Tupolev Tu-144

1968


PASSENGER	Virtual Aircraft Museum / USSR / Russia / Tupolev

The Tupolev Tu-144 began design in the early 1960s, the prototype being flown on 31 December 1968. Of like configuration, and with similar performance to the Aerospatiale/British Aerospace Concorde, the aircraft has a matching ogival delta wing with the powerplants grouped at the rear of the wing and a drooping nose to improve the pilot's view in low-speed regimes. The production version had a flight crew of three and 140 passengers as standard, and began proving flights with cargo between Moscow and Alma Ata on 26 December 1975. This variant also had retractable but non-moving canard foreplanes, lengthened fuselage, redesigned intakes, increased span and removal of pilots' ejection seats. From 22 February 1977, the Tu-144 was used in a series of 50 proving flights between Moscow and Khabarovsk, and the first passengers services, between Moscow and Alma Ata, began on 1 November 1977. These were terminated on 1 June 1978 after a fatal accident. Reports were received in 1979 of a developed Tu-144D with more economical Kolesov turbofan engines but, since that time, there has been no evidence of any renewed airline activity with these supersonic aircraft, though several have been used as testbeds and trials aircraft at Zhukovskii. Two remain active. The NATO reporting name is 'Charger'.

FACTS AND FIGURES

� The air conditioning system needed to keep the airframe cool at Mach 2 was ineffective and the cabin was uncomfortably hot. It was also so noisy, along with the engines, that passengers were issued with earplugs during flight.

� The last of 17 production models were the five Tu-144Ds, which had larger engines and greater range. One was later converted to a flying laboratory and used by NASA for studies of a future SST.

� The production aircraft was longer than the prototypes with a more curved wing of greater span and had moveable canard surfaces sometimes called 'moustaches' behind the cockpit.

Specification

MODEL	Tu-144
CREW	3
PASSENGERS	140
ENGINE	4 x Kuznetsov NK-144 afterburning turbofans, 98kN
WEIGHTS
Take-off weight	180000 kg	396834 lb
Empty weight	85000 kg	187394 lb
DIMENSIONS
Wingspan	28.8 m	95 ft 6 in
Length	65.7 m	216 ft 7 in
Wing area	438 m²	4714.59 sq ft
PERFORMANCE
Max. speed	2500 km/h	1553 mph
Ceiling	18000 m	59050 ft
Range w/max payload	6500 km	4039 miles

Comments

duke, e-mail, 30.06.2014 16:19

In France we called it concordov or concordski

luiz carlos, e-mail, 28.07.2011 06:08

gostam de falar muitas bobagens para epoca o tu 144 com maior potencia e capacidade que o concorde foi uma trmenda maquina.

hans 2603, e-mail, 14.06.2011 19:54

so etwas haben die gro�m�uligen amerikaner nicht geschaffen .eben europ�ische spitzentechnick .

Chuck, e-mail, 11.04.2011 18:47

I worked on SR-71's for the USAF for 1.5 years. I can assure you, the reason for the SR's existence had nothing to do with provoking the envy of the USSR; it existed because Russian SAM technology was improving, and U-2's were vulnerable at the time. Consider it was operational cost, not operational ability, that retired the SR fleet. The U-2 /TR-1 has evolved to fly even higher than the SR and original U-2's, and the quality of U-2 /TR-1 "pictures" has evolved as well, otherwise SR's would still be operational(well, maybe).

Dennis Edwards, e-mail, 18.01.2011 14:50

The Tu-144 was designed using plans stolen from the British & French. It was a rushed project, the soviets were keen to get their SST into the air before the imperialist West, "At any cost". The cost was a high one, in terms of lives lost & loss of face.
The soviets couldn't quite get it right no matter how much they paid for industrial espionage. The result? An SST that ended up flying letters & parcels from Moscow to Vladivostok quickly. The Tu-144 was a complete & utter failure. Concorde was an engineering success story.

john, e-mail, 05.01.2011 05:00

Russia and America built aircraft in a contest of hubris and paranoia.SSTs were never a practical method of transport. It was simply a case of "mines bigger than yours"SR71s main purpose was to provoke Russian envy. MIG 25 was in reaction to it Both design marvels of engineering without any real purpose except to gratify the egos of the Bigshots at the expense of the "working class"These beautiful machines are designed to burn with fire our neighbors children.

john, e-mail, 05.01.2011 05:00

Chris, e-mail, 20.05.2010 04:53

More Info at:
www.moninoaviation.com /album6.html
www.moninoaviation.com /21a.html
en.wikipedia.org /wiki /Tupolev_Tu-144
www.tu144sst.com /

Peter, e-mail, 16.03.2010 17:09

There is a Concord and a Tu-144 on static display in Sinsheim, Germany. Both are mounted on large poles above one of the museum buildings, as if in flight. From the exterior, both are impressive, but internally, they are different as night and day. There is no such thing as luxury in the Tu-144. It is a wonder it was able to fly. The interior could be compared to that of a C-47 but with 2 inch foam seats. Open wiring and limited amenities leave much to be desired.

Alistair Bernard, e-mail, 13.11.2009 12:33

Just like the concord super sonic its a stunning looking aircraft. I dont understand why, the then soviet government went ahead with such a project when it was not going to be commercialy viable as they did not have the cliants. I am a big fan of the concord, simply because of its British connection and the Rolls Royce olimpas engines.

raf, e-mail, 07.11.2009 18:16

At the time of appearance of the aircraft in the Soviet Union there were no people who could afford to fly on this plane.Rich people simply was not there. Aeroflot was forced to reduce ticket prices. As a result, the unprofitable lines closed and the project collapsed.

Jean Vladimir T�r�metz, e-mail, 06.09.2009 18:18

No, but I have this :
www.nouveau-concorde.net
and this :
www.nouvelle-aviation.net Cordialement J V T

matt, e-mail, 15.07.2009 16:22

Its a pile of Junk, thats what it is.
A sad excuse for a far more beutiful concorde which had a long and illustrious service flying the rich and famous from London and Paris to New York.
TU144 was hardly what you would call a success was it?.

Ahmet Alegoz, e-mail, 07.01.2009 12:48

It's more beatiful than Concorde. It's sad that it can not fly more.

R.Hunt, e-mail, 03.11.2008 13:06

if you look deep in to secret aircraft held at Groom Lake (area 51) one was taken there so the west has a captured one

Stephen, e-mail, 22.07.2008 22:07

The Tu-144 flew on Dec. 31,1969. Making it the world's first SST. Andrei Tupolev was there for the maiden flight too. There is film of the plane's maiden flight and Tupolev standing there in the snow watching the plane take and land. They even dubbed it the "Concordeski". In recent years, they took one out of mothballs and started flying it again, as a testbed for future SSTs. Now that the Concorde's grounded permanently.

Stephen, e-mail, 22.07.2008 22:04

Toby, e-mail, 08.01.2008 01:23

Max, the tu144 was the WORLDS first supersonic civil transport! Concorde flewa month later.

Max, e-mail, 10.10.2007 00:37

It's a first russian supersonik civil aircraft.

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