 kg/kgf hour. It should be noted that the success of the Tu-144 project depended to a large extent on the success of the engine builders. The choice for the Tu-144 DTRDF, operating in afterburner at cruising modes, was by no means controversial; it made it possible to obtain for the Tu-144 an engine that is less thermally stressed (and therefore more reliable and less expensive), as well as a more optimized engine for flights in a wider range of altitudes and speeds than in the case of choosing a single-circuit turbojet engine. Great doubts were raised about the possibility of obtaining moderate fuel consumption at cruising modes with this type of engine and, as a consequence, ensuring the required flight range. All this was not a big secret either for the Tupolevites or for the MAP.
Even at the design stage of the Myasishchevsky supersonic strategic carriers M-50/M-52 and M-56, as well as the development of the SPS M-53 and M-55 projects, OKB-23 received calculated results indicating that it was possible to obtain an acceptable supersonic range flying a heavy aircraft is quite possible, provided that engines with specific fuel consumption within 1.2 kg/kgf/hour are used. Such an engine was created in prototypes by the beginning of the 60s in the USSR - it was a single-circuit non-afterburning turbojet engine “16-17” (take-off thrust 18,000 kgf, specific fuel consumption at cruising mode 1.15 k/kgf hour), developed at the Design Bureau -16 P.F. Zubtsa. The Anglo-French, when choosing the type of engine for their Concorde, took an intermediate compromise path, choosing for it a single-circuit turbofan Bristol "Olympus" 593 with a small degree of boost and specific fuel consumption in afterburner of 1.327 kg/kgf hour (take-off thrust in afterburner 17200 kgf) . Unfortunately, work on Myasishchev’s projects for heavy supersonic vehicles was closed, and accordingly, in the early 60s in the USSR, the line of development of powerful, economical, afterburning, single-circuit turbojet engines was temporarily interrupted (0KB-16 was transferred to the theme of solid propellant rocket engines), and, as a result, the design began Tu-144, OKB A.N. Tupolev had to take a technical risk, relying on the DTRDF NK-144. Soon, in 1964, when the design of the Tu-144 with NK-144 was in full swing, it was decided to revive work on economical, powerful afterburning turbojet engines for the SPS: OKB-36, under the leadership of P.A. Kolesov, began designing the single-circuit turbojet engine RD-36- 51 for the Tu-144 with a maximum take-off thrust of 20,000 kgf and an expected specific fuel consumption in cruising supersonic flight mode of 1.23 kg/kgf hour (work on the RD-36-51 was carried out simultaneously with the design of another powerful single-circuit turbojet engine RD-Z6-41 for long-range supersonic strike aircraft T-4 of the P.O. Sukhoi Design Bureau).
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 the design of a low-wing aircraft - “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 floating 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 provided good visibility 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 reliability conditions of the 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. 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).
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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 small 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 at the OKB was headed by G.A. Cheremukhin; issues of optimizing the power plant for the project were 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 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 previously worked on control systems at the Design Bureau of P.O. Sukhoi and V.M., made a great contribution to the creation and implementation of this fundamentally new control system. Myasishchev, and in the early 60s did a lot to fine-tune the very “crude” control system of the Tu-22. The cockpit was designed taking into account the requirements of modern ergonomics; it was designed as a four-seater cockpit: the two front seats were occupied by the first and co-pilot, the flight engineer was located behind them, 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 the plane was currently located and how many kilometers were left to their 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.
The Tu-144 model was first shown in 1965 at the Paris Air Show, where it was announced that the first flight was scheduled for 1968.
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.
Tests
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. Elyan (who later received the Hero of the Soviet Union for the Tu-144); co-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 unusual nature of the new car, the OKB made an extraordinary decision: for the first time, they decided to install ejection crew seats on an experimental passenger car. 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” took off for the first time 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”. According to the crew's reviews, the car showed itself to be obedient and “flyable.” The first flight was attended by A.N. Tupolev, A.A. Tupolev, and many heads of OKB departments.
The first flight of the Tu-144 became an event of world significance and an important moment in the history of domestic and world aviation. For the first time, a supersonic passenger plane took off 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 a large number of heavy tailless aircraft).
The second flight (50 min) took place on January 8, 1969, and six months later, on June 5, 1969, the prototype 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 May 26, 1970, the Tu-144 for the first time in the history of civil aviation reached a speed of 2150 km/h (M=2) at an altitude of 16,300 m. On November 12, 1970, in an hour-long flight, “044” flew for 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. By the fall of 1970, the prototype had flown 100 hours.
The plane was first shown publicly on May 21, 1970 at Sheremetyevo Airport. During testing, the experimental vehicle repeatedly flew outside the USSR; in May-June 1971, “044” took part in the salon in Le Bourget, where it “met” for the first time with the Anglo-French Concorde. Her flight to Bulgaria took only 1 hour: taking off in Moscow at 9 am, he landed in Sofia also at 9 am. The cruising speed at an altitude of 16 km was 2300 km/h. This altitude was reached at a distance of about 350 km in 18 minutes.
Design
The Tu-144 is a tailless low-wing aircraft. The ogival wing with its tip deflected downward has a leading edge sweep angle of 78° in the fuselage parts and 55° throughout the rest. The aircraft wing (extensions 1.74 and tapers 7, multi-spar design) consists of a main and detachable parts and has a caisson structure with a force-loaded skin in the form of milled large panels of a wafer structure made of high-strength aluminum alloys.
The aircraft is controlled using four-section elevons (on each console) and a two-section rudder located on the classic vertical tail. The keel of the aircraft, as well as the wing, is of multi-spar construction and is made integral with the rear part of the fuselage. The internal volume of the keel is used as a fuel caisson tank.
The fuselage has a circular cross-section and has a cockpit nose cone that slopes downward at an angle of 12° during takeoff and 17° during landing. The prototype's cockpit glazing consists of two front windows as well as side windows. The nose cone is equipped with four longitudinal, extended side windows to provide forward visibility during ascent and during cruising flight. The prototype fuselage was designed to accommodate 100-121 passengers.
The fuselage, consisting of stringers, beams and frames fastened to the skin, is structurally divided into 3 parts: bow, central and tail. The nose section houses the cockpit (with a canopy integrated into the contours of the fuselage) and a deflectable nose fairing made in the form of a multilayer structure made of fiberglass with honeycomb core. The central part, in which the passenger compartments are located, together with the bow part, forms a single sealed compartment. The edgings of portholes, entrance, service and emergency doors are made of milled panels. The rear part of the fuselage, being a fuel caisson tank, is made sealed. Its tip is a drogue parachute container.
The chassis is three-post. The front pillar has twin wheels. In the prototypes, the main struts were equipped with 12-wheel bogies (3 axles) retractable in the wing console. This scheme for retracting the landing gear was due to the fact that, unlike the Concorde, the space under the fuselage was occupied by a package of engines. To accommodate the wheels in the wing, their diameter had to be reduced and their number increased.
The airframe of the aircraft is designed for a service life of 30,000 hours and is made of aluminum and titanium alloys (mainly in the form of monolithic enlarged structures). Titanium alloys are widely used in the design of air intakes, engine nacelles and wings.
Equipment. The aircraft is equipped with modern electronic equipment that provides automatic control during takeoff, flight and landing in difficult weather conditions. For the first time on a domestic passenger aircraft, flight and navigation equipment was made using digital computer technology. Thanks to this, the aircraft crew consists of only three people: two pilots and a flight engineer (the flight route is also controlled by on-board automation). The aircraft is controlled using an electro-hydraulic system with irreversible hydraulic boosters. In the pitch, heading and roll channels, automatic loading of command control levers is used, which operate depending on the angle of their deflection, as well as the speed and altitude of the flight. In addition, an automatic balancing system is used in the pitch channel.
All major aircraft systems have multiple redundancies, which significantly increases reliability. In general, the Tu-144 was created in accordance with international airworthiness standards for passenger aircraft.
Power point.
The prototype aircraft used a power plant consisting of four NK-144 turbofan engines designed by N.D. Kuznetsova. The engines were installed in a package under the fuselage, which reduced the possible turning moment when part of them failed. The nozzle exit is located in a plane lying approximately halfway along the elevon chord. Multi-mode bypass engines with afterburner were supposed to make it possible to operate the Tu-144 on both medium (subsonic flight) and long-range (supersonic) routes.
The first prototype aircraft had two external engines equipped with thrust reversers. Thanks to the large power supply, wing mechanization, braking devices and reverse thrust, the Tu-144 can be operated at all 1st class airfields with concrete runways 3000 m long, designed to accommodate modern subsonic heavy jet aircraft. However, on the aircraft demonstrated in 1971, the thrust reverser was replaced by a braking parachute. The engines are equipped with individual adjustable rectangular air intakes. The position of the air intakes relative to the fuselage corresponds to the position of oblique shock waves under the wing during flight at cruising speed.
The fuel is placed in wing caisson tanks (about 70,000 kg in experimental aircraft). The aircraft has balancing tanks, which are located in the rear of the fuselage and wing flaps and are designed to change the position of the aircraft's center of gravity during the transition from subsonic to supersonic flight speeds.
Explosion safety of fuel tanks is ensured by double nitriding of the fuel.
State
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 test 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.
The TU-144 supersonic aircraft 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 a 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 Alexei 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 |
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It had 2 turbojet 2-circuit engines, T-shaped tail. Used as a passenger aircraft and in Air Force schools |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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. Operates regular flights around the world |
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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. |
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2-engine jet multi-role monoplane, long-range bomber with swept wings. 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 |
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The first jet bomber of the Soviet Union, it was used to train Air Force flight personnel during retraining for new equipment. |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 | |
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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 | |
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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 |
TU-144 (“044”) - prototype
TU-144 (“004”) - pre-production
TU-144D (“004D”) - long-range
TU-144LL (“Moscow”) - “flying laboratory”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
5 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 | Flight cost 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.
(89
ratings, average: 4,00
out of 5)
Exactly 35 years ago, the aircraft that became the pride of our aviation industry, the Tu-144, was taken out of constant service. The world's first (there were only two of them, together with Concorde) supersonic passenger aircraft. Another battle between the USSR and the capitalist world has sunk.
It seems that the battle was completely lost. During its operation, the Tu-144 made 102 commercial flights, of which 55 were passenger flights. In total, the Tu-144 transported 3,284 passengers, which is on a civil aviation scale, on a USSR scale, on a global scale, in general, nothing. For comparison: the main competitor of the Tu-144, Concorde, transported more than 2.5 million people during its operation.
But every story has nuances. It's worth talking about them.
The end of the 60s and the beginning of the 70s of the last century were marked by an unprecedented flowering of air traffic and civil aviation throughout the world. At the same time, the idea of using supersonic machines for long-distance flights arose in Europe and the USSR. In the first case, high speeds were needed in order to reduce the time of crossing the Atlantic between Europe and the United States; in the second, the decisive role was played by the vast expanses of the Soviet country, which it was also desirable to overcome as quickly as possible.
As a result, Europe and the USSR almost simultaneously began to develop unique supersonic airliners, conceptually similar, but structurally noticeably different from each other: Concorde and Tu-144.
Experts to this day argue about whether there was any “borrowing” of ideas, technologies and design solutions when creating these two unique aircraft. The French at one time tried very furiously to prove that the Tu-144 was “ripped off” from the Concorde, but all attempts ended in nothing. The cars were really different.
Of course, aircraft developers, as they say, looked towards competitors, but primarily proceeded from their own technical and technological capabilities. And in the USSR, unlike the French, who created Concorde from scratch, there was something to rely on.
It is generally accepted that all promising models of Soviet (and Russian) civilian equipment, from trucks to supersonic aircraft, are based on successful or failed military models. And the Tu-144 is no exception here.
The creation of a supersonic passenger aircraft was a “multi-step” process; the design bureaus of Tupolev, Sukhoi and Myasishchev, who at that time already had not only theoretical developments in the field of creating large supersonic aircraft, presented their developments here. And in the Tu-144, if desired, one could find separate components and circuits from the M-50, T-4 and Tu-135.
Most of all, of course, the Tu-144 took from the unrealized project of the Tu-135 bomber and its passenger version, the Tu-135P. But there was no actually flying military analogue of the Tu-144.
One way or another, in the 1950s, supersonic aircraft, including heavy ones, were already created. Therefore, there were not too many exceptional ideas in the project. The Tu-144 absorbed quite a lot of what was invented by the military. And we knew how to invent and build military aircraft. Fact.
Takeoff of the first Tu-144 from the VASO airfield.
Wings appeared only on the third specimen. There were none on the first two samples
The main problem for aircraft manufacturers was that at supersonic speed there would be extreme heating of the surface. And this problem needs to be solved not in relation to a small plane or bomber with a small crew, but in relation to a huge passenger airliner. Which should not only fly at high speed over long distances, but also provide the necessary comfort for passengers.
Crew workplaces.
Since I live in the city where all Tu-144s were born, it was almost not difficult to find the person who took part in its assembly and flight. I was able to talk with Irina Fedorovna Vyakhireva, who in those years worked at VASO as an electrical engineer. And she participated in test flights several times, monitoring tens of kilometers of wiring and hundreds of aircraft servos. Including when flying at supersonic speed.
So, according to Irina Fedorovna’s recollections, the noise during the flight was simply terrible, especially in the tail section. We had to yell in each other’s ears, without exaggeration. The noise from the engines in the rear of the aircraft in the middle was compensated by the howl of the motors of the body cooling system. And these problems were solved, starting from the first flight of the Tu-144, and we can say that they were eventually solved.
Passenger cabin 2nd class
Passenger cabin 1st class
Kitchen block
There were also more serious issues of controllability over the entire speed range, as well as balancing of the airliner. This is how the front wings appeared on the Tu-144, which were used in takeoff and landing modes. A deflectable nose cone was implemented, which improved visibility from the cockpit during takeoff and landing. Many new developments have been applied to automated control systems that provide automation of basic procedures. In any case, the Tu-144 became an outstanding achievement for the USSR in terms of technology, materials, avionics, and control systems.
It’s a pity, but the Tu-144 was not destined to become a real conqueror of distances. The reason for this was the eternal headache of our aircraft industry: the engine.
The first version of the Tu-144 with NK-144A engines did not satisfy Aeroflot at all in terms of flight range - it could be operated on lines up to 4000 km long.
Therefore, the Tu-144 was used only on one regular line: Moscow-Alma-Ata. But even here the plane only had enough fuel “from threshold to threshold.” The trouble was that if the Almaty airport for some reason could not accept the plane, the only alternate airfield capable of receiving the Tu-144 was Tashkent. In the event of a closure due to weather conditions, there was simply nowhere to land the plane with passengers. It is not surprising that the pilots themselves compared flying on the Tu-144 to “kissing a tiger.” And every Tu-144 flight to Alma-Ata and back turned into one continuous stress for the crews, dispatch services and aviation officials.
The T-144 received its first strike on June 3, 1973, at the Le Bourget air show. A very strange and tragic flight, never fully investigated.
After performing a demonstration flight at low altitude and low speed, with the landing gear and front wing extended, the Tu-144 comes in for landing.
What happens next does not fit into the canons of common sense: some two hundred meters above the ground, the strained howl of boosted engines is heard, and the plane soars up like a candle, retracting the landing gear and front wings as it goes. When the altitude reaches about 1200 meters, it goes into horizontal flight for a split second and... falls into a sharp dive. Four seconds later, at an altitude of 750 meters, the Tu-144 tries to exit the dive and even release the front wings.
As it turns out later, the overload has currently reached a value of 4-4.5 units. The attempt to level the car continued for another four seconds. At the 5th second after the start of recovery from a dive at an altitude of 280 meters at a speed of 780 km/h, the left front wing cannot withstand the load. A structure of substantial size separates from the fuselage and hits the main wing, piercing the fuel tank. The mortally wounded car spins to the left, colossal overloads begin to tear the plane apart right in the air.
The flaming debris crashed into the nearby village of Goussainville, completely destroying five buildings and killing eight people. Another 25 people on the ground were seriously injured.
The crew of the aircraft, consisting of Mikhail Kozlov (commander), Valery Molchanov (2nd pilot), Vladimir Benderov (test manager), Anatoly Dralin (flight engineer), Georgy Bazhenov (navigator), Boris Pervukhin (lead test engineer) were completely killed.
The investigation, conducted by a joint Soviet-French commission, lasted more than a year, but the exact cause of the disaster could not be determined. The commission found that all aircraft systems were operating normally. The only cause of the disaster, according to the commission members, could have been the crew’s attempt to divert the plane from an alleged collision with the French Mirage III R reconnaissance aircraft, from which photography and filming of the Tu-144 flight was carried out.
The trajectories of the Tu-144 and Mirage did not intersect. The planes were moving in the same direction and at different altitudes. However, according to the commission’s conclusions, the Soviet crew, not being able to visually assess the direction of the Mirage’s flight, could have undertaken a sharp evasive maneuver. At the same time, the test director standing in the cockpit of the Tu-144 with a movie camera, without being fastened, could fall and block the pilot’s actions.
A “sharp maneuver” performed by a 200-ton vehicle... Hmmm...
However, work on the Tu-144 continued. A new modification of the engine made it possible to increase the flight range of the airliner. The Tu-144D was almost ready for operation on long-haul lines.
However, on May 23, 1978, a new Tu-144D crash occurred. And not a prototype, but an aircraft intended for transfer to the Moscow-Khabarovsk line. During the flight, due to the destruction of the fuel line, fuel ignited in the area of the 3rd engine. The crew was forced to make an emergency landing on a field near Yegoryevsk near Moscow. A fire started. The crew commander, co-pilot and navigator left the plane through the cockpit window. The two engineers on board escaped through the front exit door. Two of their colleagues were less fortunate - being trapped in their seats when the plane crashed, they were unable to get out of the plane and died in the fire.
On July 31, 1980, during the next test flight of the aircraft with tail number 77113 in supersonic mode at an altitude of 16,000 meters, one of the engines was destroyed. With great difficulty, the crew managed to bring the car out of the dive and land it.
The country's leadership really wanted to start commercial operation of the Tu-144D, since the prestige of the USSR as an advanced aviation power was at stake. Especially in light of the fact that Concorde is firmly established on flights across the Atlantic.
The last attempt to put the Tu-144D on line was made at the end of 1981. The plane was supposed to begin flights on the Moscow-Krasnoyarsk route. But... Another destruction of the engines during ground tests, and regular flights had to be postponed. Forever.
And after Brezhnev’s death, the attitude towards the Tu-144 changed dramatically. Aeroflot tried with all its might to get rid of the plane, from which it had nothing but a headache. As a result, the Tu-144D was removed from passenger flights with an official conclusion about “a bad effect on people’s health when crossing the sound barrier.”
And yet the Tu-144 was not completely lost. 4 out of 5 aircraft located on the VASO stocks in Voronezh were completed. The further fate of these aircraft is peculiar, and will allow me to put a rather optimistic point at the end.
The base of the Tu-144 was the airfield in Zhukovsky, where the planes were not only based, but even flew periodically. Tu-144D was used to deliver urgent cargo and correspondence, and also as flying laboratories.
The joint program between Roscosmos and NASA involved a modified Tu-144D with tail number 77114 called Tu-144LL (Flying Laboratory). The main goal of the research was to develop a plan for creating a supersonic passenger aircraft of the 21st century. When NASA “had enough of playing”, the research was curtailed in 1999.
Today, all remaining Tu-144s (8 units) are in storage or as museum exhibits. Only examples in Zhukovsky Tu-144D No. 77115, which is exhibited at MAKS, and Tu-144LL No. 77114 can be brought to flight condition.
It would seem that everything, the story is over. And it ended not in favor of the Tu-144, which lost the battle with the Concorde, which flew longer and further, and carried a significant number of passengers. Yes, commercially Concorde won.
However, work to improve the Tu-144, and, in particular, the Tu-144K and Tu-144KP projects, made it possible to achieve what we have today.
The same 1981 became the milestone. The year when the unrisen star Tu-144 was setting. But it was this year, on December 18, that the “70-01” model made its first flight. Test pilot Boris Veremey flew the first example of what would become the White Swan, the Tu-160.
There is something in common, isn't there?
The basis for the Tu-160 was the Tu-144 and the work carried out throughout the history of this aircraft.
Yes, the Tu-144 was an innovative aircraft. Engine engineers were not prepared for its appearance, and there were many difficulties with the ground infrastructure. But the Concorde, which won the Tu-144 commercial competition, is now consigned to history, and it is unlikely that it will have any continuation. But the Tu-160, which has absorbed much from the Tu-144, still carries out its service to protect our peace and security. And it still has no analogues.
And for some reason, the developers and creators of Concorde did not even try to repeat what the Tupolev team did, moving from the Tu-144KP to the Tu-160. Is it not necessary because it will not bring benefits? Maybe.
In any case, the question of whether or not we have lost the battle for supersonic flight for large aircraft is not as clear-cut as it seems at first glance. A glance at the figures of passengers transported and money earned.
But really, who won? Large aircraft capable of flying at supersonic speeds now remain only in Russia...
Konstantin Bogdanov, RIA Novosti columnist.
Forty years ago near Paris. The car had not yet even entered passenger routes; it would appear on them later, but it would not fly for long - until 1978. What happened to the Soviet “supercarcass” and its overseas alter ego? Where and why did humanity put its supersonic passenger aircraft?
June - non-flying time
The first days of June 2013 coincide with two dates that are important for the fate of the Tu-144. Both are associated with disasters that effectively sealed the fate of the Soviet supersonic airliner.
The first Soviet supersonic passenger aircraft, the Tu-144, crashed at the Le Bourget air show 40 years ago, on June 3, 1973. Watch archival footage of how the famous airliner was created.On June 3, 1973, during a demonstration flight in Le Bourget, France, a Soviet supersonic aircraft crashed, killing fourteen people, including the head of the Tu-144 test program, Major General Vladimir Benderov.
The real reasons for that fall remained “hushed up.” This was greatly facilitated by the lack of telemetry: conversations in the cockpit were not recorded, and many parameter recorders were destroyed in the fall. As a result, the disaster was attributed to a coincidence of circumstances, transparently hinting at the guilt of the crew.
In the Soviet Union, unofficial attempts were made to hang all the dogs on the French Mirage fighter accompanying the liner, which allegedly carelessly maneuvered close to the Tu-144, forcing the crew to sharply evade, as a result of the overloads that arose The plane's fuselage broke apart.
Another, much more plausible version is also known: the crude, unfinished machine went on a demonstration flight. Until the last moment, the on-board equipment was installed and reconfigured on the airliner, and the control system, according to some information, during these “fine tunings” was put into an abnormal state.
One way or another, the machine, which was supposed to demonstrate to the whole world the successes of “developed socialism,” collapsed in a Parisian suburb. It’s unpleasant, but okay: this did not stop the airliners from being put into trial operation on passenger routes.
However, on May 23, 1978, a second disaster occurred: during a test flight, an experienced Tu-144D made an emergency landing on a field near Yegoryevsk. The plane caught fire in the air, but they managed to land it. Two crew members were killed because they were unable to leave the burning car.
Based on the results of June 1, 1978 (that is, 35 years ago - here it is, the second “anniversary”), the operation of the Tu-144 on passenger routes was temporarily stopped. As it turned out - forever.
Overhead jump
The Tu-144 was a very interesting, but completely crude machine.
Thus, the wing structure was made of large panels, which immediately created problems of excessive local stresses due to inhomogeneities, and in addition, allowed cracks to propagate over long distances. It also turned out that the stress level in the airframe exceeds the calculated one.
The NK-144A engines were a huge problem. There was no way they could debug their technology—they simply burned out. Then it turned out that the efficiency of these engines was such that one could not even dream of the 4000-4500 km range specified in the technical specifications under a maximum commercial load of 15 tons - 3000 km turned out to be the limit. (The Concorde with its 13 tons squeezed out over 6200 km.)
The length of the route on the Tu-144 Moscow-Alma-Ata base route was 3260 km, and this was close to the limit of the vehicle’s capabilities with the number of passengers carried. The RD-36-51A engines were tested on the Tu-144D, and it was assumed that they would solve the range problem, but this project was ultimately never completed. There was practically nowhere to land the car in the USSR; the alternate airfields of potential routes were especially difficult.
To summarize, we can say that the Tu-144 was killed by two weaknesses: a tense design and technological flaws, on the one hand, and the underdevelopment of the basing and operating infrastructure, on the other.
Any of these problems could be dealt with if there was a certain will. And not such monstrous machines were brought to acceptable serial reliability. And even the first traditional problem of Russia (infrastructure) also lends itself to persistent efforts: after all, the airfield network was rebuilt for the first turbojet airliner Tu-104 - and there were so many problems with its deployment at an early stage...
But the combination of two such difficulties at once in the absence of a clearly expressed imperative for the introduction of supersonic civil aviation from the relevant ministry and the Central Committee sent the Tu-144 to an eternal joke.
Everyone is unlucky
You can object - after all, if you do it humanly, it will fly. Look, people have been flying Concorde for how many years, but why are we any worse?
Yes, no worse, especially if you remember how this Concorde flew. Both cars, the Tu-144 and the Concorde, faced their own set of difficulties.
The Soviet airliner could, to a certain extent, not give a damn about fuel efficiency and, in general, about various market factors that impede rapid entry into the market (this always happens when a fundamentally new technical system appears, the development of which collapses already existing niches). But its development was hampered by technical miscalculations in the design, insufficient manufacturability, and mainly by a very narrow scope of application.
The Soviet Union could not find a sufficient number of long-distance interesting routes within the country for the Tu-144. No one would have given a Soviet airliner access to the transatlantic route from Paris or London to New York, just as no one would have given Western companies with Boeing the internal Soviet air transportation market.
(Even at the moment, let me remind you, there are plenty of Boeings in our country, but foreigners are still not allowed on domestic flights.) It would be difficult for the Tu-144 to integrate into the great continental route “Europe - Russia - Japan”.
“Concorde” was well developed technologically, received an acceptable basing system, and took root on transatlantic routes, but it was eaten up by “market factors.” As a result, he surrendered to the cheap and massive subsonic laborers, remaining a sort of curiosity that, on occasion, for big money, can be rented under a special charter (and this also did not allow him to pay off).
As a result, when the liner crashed near Paris in 2000, the operators couldn’t even breathe a sigh of relief - well, they say, now they can write it off with a clear conscience.
Children of the wrong future
John Tolkien once said: "It is not difficult to invent a green sun; it is much more difficult to create a world in which it would look natural." To paraphrase this maxim in the context that interests us, we can say: creating a supersonic airliner is not as difficult as creating supersonic civil aviation and the corresponding air transportation industry.
Because aviation is not only about airplanes. These are airfields, rules and personnel. This is the market, finally. Supersonic aircraft required "supersonic infrastructure" to win the skies.
But the triumphant alternative amid the fuel crisis of the mid-1970s was those who were able to squeeze out tedious percentages of profits without radically restructuring the entire airline industry. You know them very well - all these big-faced subsonic long-haul Boeings squeezed the Concorde even from its native transatlantic route.
It turned out that they easily and cheaply do the necessary work in a tolerable time. And speed comes at a cost. And the closer we get to our era, the more obviously the high speed of movement in physical space has begun to give way to the speed, reliability and capacity of communication channels. The world of the 1950s-1960s, understood as a constant increase in human mobility in space, has given way to a world in which moving, in general, is no longer always necessary for high mobility.
The world of supersonic civil aviation is not our world, let’s be aware of this. Our world can still become different, but in its current form, the Tu-144 and Concorde, in general, have nothing to do in it, even if all the technical problems are solved and half the planet is flooded with cheap kerosene.
However, the 1970s were too bad for breaking the mold and building civil aviation anew.
Did not work out. Let these swift beauties now stand in museums and remind us that the future has many options, and its shadows whimsically fight in the present for human souls. So that later the owners of these souls would proclaim with an important air that everything happened the way it happened, because “it couldn’t have happened otherwise.”
Tu-144 became the world's first supersonic passenger airliner. Taking off before the Anglo-French Concorde, it opened a new era in world civil aviation. The creation of the Tu-144 brought the domestic aviation industry to the most advanced positions.
Related industries have also made huge technological leaps. The Tu-144 became, not without reason, a source of pride for the Soviet people.
Successes in the development of combat jet aircraft gave rise to the idea of creating a supersonic passenger airliner. Talk about such an aircraft began to circulate in Europe and America, and in order not to lag behind Western countries, and it is better to get ahead of them, it was decided to begin designing such an aircraft in our country. On July 16, 1963, the resolution of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR No. 798-271 was issued “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.” Tupolev's son was appointed the lead designer of the aircraft. The development of the engine was entrusted to the Design Bureau of N.D. Kuznetsov. 
Initially, it was planned to create a passenger version of the Tu-135 missile carrier, the design of which at that time was being developed at the Tupolev Design Bureau. However, after the calculations, the designers came to the conclusion that significant alterations in the design would be required and that an aircraft from scratch would be much more profitable. 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 A.N. Tupolev Design Bureau, were solved by specialists from TsAGI, CIAM, SibNIA and other organizations. Since 1965, regular consultations have been held with the designers of the French company Aerospatial, which developed the Concorde. During the preparation of working drawings, more than a thousand specialists were seconded from the OKB of O.K. Antonov and S.V. 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). The MiG fuselage was shortened by 0.75 m. An ogive-shaped wing was installed on it, which was a smaller copy of the Tu-144 wing. In 1967, an analogue aircraft successfully flew at speeds of 2500 km/m. The test results formed the basis for the final calculation of the wing. Future Tu-144 pilots also trained on the MiG-21I. The MiG-25, Su-9 and Tu-22 were also involved in test flights.
By the summer of 1965, the most important design and layout decisions for the aircraft had been made. In July, A.N. Tupolev presented the preliminary design of the Tu-144 to the MGA. In the same year, a model of an aircraft with a wingspan of about 2 m was exhibited at the Le Bourget air show. 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. Construction of the first prototype was completed on October 9, 1968. On December 31, the crew led by test pilot Yelyan 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, pilot Yelyan was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. 
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, Berlin, Warsaw, Sofia. In 1972, the Tu-144 was demonstrated at air shows in Hanover and Budapest. 
On June 3, 1973, Tu-144 No. 77102 crashed during a demonstration flight at the Le Bourget air show. All six crew members (Hero of the Soviet Union, Honored Test Pilot 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. The cause of the disaster was a too sharp maneuver that the crew had to make in order to avoid a collision with the unexpectedly appeared French Mirage. Subsequently, the Mirage pilot, who explained that he only wanted to photograph the Tu-144, was acquitted by a French court. However, if we take into account the fact that the Tu-144 was a direct competitor of the Concorde, both the actions of the French pilot and the acquittal of the court give reason to assume that the Tu-144 crash was the result of deliberate actions by the French side. 
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, the aircraft received a certificate of airworthiness. 
The Tu-144 is an all-metal low-wing aircraft, made according to the “tailless” design. The fuselage is of a semi-monocoque design with a smooth working skin, reinforced with stringers made of extruded profiles and a set of frames. The aircraft has a tricycle landing gear with a nose strut. Four turbojet bypass engines NK-144A designed by OKB N.D. Kuznetsov (on the Tu-144D - afterburning RD-36-51A designed by OKB-36 by P.A. Kolesov) are located under the wing close to each other. Each engine has a separate air intake. The air intakes are grouped in pairs. The nose landing gear is retracted into the space between the air intake blocks in the front part of the fuselage. The aircraft wing 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. To improve visibility during takeoff and landing, the forward part of the fuselage is made lowering. The main volume of fuel is located in 18 wing tanks. A balancing tank is installed at the rear of the fuselage. Fuel is pumped into it in flight to shift the center of mass during the transition from subsonic to supersonic speed. An onboard computer is used to control the aircraft. The landing approach can 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 makes it possible to reduce the labor intensity of maintenance. 
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. The production aircraft differed from the prototype by having a fuselage length increased by 5.7 m, 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 (carrying mail and cargo), and on October 20, 1977, the first flight with passengers was carried out.
However, the Tu-144 also had enemies. Fearing responsibility, many MGA officials did their best to slow down the process of Aeroflot's development of the aircraft. The accident with the experimental Tu-144D on May 23, 1978 served as a formal pretext for stopping the operation of the Tu-144 with NK-144 engines on passenger lines, although from the very beginning it was clear that this accident occurred precisely because of the design features of the Tu-144D modification. In 1979, a number of cargo flights to Khabarovsk were carried out on Tu-144D aircraft. Later, in 1981-1982, decisions were made to resume passenger transportation, but they remained on paper. 
Until the mid-90s, Tu-144 aircraft were used to conduct various tests, as well as to study the ozone layer of the Earth's atmosphere, solar eclipses, and focused sonic boom. Cosmonauts undergoing training under the Buran program trained on the Tu-144. In July 1983, the crew of test pilot S.T. Agapov on the Tu-144D set 13 world aviation records that have not been broken to this day. 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. Some of the aircraft were sold to a private museum of technology in Sinheim (Germany). 
