Soviet supersonic passenger aircraft Tu-144. Why was removed from service of the Tu-144?

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2019-02-25 21:00:55

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Supersonic passenger airliner Tu-144 was created in the Soviet Union in the late 1970s. It has launched, and for a time used for the commercial carriage of passengers. The Tu-144 had great hopes in the Soviet Union – he was first to combine all the regions of that vast country, and then to go beyond it. Unfortunately, that never happened. Today we will look at the history and characteristics of the Tu-144, why was removed from service this machine and its differences from competitors.

Summary

Undoubtedly, the Tu-144 is a legendary and unique aircraft. He became the first passenger aircraft, a speed which exceeded the speed of sound. At the same time with the Tu-144, the characteristics of which we will look at a few below, the engineers of England and France together have created another supersonic jet airliner – legendary «Concord». For anybody not a secret that the development of these machines was the next competition of the Cold war. The project of Soviet engineers from the technical point of view, not inferior to project their competition, however he lost economically.

Tu-144: why was removed from service?

A Flight on the supersonic plane was expensive, and the Soviet Union had few people who can afford it, so the tickets did not cover all the costs of fuel and maintenance of jet aircraft. Western passenger was willing to pay for speed flight and a high level of comfort, so “Probably” was recognized as a successful project, can not be said about the Tu-144. Why was removed from service the aircraft? One of the major reasons was the economic inexpediency.

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As a passenger airliner Tu-144 was used less than a year. Then it began to be used for testing and the carriage of urgent cargoes for long distances. During the operation the aircraft managed to carry only 3 of 284 passengers. Its main competitor moved a total of 2.4 million passengers. In total, was released on 16 copies of the plane. It is worth noting that “probably” released only for 4 cars more. In 1999, the last flight of the Tu-144. Despite the dubious reputation, Soviet aircraft managed to establish 13 world records.

Prehistory

The 1950-1960 years of the twentieth century was marked by rapid development of jet aircraft. It all started with the fact that in 1947 American experimental aircraft Bell X-1 broke the sound barrier. In the mid-sixties, America has engaged in serial production of supersonic fighters. But by the mid-seventies the technology to create such machines have already been rolled, and engineers to think seriously about the prospect of creating a supersonic passenger aircraft. At that time it was an imperative. The use of such machines was profitable for the airlines for at least two reasons: the reduction in flight time, no intermediate stops for refueling.

To Create a supersonic passenger Airliners turned out to be not so simple. Carefully weigh everything, American designers abandoned this idea, recognizing it as inappropriate. The Europeans decided to test the prospects for a supersonic passenger vehicles. The development of this aircraft started at the same time the French and the British. In 1962 they combined their efforts. So there was a project aircraft «Concord». The Soviet Union also became interested in this idea. And the fact that the Europeans did not hide their developments and actively demonstrated at international air shows, allowed local designers before the start of the project to cut the number of wrong decisions.

Tu-144: the characteristics

In the Soviet Union, the creation of supersonic passenger plane instructed the Tupolev. The specialists of this organization were the most experienced in the jets. In addition, the staff of the Tupolev design Bureau the first in the USSR has created a supersonic jet-bomber Tu-22.

Development

In 1963, began the history of the Tu-144. Resolution of the USSR Council of Ministers was ordered to develop a passenger liner with the following parameters:

  1. Range – 4000-4500 km.
  2. Cruising speed – 2300-2700 km/h.
  3. Capacity – 80-100 people.

Next, 1964 was the development of a new aircraft. A year later the prototype was presented at the international exhibition in Le Bourget. According to Tupolev, the aircraft had to climb into the sky two months earlier than Concord. In the end what happened.

Working on a fundamentally new aircraft, designers are faced with several challenges, particularly with the unusual aerodynamics of the body and heating her body with subsequent deformation at high speeds. Especially delayed development of appropriate design of the wing, which in the wind tunnel was tested about two hundred.

In the development of aircraft Tupolev current model was the MiG-21. However, its design was somewhat modified: the horizontal tail was removed, the length of the fuselage was reduced, and the wingspan increased. 31 December 1968, the Tu-144 first took to the air. It happened just two months before the first flight «Concord». The following year the aircraft achieved the speed of sound, and a year – exceeded it twice.

When the Soviet Union appearedsupersonic passenger plane, talking about him the whole world. In 1971, the aircraft made a few test flights, visiting Moscow, Sofia, Berlin and Paris. In the same period, “Aeroflot” began experimental operation of Tu-144. Serial production of the car was launched at the Voronezh plant.

history of the Tu-144

Design

The Tu-144 is an all-metal monoplane, which has a low wing and is the epitome of the constructive scheme of the "tailless". Its fuselage is made as a monocoque, the lining of which rests on the stringers and frames. The aircraft is equipped with tricycle landing gear and a nose strut.

The Power plant of the aircraft is represented by four motors model turbojet engines NK-114A or RD-36-51A, which are arranged in pairs. Each of the motors is equipped with its own air intake. Nozzles are for edge of the wing.

The fuselage of the aircraft is divided into nose, center and aft. In the bow is the crew cabin, the lamp which fits into the nose cone and fuselage. The Central part consists of passenger cabins, which are formed integrally with nose piece. In the rear is the tank-caisson for fuel, and in the ending – the capacity for the braking parachute.

A Wing of the aircraft was a variable sweep. In the root of the wing she was 76, and at its ends – 57 degrees. The wing got a lining made of a special alloy based on aluminum. Elevons located at the rear part of the wing, are made of titanium alloy.

To improve visibility during takeoff and landing, the cockpit could be omitted. Its lifting and lowering is accomplished through the hydraulic drive. 18 fuel tanks located in the wings of the aircraft. In addition, in the rear part of the fuselage was equipped with a special balancing tank. He carried out the reception of fuel at the transition of the aircraft from the subsonic regime of supersonic flight. Front landing gear had two wheels and two main landing – four double truck.

Control of the aircraft was carried out by the onboard electronic computing machine. The landing can be made at any time of day, in any weather conditions. Automation was diagnosed with all on-Board systems that became a real novelty for the domestic aircraft industry. The crew of the aircraft consisted of three people. Depending on the version of the plane, its passenger capacity could vary from 98 to 150 people.

Passenger transport

Retractable Front horizontal tail has become an interesting feature of the Tu-144, which distinguishes it from other machines. It is located immediately behind the cockpit, in the front of the plane. Thanks to this tail, the aircraft received increased maneuverability and extra lift. In addition, the horizontal tail allows the faster car to reduce speed at the time of landing and to use shorter runways.

Disaster

The Most significant and tragic day in the history of the Tu-144 was June 3, 1973, when during a demonstration flight at Le Bourget, the first Tu-144 crashed. The tragedy beheld of about 350 thousand spectators. The crash killed five crew members and inhabitants of the town of Goussainville (France), near which took place the air show. In addition, nearly three dozen people were injured.

The Crew of the Soviet plane would fly over the runway and again to gain altitude. Before this maneuver was demonstrated by the Anglo-French ‘Concord». But to implement his plan failed. Suddenly, the plane began to dive, and down to a height of 120 metres, was simply fly apart. First hull came off the wing, and then – the tail part. Within seconds of the plane leaving only a pile of metal.

The roots of a terrible disaster to this day unclear. According to one version, the crew of the Tu-144 was forced to abruptly maneuver in order not to face a fighter who was taking photos of the participants of the air show from the air. There is another version according to which the airliner refused control system. Many years later after the tragedy, one of the representatives of the Tupolev story to journalists that the version of the Tu-144 was the number of untested blocks. Another version suggests that when you perform the maneuver one of the pilots dropped the camera, which was blocked by the steering column, but the flight data recorders have not confirmed this.

In an official report stated that the accident could have been caused by the fall of a crew member in the cockpit, however, the material evidence is not found. Ultimately, the causes of the disaster called unidentified. The dead crew was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery.

Passenger Tu-144

Operation

Despite the terrible crash of the Tu-144, Le Bourget saw him twice, in 1975 and 1977. When Brezhnev in 1977 went on an official visit to France, he has demonstrated «Concord» latest developments. At the time of the Anglo-French machine carrying out international and Intercontinental flights. Back in the USSR, Brezhnev ordered as quickly as possible to run the Tu-144 into commercial operation.

A Little earlier wasstarted work to increase the flight range of the aircraft. The Tu-144 was equipped with new, more efficient motors models RD-36-51A. This modification was called Tu-144D. 26 Dec 1975 passenger Tu-144 made its first flight from Moscow to Alma-ATA. For starters, he was commissioned to carry mail. The flight was successful, and in late 1977 they started passenger transportation on Tu-144. Control of supersonic airliner trust only the most experienced pilots. Previously, they had received special training. In addition, the Tu-144 was chosen the most beautiful flight attendants.

On the route Moscow-Alma-ATA flew two aircraft, equipped with engines NK-144A. This power plant allows the aircraft to fly more than three thousand kilometers. Fuel was barely enough to make the aircraft reached the destination. If in the event of any abnormal situation, the aircraft could not land on the airport of Alma-ATA or a spare runway in Tashkent, to put it was nowhere. Thus, each flight was for the pilots and their superiors a true test of strength. A ticket on the Tu-144 cost 80 rubles, which is more expensive on 18 roubles, than a ticket on a normal plane.

The Soviet leadership had a serious plan on the Tu-144. Version of the Tu-144D wanted to put on the route Moscow - Khabarovsk, and then to open it for international flights. But his never came true.

Another crash of the Tu-144

May 23, 1978, experimental aircraft Tu-144D crashed. This time the cause of the accident was the ignition of the third motor and the smoke of the cabin, caused by destruction of fuel line. When the fault manifested itself, the crew resorted to an emergency landing. After landing, the pilots hurried to leave the plane, but two flight engineer did not have time to do so.

In late July 1980, with the Tu-144D has occurred on the accident that almost led to the tragedy. At supersonic speed destroyed one of the engines. Professional the crew managed to land the plane, and the engines sent back for revision. During subsequent tests, they worked the problem. When Brezhnev died, the project of a supersonic airliner was neglected, since the new government was skeptical. Ultimately, the leadership of the country decided to close it and continue commuting simple and economical subsonic aircraft.

Some time supersonic Tu-144 was used for test flights and freight delivery. It trained pilots who participated in the program of the Soviet “the space Shuttle” “storm”. Soon everyone started to forget about the Tu-144.

airliner

Why was removed from service the plane?

Even for the Soviet Union, where he loved to count money, operation of a supersonic airliner became too expensive and, most importantly, meaningless. Therefore, the main reason for the termination of the development project was not the disaster of the Tu-144 and not a technical problem, and the lack of economic profitability.

With the old power plants, the range of the aircraft does not exceed 3 thousand kilometers. Given the affiliation of the liner to supersonic, it is negligible. For the implementation of long-distance travel, the aircraft was required to carry out an intermediate landing for refueling, which negates all his strengths. The aim of the project was to perform rapid flights between distant cities without a direct and refueling. The range ‘Concord’, for example, up to 6500 km from RD-36-51A would allow the Tu-144 to fly distances of about 5300 km, but all the problems associated with it, and have not decided.

In addition, the price of tickets on the Tu-144 was far from the amount necessary to recoup all the costs of flying and maintenance of aircraft. To take from citizens more money for a ticket, the Soviet leadership did not want, and it is unlikely ordinary people would pay more for speed. Therefore, the supersonic passenger airliner went down in history as nothing more than a proof of the high level of Soviet aircraft. However, the catastrophe of the Tu-144 was somewhat undermined their reputation.

Research lab

In the mid-2000s, the Tu-144, the characteristics of which we have already considered, have participated in a research program undertaken by the Tupolev design Bureau in cooperation with American aircraft. In the framework of the Agency NASA investigated the prospects for the creation of supersonic aircraft of the new generation.

The program featured model Tu-144ЛЛ, which is a modernized version of the Tu-144D. The main difference between the upgraded aircraft from its predecessor is the new powerplant model NK-32-1, which replaced the outdated engine RD-36-51Д.

American engineers were mainly interested in questions related to flight at supersonic speeds: temperature of metal parts and plating, working of motors, friction coefficients, stability and control of aircraft in different flight modes, and more. In addition, they studied such issues as the level of exposure to cosmic radiation on passengers and crew, especially the atmosphere at serious altitudes, as well as methods of noise reduction salons and cabins.

Compare with ‘Concord»

A neizoschrennyh availabitily note the similarity of the Tu-144 and «Concord». Comparison of the technical specifications and the exterior of the aircraft shows that between them there are a lot of differences. And itsimilarly, the Soviet aircraft did not copy the British and French. «Concord» less powerful and heavier in comparison with Tu-144. Salon Tupolev machine accommodates more passengers. She also, from a technical point of view, has a number of interesting features, for example, canards, allowing the liner to sit on a shorter strip. But what succeeded «Concord», so it is in range.

Supersonic transports

History of the British-French supersonic airliner was slightly longer than the Tu-144. Why was removed from service «Concord»? Approximately for the same reasons that Soviet aircraft. The last straw was a terrible wreck «Concord» in France, occurred in 2000. After the accident it was discontinued. Thus, passenger traffic at supersonic Airliners went down in history as a progressive, but a dangerous experiment. Most likely, humanity will return to this idea, but it will be at a new stage of scientific and technological development. To date, the direction has only a few countries in the world.


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AR: https://tostpost.com/ar/business/15729-144--144.html

BE: https://tostpost.com/be/b-znes/29150-saveck-zvyshgukavy-pasazhyrsk-samalet-tu-144-chamu-znyal-z-ekspluatacy.html

DE: https://tostpost.com/de/business/28813-das-sowjetische-berschall-passagierflugzeug-tu-144-warum-wurde-au-er-b.html

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Alin Trodden - author of the article, editor
"Hi, I'm Alin Trodden. I write texts, read books, and look for impressions. And I'm not bad at telling you about it. I am always happy to participate in interesting projects."

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