Russian aviation. Supersonic aircraft: development history of the Tu 144, the first passenger supersonic

After man began to explore the expanses of heaven, he always sought to improve aircraft as much as possible, to make them more reliable, faster, and more spacious. One of the most advanced inventions of mankind in this direction are supersonic passenger aircraft. But, unfortunately, with rare exceptions, most of the developments have been closed or are currently at the project stage. One of such projects is the Tu-244 supersonic passenger aircraft, which we will discuss below.

Faster than sound

But before we start talking directly about the Tu-244, let's make a brief excursion into the history of humanity overcoming the speed of sound boundary, because this aircraft will be a direct continuation of scientific developments in this direction.

A significant impetus to the development of aviation was given by the Second World War. It was then that real projects of aircraft capable of reaching speeds greater than propellers appeared. Since the second half of the 40s of the last century, they have been actively adopted in both military and civil aviation.

The next task was to increase it as much as possible. If reaching the supersonic barrier was not difficult by simply increasing the power of the engines, then overcoming it was a significant problem, since the laws of aerodynamics change at such speeds.

Nevertheless, the first victory in the race with sound was achieved already in 1947 on an American experimental aircraft, but supersonic technologies began to be widely used only in the late 50s and early 60s of the 20th century in military aviation. Production models such as the MiG-19, North American A-5 Vigilante, Convair F-102 Delta Dagger and many others appeared.

Passenger supersonic aircraft

But civil aviation was not so lucky. The first supersonic passenger aircraft appeared only in the late 60s. Moreover, to date, only two production models have been created - the Soviet Tu-144 and the Franco-British Concorde. These were typical long-haul aircraft. The Tu-144 was in service from 1975 to 1978, and the Concorde from 1976 to 2003. Thus, at the moment, not a single supersonic aircraft is used in passenger air transportation.

There were many projects to build super- and hypersonic airliners, but some of them were eventually closed (Douglas 2229, Super-Caravelle, T-4, etc.), and the implementation of others stretched out for an indefinitely long time (Reaction Engines A2, SpaceLiner, Next Generation Supersonic Transport). The latter includes the Tu-244 aircraft project.

Start of development

The project to create an aircraft that was supposed to replace the Tu-144 was launched by the Tupolev Design Bureau back in Soviet times, in the early 70s of the last century. When designing the new airliner, the designers used the developments of its predecessor, Concorde, as well as materials from American colleagues who took part in the work. All developments were carried out under the leadership of Alexey Andreevich Tupolev.

In 1973, the aircraft being designed was named Tu-244.

Project objectives

The main objective of this project was to create a truly competitive supersonic aircraft for passenger transport in comparison with subsonic jet airliners. Almost the only advantage of the former over the latter was the gain in speed. In all other respects, supersonic airliners were inferior to their slower competitors. Passenger transportation on them simply did not pay off economically. In addition, flying them was more dangerous than flying simple jet-powered aircraft. The latter factor, by the way, became the official reason why the operation of the first supersonic aircraft Tu-144 was stopped just a few months after it began.

Thus, it was precisely the solution to these problems that was set before the developers of the Tu-244. The aircraft had to be reliable, fast, but at the same time, its operation for the purpose of transporting passengers had to be economically profitable.

Specifications

The final model of the Tu-244 aircraft accepted for development was to have the following technical and operational characteristics.

The airliner's crew included three people. The cabin capacity was taken at the rate of 300 passengers. True, in the final version of the project it had to be reduced to 254 people, but in any case it was much more than the Tu-154, which could accommodate only 150 passengers.

The planned cruising speed was 2,175 thousand km/h, which was twice as high. For comparison, the same figure for the Tu-144 was 2,300 thousand km/h, and the Concorde was 2,125 thousand km/h. That is, it was planned to make the plane a little slower than its predecessor, but due to this, significantly increase its capacity, which was supposed to provide economic benefits from passenger transportation. The movement was provided by four. The flight range of the new aircraft was supposed to be 7500-9200 km. Loading capacity - 300 tons.

The airliner was supposed to be 88 m long, 15 m high, with a wing span of 45 m and a working surface area of ​​965 m 2.

The main external difference from the Tu-144 was supposed to be a change in the design of the nose.

Continuation of development

The project to build the second-generation supersonic airliner Tu-244 took on a rather protracted nature and underwent significant changes several times. Nevertheless, even after the collapse of the USSR, the Tupolev Design Bureau did not stop development in this direction. For example, already in 1993, at the air show in France, detailed information about the development was provided. However, the economic situation of the country in the 90s could not but affect the fate of the project. In fact, its fate was up in the air, although design work continued and there was no official announcement of its closure. It was at this time that American specialists began to actively join the project, although contacts with them were carried out back in Soviet times.

To continue research on the creation of second-generation supersonic passenger airliners, in 1993, two Tu-144 aircraft were converted into flying laboratories.

Closing or freezing?

Against the background of ongoing developments and statements that by 2025 TU-244 aircraft will enter service with civil aviation in the amount of 100 units, the absence of this project in the state program for the development of aviation for 2013-2025, which was adopted in 2012, was quite unexpected. . It must be said that this program also lacked a number of other notable developments that until that time had been considered promising in the aircraft industry, for example, the Tu-444 supersonic business aircraft.

This fact could indicate that the Tu-244 project is either completely closed or frozen for an indefinite period. In the latter case, the production of these supersonic aircraft will only be possible much later than 2025. However, no official explanations were ever given on this matter, which leaves quite a wide field for various interpretations.

Prospects

Taking into account all of the above, we can say that the Tu-244 project is currently at least hanging in the air, and, possibly, completely closed. There has been no official announcement about the fate of the project yet. Also, the reasons why it was suspended or permanently closed were not stated. Although it can be assumed that they may lie in the lack of public funds to finance such developments, the economic unprofitability of the project, or the fact that in 30 years it could simply become obsolete, and now more promising tasks are on the agenda. However, it is quite possible that all three factors can influence simultaneously.

In 2014, the media made assumptions about the resumption of the project, but so far they have not received official confirmation, as well as refutations.

It should be noted that foreign developments of second-generation supersonic passenger aircraft have not yet reached the finish line, and the implementation of many of them is a big question.

At the same time, while there is no official statement from authorized persons, there is no need to completely give up on the Tu-244 aircraft project.

“Turn on supersonic!”

Supersonic passenger aircraft - what do we know about them? At least that they were created relatively long ago. But, for various reasons, they were not used for as long and not as often as they could have. And today, they exist only as design models.

Why is that? What is the peculiarity and “secret” of supersonic sound? Who created this technology? And also - what will be the future of supersonic aircraft in the world, and of course - in Russia? We will try to answer all these questions.

"Farewell flight"

So, fifteen years have passed since the last three functioning supersonic passenger aircraft made their last flights, after which they were written off. This was back in 2003. Then, on October 24, they all together “said goodbye to the sky.” The last time we flew at low altitude, over the capital of Great Britain.

Then we landed at London Heathrow Airport. These were Concorde-type aircraft owned by the aviation company British Airways. And with such a “farewell flight” they ended a very short history of passenger transportation at speeds exceeding sound...

That's what you might have thought a few years ago. But now it is already possible to say with confidence. This is the finale of only the first stage of this story. And probably all its bright pages are yet to come.

Today - preparation, tomorrow - flight

Today, many companies and aircraft designers are thinking about the prospects of supersonic passenger aviation. Some are making plans to revive it. Others are already preparing for this with all their might.

After all, if it could exist and function effectively just a few decades ago, today, with technologies that have seriously stepped forward, it is quite possible not only to revive it, but also to solve a number of problems that forced leading airlines to abandon it.

And the prospects are too tempting. The possibility of flying, say, from London to Tokyo in five hours seems very interesting. Cross the distance from Sydney to Los Angeles in six hours? And get from Paris to New York in three and a half? With passenger aircraft, which are capable of flying at higher speeds than sound travels, this is not at all difficult.

But, of course, before its triumphant “return” to the airspace, scientists, engineers, designers, and many others still have a lot of work to do. It's not just about restoring what once was by offering a new model. Not at all.

The goal is to solve many problems associated with passenger supersonic aviation. Creation of aircraft that will not only demonstrate the capabilities and power of the countries that built them. But they will also turn out to be really effective. So much so that they occupy a worthy niche in aviation.

History of "supersonic" Part 1. What happened in the beginning...

Where did it all begin? In fact - from simple passenger aviation. And he has been like this for more than a century. Its design began in the 1910s in Europe. When craftsmen from the most developed countries of the world created the first aircraft, the main purpose of which was to transport passengers over various distances. That is, a flight with many people on board.

The first among them is the French Bleriot XXIV Limousine. It belonged to the aircraft manufacturing company Bleriot Aeronautique. However, it was used mainly for the amusement of those who paid for pleasure “walks”-flights on it. Two years after its creation, an analogue appears in Russia.

It was the S-21 Grand. It was designed on the basis of the Russian Knight, a heavy bomber created by Igor Sikorsky. And the construction of this passenger aircraft was carried out by workers of the Baltic Carriage Plant.

Well, after that, progress could no longer be stopped. Aviation developed rapidly. And the passenger one, in particular. At first there were flights between specific cities. Then the planes were able to cover distances between states. Finally, aircraft began to cross oceans and fly from one continent to another.

Developing technologies and an increasing number of innovations allowed aviation to travel very quickly. Much sooner than trains or ships. And for her there were practically no barriers. There was no need to change from one transport to another, not only, say, when traveling to some particularly distant “end of the world”.

Even when it is necessary to cross land and water at once. Nothing stopped the planes. And this is natural, because they fly over everything - continents, oceans, countries...

But time was passing quickly, the world was changing. Of course, the aviation industry also developed. Airplanes over the next few decades, right up to the 1950s, changed so much when compared with those that flew back in the early 1920s and 30s that they became something completely different, special.

And so, in the middle of the twentieth century, the development of the jet engine began at a very rapid pace, even in comparison with the previous twenty to thirty years.

A small informational digression. Or - a little physics

Advanced developments have allowed aircraft to “accelerate” to speeds greater than the speed at which sound travels. Of course, first of all, this was applied in military aviation. After all, we are talking about the twentieth century. Which, sad to say, was a century of conflicts, two world wars, the “cold” struggle between the USSR and the USA...

And almost every new technology created by the leading states of the world was primarily considered from the point of view of how it could be used in defense or attack.

So, airplanes could now fly at unprecedented speeds. Faster than sound. What is its specificity?

First of all, it is obvious that this is a speed that exceeds the speed at which sound travels. But, remembering the basic laws of physics, we can say that in different conditions, it may differ. And “exceeds” is a very loose concept.

And that’s why there is a special standard. Supersonic speed is one that exceeds sound speed up to five times, taking into account the fact that depending on temperature and other environmental factors, it can change.

For example, if we take normal atmospheric pressure at sea level, then in this case, the speed of sound will be equal to an impressive figure - 1191 km/h. That is, 331 meters are covered in a second.
But what is especially important when designing supersonic aircraft is that as you gain altitude, the temperature decreases. This means the speed with which sound travels is quite significant.

So let's say, if you rise to a height of 20 thousand meters, then here it will already be 295 meters per second. But there is another important point.

At 25 thousand meters above sea level, the temperature begins to rise, since this is no longer the lower layer of the atmosphere. And so it goes on. Or rather, higher. Let's say at an altitude of 50,000 meters it will be even hotter. Consequently, the speed of sound there increases even more.

I wonder - for how long? Having risen 30 kilometers above sea level, you find yourself in a “zone” where sound travels at a speed of 318 meters per second. And at 50,000 meters, respectively - 330 m/s.

About the Mach number

By the way, it is interesting that to simplify the understanding of the features of flight and work in such conditions, the Mach number is used in aviation. A general description of this can be reduced to the following conclusions. It expresses the speed of sound that occurs under given conditions, at a particular altitude, at a given temperature and air density.

For example, the flight speed, which is equal to two Mach numbers, at an altitude of ten kilometers above the ground, under normal conditions, will be equal to 2,157 km/h. And at sea level - 2,383 km/h.

History of "supersonic" Part 2. Overcoming barriers

By the way, for the first time a pilot from the USA, Chuck Yeager, achieved flight speeds of more than Mach 1. This happened in 1947. Then he “accelerated” his plane, flying at an altitude of 12.2 thousand meters above the ground, to a speed of 1066 km/h. This is how the first supersonic flight took place on earth.

Already in the 1950s, work began on the design and preparation for mass production of passenger aircraft capable of flying at speeds faster than sound. They are led by scientists and aircraft designers from the most powerful countries in the world. And they manage to succeed.

That same Concorde, a model that will finally be abandoned in 2003, was created in 1969. This is a joint British-French development. The symbolically chosen name is “Concorde”, from French, translated as “concord”.

It was one of two existing types of supersonic passenger aircraft. Well, the creation of the second (or rather, chronologically, the first) is the merit of the aircraft designers of the USSR. The Soviet equivalent of the Concorde is called the Tu-144. It was designed in the 1960s and made its first flight on December 31, 1968, a year before the British-French model.

To this day, no other types of supersonic passenger aircraft have been implemented. Both the Concorde and the Tu-144 flew thanks to turbojet engines, which were specially rebuilt in order to operate at supersonic speed for a long time.

The Soviet analogue of the Concorde was operated for a significantly shorter period. Already in 1977 it was abandoned. The plane flew at an average speed of 2,300 kilometers per hour and could carry up to 140 passengers at a time. But at the same time, the price of a ticket for such a “supersonic” flight was two, two and a half, or even three times more than for an ordinary one.

Of course, such things were not in great demand among Soviet citizens. And maintaining the Tu-144 was not easy and expensive. That’s why they were abandoned so quickly in the USSR.

Concordes lasted longer, although tickets for the flights they flew were also expensive. And the demand was not great either. But still, despite this, they continued to be exploited, both in Great Britain and in France.

If you recalculate the cost of a Concorde ticket in the 1970s at today's exchange rate, it will be about two tens of thousands of dollars. For a one way ticket. One can understand why the demand for them was somewhat less than for flights using aircraft that do not reach supersonic speeds.

Concorde could carry from 92 to 120 passengers at a time. He flew at a speed of more than 2 thousand km/h and covered the distance from Paris to New York in three and a half hours.

Several decades passed like this. Until 2003.

One of the reasons for the refusal to operate this model was a plane crash that occurred in 2000. At that time, there were 113 people on board the crashed Concorde. They all died.

Later, an international crisis began in the field of passenger air transportation. Its cause is the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, in the United States.

Moreover, on top of that, the warranty period for Concorde service by Airbus is ending. All this together made the further operation of supersonic passenger aircraft extremely unprofitable. And in 2003, all Concordes were written off one by one, both in France and in the UK.

Hopes

After this, there were still hopes for a quick “return” of supersonic passenger aircraft. Aircraft designers talked about creating special engines that would save fuel, despite the flight speed. We talked about improving the quality and optimizing the main avionics systems on such aircraft.

But, in 2006 and 2008, new regulations of the International Civil Aviation Organization were issued. They determined the latest (by the way, they are still valid at the moment) standards for permissible aircraft noise during flight.

And supersonic planes, as you know, did not have the right to fly over populated areas, that’s why. After all, they produced strong noise pops (also due to the physical characteristics of the flight) when they moved at maximum speeds.

This was the reason that the “planning” of the “revival” of supersonic passenger aviation was somewhat slowed down. However, in fact, after the introduction of this requirement, aircraft designers began to think about how to solve this problem. After all, it also took place before, it’s just that the “ban” focused attention on it - the “noise problem”.

What about today?

But ten years have passed since the last “ban”. And planning smoothly turned into design. Today, several companies and government organizations are engaged in the creation of passenger supersonic aircraft.

Which ones exactly? Russian: Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute (the same one that is named after Zhukovsky), Tupolev and Sukhoi companies. Russian aircraft designers have an invaluable advantage.

The experience of Soviet designers and creators of the Tu-144. However, it is better to talk about domestic developments in this area separately and in more detail, which is what we propose to do next.

But it’s not just the Russians who are creating a new generation of supersonic passenger aircraft. This is also a European concern - Airbus, and the French company Dassault. Among the companies in the United States of America that are working in this direction are Boeing and, of course, Lockheed Martin. In the land of the rising sun, the main organization designing such an aircraft is the Aerospace Research Agency.

And this list is by no means complete. It is important to clarify that the overwhelming majority of professional aircraft designers working in this field are divided into two groups. Regardless of country of origin.

Some believe that it is in no way possible to create a “quiet” supersonic passenger aircraft at the current level of technological development of mankind.

Therefore, the only way out is to design a “simply fast” airliner. It, in turn, will go to supersonic speed in those places where this is allowed. And when flying, for example, over populated areas, return to subsonic.

Such “jumps,” according to this group of scientists and designers, will reduce flight time to the minimum possible, and not violate the requirements for noise effects.

Others, on the contrary, are full of determination. They believe that it is possible to fight the cause of the noise now. And they made a lot of effort to prove that it is quite possible to build a supersonic airliner that flies quietly in the very coming years.

And a little more fun physics

So, when flying at a speed of more than Mach 1.2, the airframe of the aircraft generates shock waves. They are strongest in the tail and nose areas, as well as some other parts of the aircraft, such as the edges of the air intakes.

What is a shock wave? This is an area where air density, pressure and temperature experience sudden changes. They occur when moving at high speeds, faster than sound speed.

To people who are standing on the ground, despite the distance, it seems that some kind of explosion is happening. Of course, we are talking about those who are in relative proximity - under the place where the plane flies. That is why supersonic aircraft flights over cities were banned.

It is precisely such shock waves that representatives of the “second camp” of scientists and designers are fighting against, who believe in the possibility of leveling out this noise.

If we go into detail, the reason for this is literally a “collision” with air at a very high speed. At the wave front there is a sharp and strong increase in pressure. At the same time, immediately after it, there is a drop in pressure, and then a transition to a normal pressure indicator (the same as it was before the “collision”).

However, a classification of wave types has already been carried out and potentially optimal solutions have been found. All that remains is to complete the work in this direction and make the necessary adjustments to the aircraft designs, or create them from scratch, taking into account these amendments.

In particular, NASA specialists came to realize the need for structural changes in order to reform the characteristics of the flight as a whole.

Namely, changing the specifics of shock waves, as far as possible at the current technological level. What is achieved by restructuring the wave, through specific design changes. As a result, the standard wave is considered as an N-type, and the one that occurs during flight, taking into account the innovations proposed by experts, as an S-type.

And with the latter, the “explosive” effect of pressure changes is significantly reduced, and people located below, for example, in a city, if an airplane flies over them, even when they hear such an effect, it is only like a “distant slam of a car door.”

Shape is also important

In addition, for example, Japanese aviation designers, not so long ago, in mid-2015, created an unmanned glider model D-SEND 2. Its shape is designed in a special way, allowing to significantly reduce the intensity and number of shock waves that occur when the device flies at supersonic speed.

The effectiveness of the innovations proposed in this way by Japanese scientists was proven during tests of D-SEND 2. These were carried out in Sweden in July 2015. The course of the event was quite interesting.

The glider, which was not equipped with engines, was raised to a height of 30.5 kilometers. With a balloon. Then he was thrown down. During the fall, he “accelerated” to a speed of Mach 1.39. The length of D-SEND 2 itself is 7.9 meters.

After the tests, Japanese aircraft designers were able to confidently declare that the intensity of the shock waves when their brainchild flies at a speed exceeding the speed of sound propagation is two times less than that of the Concorde.

What are the features of D-SEND 2? First of all, its bow is not axisymmetric. The keel is shifted towards it, and at the same time, the horizontal tail unit is installed as all-moving. It is also located at a negative angle to the longitudinal axis. And at the same time, the tail tips are located lower than the attachment point.

The wing, smoothly connected to the fuselage, is made with normal sweep, but stepped.

According to approximately the same scheme, now, as of November 2018, the supersonic passenger AS2 is being designed. Professionals from Lockheed Martin are working on it. The customer is NASA.

Also, the Russian SDS/SPS project is now at the stage of improving its form. It is planned that it will be created with an emphasis on reducing the intensity of shock waves.

Certification and... another certification

It is important to understand that some projects of passenger supersonic aircraft will be implemented in the early 2020s. At the same time, the rules established by the International Civil Aviation Organization in 2006 and 2008 will still be in force.

This means that if before that time there is no serious technological breakthrough in the field of “quiet supersonic”, then it is likely that aircraft will be created that will reach speeds above one Mach only in zones where this is permitted.

And after that, when the necessary technologies do appear, in such a scenario, many new tests will have to be carried out. In order for aircraft to obtain permission to fly over populated areas. But these are only speculations about the future; today it is very difficult to say anything for sure on this matter.

Question of price

Another problem mentioned earlier is the high cost. Of course, today, many engines have already been created that are much more economical than those that were used twenty or thirty years ago.

In particular, those that can provide aircraft movement at supersonic speed are now being designed, but at the same time do not “eat up” as much fuel as the Tu-144 or Concorde.

How? First of all, this is the use of ceramic composite materials, which reduce temperatures, and this is especially important in hot zones of power plants.

In addition, the introduction of another, third, air circuit - in addition to the external and internal ones. Leveling the rigid coupling of a turbine with a fan, inside an aircraft engine, etc.

But nevertheless, even thanks to all these innovations, it cannot be said that supersonic flight, in today's realities, is economical. Therefore, in order for it to become accessible and attractive to the general public, work to improve engines is extremely important.

Perhaps the current solution would be a complete redesign of the design, experts say.

By the way, it will also not be possible to reduce the cost by increasing the number of passengers per flight. Because those aircraft that are being designed today (meaning, of course, supersonic aircraft) are designed to transport a small number of people - from eight to forty-five.

A new engine is a solution to the problem

Among the latest innovations in this area, it is worth noting the innovative jet turbofan power plant created this year, 2018, by GE Aviation. In October it was introduced under the name Affinity.

This engine is planned to be installed on the mentioned AS2 passenger model. There are no significant technological “new products” in this type of power plants. But at the same time, it combines the features of jet engines with high and low bypass ratios. Which makes the model very interesting for installation on a supersonic aircraft.

Among other things, the creators of the engine claim that during testing it will prove its ergonomics. The fuel consumption of the power plant will be approximately equal to that which can be recorded for standard airliner engines currently in operation.

That is, this is a claim that the power plant of a supersonic aircraft will consume approximately the same amount of fuel as a conventional airliner that is not capable of accelerating to speeds above Mach one.

How this will happen is still difficult to explain. Since the design features of the engine are not currently being disclosed by its creators.

What could they be - Russian supersonic airliners?

Of course, today there are many specific projects for supersonic passenger aircraft. However, not all are close to implementation. Let's look at the most promising ones.

So, Russian aircraft manufacturers who inherited the experience of Soviet masters deserve special attention. As mentioned earlier, today, within the walls of TsAGI named after Zhukovsky, according to its employees, the creation of the concept of a new generation supersonic passenger aircraft has almost been completed.

The official description of the model, provided by the press service of the institute, mentions that it is a “light, administrative” aircraft, “with a low level of sonic boom.” The design is carried out by specialists, employees of this institution.

Also, in a message from the TsAGI press service it is mentioned that thanks to the special layout of the aircraft body and the special nozzle on which the noise suppression system is installed, this model will demonstrate the latest achievements in the technological development of the Russian aircraft industry.

By the way, it is important to mention that among the most promising TsAGI projects, in addition to what has been described, is a new configuration of passenger airliners called the “flying wing”. It implements several particularly relevant improvements. Specifically, it makes it possible to improve aerodynamics, reduce fuel consumption, etc. But for non-supersonic aircraft.

Among other things, this institute has repeatedly presented finished projects that have attracted the attention of aviation enthusiasts from all over the world. Let’s say, one of the latest, a model of a supersonic business jet, capable of traveling up to 7,000 kilometers without refueling, and reaching a speed of 1.8 thousand km/h. This was presented at the exhibition “Gidroaviasalon-2018”.

“...design is going on all over the world!”

In addition to the Russian ones mentioned above, the following models are also the most promising. American AS2 (capable of speeds up to Mach 1.5). Spanish S-512 (speed limit - Mach 1.6). And also, currently at the design stage in the USA, Boom, from Boom Technologies (well, it will be able to fly at a maximum speed of Mach 2.2).

There is also the X-59, which is being created for NASA by Lockheed Martin. But it will be a flying scientific laboratory, not a passenger plane. And no one has planned to put it into mass production yet.

The plans of Boom Technologies are interesting. Employees of this company say that they will try to reduce the cost of flights on the supersonic airliners created by the company as much as possible. For example, they can give an approximate price for a flight from London to New York. This is about 5000 US dollars.

For comparison, this is how much a ticket costs for a flight from the English capital to “New” York, on a regular or “subsonic” plane, in business class. That is, the price of a flight on an airliner capable of flying at speeds greater than Mach 1.2 will be approximately equal to the cost of an expensive ticket on an airplane that could not make the same fast flight.

However, Boom Technologies bet that it will not be possible to create a “quiet” supersonic passenger airliner in the near future. Therefore, their Boom will fly at the maximum speed it can develop only over water. And when you are above land, switch to a smaller one.

Given that the Boom will be 52 meters long, it will be able to carry up to 45 passengers at a time. According to the plans of the company designing the aircraft, the first flight of this new product should occur in 2025.

What is known today about another promising project - AS2? It will be able to carry significantly fewer people - only eight to twelve people per flight. In this case, the length of the liner will be 51.8 meters.

Over water, it is planned to be able to fly at a speed of Mach 1.4-1.6, and over land - 1.2. By the way, in the latter case, thanks to its special shape, the plane, in principle, will not generate shock waves. For the first time, this model should take to the air in the summer of 2023. In October of the same year, the aircraft will make its first flight across the Atlantic.

This event will be timed to coincide with a memorable date - the twentieth anniversary of the day the Concordes last flew over London.

Moreover, the Spanish S-512 will take to the skies for the first time no later than the end of 2021. And deliveries of this model to customers will begin in 2023. The maximum speed of this aircraft is Mach 1.6. It can accommodate 22 passengers on board. The maximum flight range is 11.5 thousand km.

The client is the head of everything!

As you can see, some companies are trying very hard to complete the design and begin creating aircraft as quickly as possible. For whom are they willing to rush in such a hurry? Let's try to explain.

So, during 2017, for example, the volume of air passenger traffic amounted to four billion people. Moreover, 650 million of them flew long distances, spending from 3.7 to thirteen hours on the way. Next - 72 million out of 650, moreover, they flew first or business class.

It is these 72,000,000 people, on average, that those companies that are engaged in the creation of supersonic passenger aircraft are counting on. The logic is simple - it is possible that many of them will not mind paying a little more for a ticket, provided that the flight will be approximately twice as fast.

But, even despite all the prospects, many experts reasonably believe that the active progress of supersonic aviation, created for the transport of passengers, may begin after 2025.

This opinion is confirmed by the fact that the mentioned “flying” laboratory X-59 will first take to the air only in 2021. Why?

Research and Outlook

The main purpose of its flights, which will take place over several years, will be to collect information. The fact is that this aircraft must fly over various populated areas at supersonic speed. Residents of these settlements have already expressed their consent to conduct tests.

And after the laboratory plane completes its next “experimental flight,” people living in the settlements over which it flew must talk about the “impressions” that they received during the time when the airliner was above their heads. And especially clearly express how the noise was perceived. Did it affect their livelihoods, etc.

The data collected in this way will be transmitted to the Federal Aviation Administration in the United States. And after their detailed analysis by experts, perhaps the ban on supersonic airliner flights over populated land areas will be lifted. But in any case, this will not happen before 2025.

In the meantime, we can watch the creation of these innovative aircraft, which will soon mark the birth of a new era of supersonic passenger aviation with their flights!

On December 31, 1968, the world's first supersonic passenger aircraft, the Tu-144, made a test flight. Three years later, in the summer of 1971, he made an incredible impression on the organizers and guests of the International Aviation Exhibition in Paris. To demonstrate the capabilities of the “Soviet bird,” the developers sent the plane from Moscow at 9 a.m. and at the same time, at 9 a.m., it landed in the capital of Bulgaria.

Design of the supersonic aircraft Tu - 144.

Tu-144 is a Soviet supersonic aircraft developed by the Tupolev Design Bureau in the 1960s. Along with Concorde, it is one of only two supersonic airliners ever used by airlines for commercial travel.
In the 60s, projects to create a passenger supersonic aircraft with a maximum speed of 2500-3000 km/h and a flight range of at least 6-8 thousand km were actively discussed in aviation circles in the USA, Great Britain, France and the USSR. In November 1962, France and Great Britain signed an agreement on the joint development and construction of Concorde (Concord).

Creators of a supersonic aircraft.

In the Soviet Union, the design bureau of academician Andrei Tupolev was involved in the creation of a supersonic aircraft. At a preliminary meeting of the Design Bureau in January 1963, Tupolev stated:
“Reflecting on the future of air transportation of people from one continent to another, you come to a clear conclusion: supersonic airliners are undoubtedly needed, and I have no doubt that they will come into practice...”
The academician's son, Alexey Tupolev, was appointed as the lead designer of the project. More than a thousand specialists from other organizations worked closely with his design bureau. The creation was preceded by extensive theoretical and experimental work, which included numerous tests in wind tunnels and natural conditions during analogue flights.

Concorde and Tu-144.

The developers had to rack their brains to find the optimal design for the machine. The speed of the designed airliner is fundamentally important - 2500 or 3000 km/h. The Americans, having learned that the Concorde is designed for 2500 km/h, announced that just six months later they would release their passenger Boeing 2707, made of steel and titanium. Only these materials could withstand the heating of the structure when in contact with air flow at speeds of 3000 km/h and above without destructive consequences. However, solid steel and titanium structures still have to undergo serious technological and operational testing. This will take a lot of time, and Tupolev decides to build a supersonic aircraft from duralumin, designed for a speed of 2500 km/h. The American Boeing project was subsequently completely closed.
In June 1965, the model was shown at the annual Paris Air Show. Concorde and Tu-144 turned out to be strikingly similar to each other. Soviet designers said - nothing surprising: the general shape is determined by the laws of aerodynamics and the requirements for a certain type of machine.

Supersonic aircraft wing shape.

But what should the wing shape be? We settled on a thin delta wing with the front edge shaped like the letter “8”. The tailless design - inevitable with such a design of the load-bearing plane - made the supersonic airliner stable and well controllable in all flight modes. Four engines were located under the fuselage, closer to the axis. The fuel is placed in coffered wing tanks. The trim tanks, located in the rear fuselage and wing swells, are designed to change the position of the center of gravity during the transition from subsonic to supersonic flight speeds. The nose was made sharp and smooth. But how can pilots have forward visibility in this case? They found a solution - the “bowing nose.” The fuselage had a circular cross-section and had a cockpit nose cone that tilted downward at an angle of 12 degrees during takeoff and 17 degrees during landing.

A supersonic plane takes to the sky.

The first supersonic aircraft took to the skies on the last day of 1968. The car was flown by test pilot E. Elyan. As a passenger aircraft, it was the first in the world to overcome the speed of sound in early June 1969, at an altitude of 11 kilometers. The supersonic aircraft reached the second speed of sound (2M) in mid-1970, at an altitude of 16.3 kilometers. The supersonic aircraft incorporates many design and technical innovations. Here I would like to note such a solution as the front horizontal tail. When using PGO, flight maneuverability was improved and speed was reduced during landing. The domestic supersonic aircraft could be operated from two dozen airports, while the French-English Concorde, having a high landing speed, could land only at a certified airport. The designers of the Tupolev Design Bureau did a colossal job. Take, for example, full-scale tests of a wing. They took place on a flying laboratory - the MiG-21I, modified specifically for testing the design and equipment of the wing of the future supersonic aircraft.

Development and modification.

Work on the development of the basic design of "044" went in two directions: the creation of a new economical afterburning turbojet engine of the RD-36-51 type and a significant improvement in the aerodynamics and design of the supersonic aircraft. The result of this was to meet the requirements for supersonic flight range. The decision of the commission of the USSR Council of Ministers on the version of the supersonic aircraft with the RD-36-51 was made in 1969. At the same time, at the proposal of the MAP - MGA, a decision is made, before the creation of the RD-36-51 and their installation on a supersonic aircraft, on the construction of six supersonic aircraft with the NK-144A with reduced specific fuel consumption. The design of serial supersonic aircraft with the NK-144A was supposed to be significantly modernized, significant changes in aerodynamics would be carried out, obtaining a Kmax of more than 8 in supersonic cruising mode. This modernization was supposed to ensure the fulfillment of the requirements of the first stage in terms of range (4000-4500 km), in the future it was planned to transition to series on RD-36-51.

Construction of a modernized supersonic aircraft.

Construction of the pre-production modernized Tu-144 (“004”) began at MMZ “Experience” in 1968. According to calculated data with NK-144 engines (Cp = 2.01), the estimated supersonic range was supposed to be 3275 km, and with NK-144A ( Average = 1.91) exceed 3500 km. In order to improve the aerodynamic characteristics in cruising mode M = 2.2, the wing planform was changed (the sweep of the floating part along the leading edge was reduced to 76°, and the base one was increased to 57°), the shape of the wing became closer to the "Gothic". Compared to the "044", the wing area increased, a more intense conical twist of the end parts of the wing was introduced. However, the most important innovation in the aerodynamics of the wing was the change in the middle part of the wing, which ensured self-balancing in cruising mode with minimal loss of quality, taking into account optimization of flight deformations of the wing in this mode. The length of the fuselage was increased to accommodate 150 passengers, and the shape of the nose was improved, which also had a positive effect on aerodynamics.

Unlike "044", each pair of engines in paired engine nacelles with air intakes was moved apart, freeing the lower part of the fuselage from them, unloading it from increased temperature and vibration loads, while changing the lower surface of the wing in the place of the calculated area of ​​flow compression, increasing the gap between the lower surface wing and the upper surface of the air intake - all this made it possible to more intensively use the effect of compressing the flow at the entrance to the air intakes on the Kmax than was possible to achieve on the "044". The new layout of the engine nacelles required changes to the chassis: the main landing gear was placed under the engine nacelles, with them retracted inside between the air ducts of the engines, they switched to an eight-wheeled trolley, and the scheme for retracting the nose landing gear also changed. An important difference between “004” and “044” was the introduction of a front multi-section destabilizer wing retractable in flight, which extended from the fuselage during takeoff and landing modes, and made it possible to ensure the required balancing when the elevons-flaps were deflected. Design improvements, an increase in payload and fuel reserves led to an increase in take-off weight, which exceeded 190 tons (for "044" - 150 tons).

Pre-production Tu-144.

Construction of pre-production supersonic aircraft No. 01-1 (tail No. 77101) was completed at the beginning of 1971, and made its first flight on June 1, 1971. According to the factory test program, the vehicle completed 231 flights, lasting 338 hours, of which 55 hours flew at supersonic speed. On this machine, complex issues of interaction of the power plant in various flight modes were worked out. On September 20, 1972, the car flew along the Moscow-Tashkent highway, while the route was covered in 1 hour 50 minutes, the cruising speed during the flight reached 2500 km/h. The pre-production vehicle became the basis for the deployment of serial production at the Voronezh Aviation Plant (VAZ), which, by decision of the government, was entrusted with the development of a supersonic aircraft in a series.

First flight of the production Tu-144.

The first flight of serial supersonic aircraft No. 01-2 (tail No. 77102) with NK-144A engines took place on March 20, 1972. In the series, based on the results of tests of the pre-production vehicle, the aerodynamics of the wing were adjusted and its area was once again slightly increased. The take-off weight in the series reached 195 tons. By the time of operational testing of production vehicles, the specific fuel consumption of the NK-144A was intended to be increased to 1.65-1.67 kg/kgf/hour by optimizing the engine nozzle, and subsequently to 1.57 kg/kgf/hour, while the flight range should was increased to 3855-4250 km and 4550 km, respectively. In reality, they were able to achieve by 1977, during testing and development of the Tu-144 and NK-144A series, Average = 1.81 kg/kgf hour in cruising supersonic thrust mode 5000 kgf, Average = 1.65 kg/kgf hour in takeoff afterburner thrust mode 20000 kgf, Av = 0.92 kg/kgf hour in the cruising subsonic mode of thrust 3000 kgf and in the maximum afterburning mode in the transonic mode we received 11800 kgf. A fragment of a supersonic aircraft.

First stage of testing.

In a short period of time, in strict accordance with the program, 395 flights were completed with a total flight time of 739 hours, including more than 430 hours in supersonic modes.

Second stage of testing.

At the second stage of operational testing, in accordance with the joint order of the ministers of aviation industry and civil aviation dated September 13, 1977 No. 149-223, a more active connection of civil aviation facilities and services took place. A new testing commission was formed, headed by Deputy Minister of Civil Aviation B.D. Rude. By decision of the commission, then confirmed by a joint order dated September 30 - October 5, 1977, crews were appointed to conduct operational tests:
First crew: pilots B.F. Kuznetsov (Moscow State Transport Administration), S.T. Agapov (ZhLIiDB), navigator S.P. Khramov (MTU GA), flight engineers Yu.N. Avaev (MTU GA), Yu.T. Seliverstov (ZhLIiDB), leading engineer S.P. Avakimov (ZhLIiDB).
Second crew: pilots V.P. Voronin (MSU GA), I.K. Vedernikov (ZhLIiDB), navigator A.A. Senyuk (MTU GA), flight engineers E.A. Trebuntsov (MTU GA) and V.V. Solomatin (ZhLIiDB), leading engineer V.V. Isaev (GosNIIGA).
Third crew: pilots M.S. Kuznetsov (GosNIIGA), G.V. Voronchenko (ZhLIiDB), navigator V.V. Vyazigin (GosNIIGA), flight engineers M.P. Isaev (MTU GA), V.V. Solomatin (ZhLIiDB), leading engineer V.N. Poklad (ZhLIiDB).
Fourth crew: pilots N.I. Yurskov (GosNIIGA), V.A. Sevankaev (ZhLIiDB), navigator Yu.A. Vasiliev (GosNIIGA), flight engineer V.L. Venediktov (GosNIIGA), leading engineer I.S. Mayboroda (GosNIIGA).

Before the start of testing, a lot of work was done to review all the materials received in order to use them “for credit” for meeting specific requirements. However, despite this, some civil aviation specialists insisted on implementing the “Operational Test Program for Supersonic Aircraft,” developed at GosNIIGA back in 1975 under the leadership of leading engineer A.M. Teteryukov. This program essentially required the repetition of previously completed flights in the amount of 750 flights (1200 flight hours) on MGA routes.
The total volume of operational flights and tests for both stages will be 445 flights with 835 flight hours, of which 475 hours are in supersonic modes. 128 paired flights were performed on the Moscow-Alma-Ata route.

The final stage.

The final stage of testing was not stressful from a technical point of view. Rhythmic work according to schedule was ensured without serious failures or major defects. The engineering and technical crews “had fun” by assessing household equipment in preparation for passenger transportation. Flight attendants and relevant specialists from GosNIIGA, who were involved in the tests, began to conduct ground training to develop the technology for servicing passengers in flight. The so-called “pranks” and two technical flights with passengers. The “raffle” was held on October 16, 1977 with a complete simulation of the cycle of ticket check-in, baggage check-in, passenger boarding, flight of actual duration, passenger disembarkation, baggage check-in at the destination airport. There was no end to the “passengers” (the best workers of OKB, ZhLIiDB, GosNIIGA and other organizations). The diet during the “flight” was at the highest level, since it was based on the first class menu, everyone enjoyed it very much. The “raffle” made it possible to clarify many important elements and details of passenger service. On October 20 and 21, 1977, two technical flights were carried out along the Moscow-Alma-Ata highway with passengers. The first passengers were employees of many organizations that were directly involved in the creation and testing of the supersonic aircraft. Today it is even difficult to imagine the atmosphere on board: there was a feeling of joy and pride, great hope for development against the backdrop of first-class service, to which technical people are absolutely not accustomed. On the first flights, all the heads of the parent institutes and organizations were on board.

The road is open for passenger traffic.

The technical flights went off without any serious problems and showed that the supersonic aircraft and all ground services were fully prepared for regular transportation. On October 25, 1977, the Minister of Civil Aviation of the USSR B.P. Bugaev and the Minister of Aviation Industry of the USSR V.A. Kazakov approved the main document: “Act on the results of operational tests of a supersonic aircraft with NK-144 engines” with a positive conclusion and conclusions.
Based on the presented tables of compliance of the Tu-144 with the requirements of the Temporary Airworthiness Standards for Civilian Tu-144 of the USSR, the full volume of submitted evidentiary documentation, including acts on state and operational tests, on October 29, 1977, Chairman of the State Aviation Register of the USSR I.K. Mulkijanov approved the conclusion and signed the first airworthiness certificate in the USSR, type No. 03-144, for a supersonic aircraft with NK-144A engines.
The road was open for passenger traffic.

The road was open for passenger traffic.
The supersonic aircraft could land and take off at 18 airports in the USSR, while Concorde, whose takeoff and landing speed was 15% higher, required a separate landing certificate for each airport.

The second production copy of a supersonic aircraft.

In June 1973, the 30th International Paris Air Show took place in France. The interest generated by the Soviet Tu-144 airliner, the world's first supersonic aircraft, was enormous. On June 2, thousands of visitors to the air show in the Paris suburb of Le Bourget watched the second production copy of a supersonic aircraft take to the runway. The roar of four engines, a powerful take-off - and now the car is in the air. The sharp nose of the airliner straightened and aimed at the sky. The supersonic Tu, led by Captain Kozlov, made its first demonstration flight over Paris: having gained the required altitude, the car went beyond the horizon, then returned and circled over the airfield. The flight proceeded normally, no technical problems were noted.
The next day, the Soviet crew decided to show everything that the new one was capable of.

Disaster during a demonstration.

The sunny morning of June 3 did not seem to foretell trouble. At first everything went according to plan - the audience raised their heads and applauded in unison. The supersonic aircraft, showing the “top class”, began to descend. At that moment, a French Mirage fighter appeared in the air (as it later turned out, it was filming an air show). A collision seemed inevitable. In order not to crash into the airfield and spectators, the crew commander decided to rise higher and pulled the steering wheel towards himself. However, the height had already been lost, creating large loads on the structure; As a result, the right wing cracked and fell off. A fire started there, and a few seconds later the flaming supersonic plane rushed to the ground. A terrible landing occurred on one of the streets of the Parisian suburb of Goussainville. The giant machine, destroying everything in its path, crashed to the ground and exploded. The entire crew - six people - and eight Frenchmen on the ground were killed. Goosenville also suffered - several buildings were destroyed. What led to the tragedy? According to most experts, the cause of the disaster was the attempt of the crew of a supersonic aircraft to avoid a collision with the Mirage. During landing, the Tu was caught in a wake from the French Mirage fighter.

The photograph contains the signature of the first cosmonaut who landed on the moon, Neil Armstrong, pilot cosmonaut Georgiy Timofeevich Beregovoy and all the dead crew members. Supersonic aircraft No. 77102 crashed during a demonstration flight at the Le Bourget air show. All 6 crew members (Honored test pilot Hero of the Soviet Union 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.

According to the employees of the A.N. Tupolev Design Bureau, the cause of the disaster was the connection of an undebugged analog block of the control system, which led to a destructive overload.
According to the pilots, emergency situations occurred on almost every flight. On May 23, 1978, the second supersonic plane crashed. An improved experimental version of the airliner, Tu-144D (No. 77111), after a fuel fire in the engine nacelle area of ​​the 3rd power plant due to the destruction of the fuel line, smoke in the cabin and the crew turning off two engines, made an emergency landing on a field near the village of Ilyinsky Pogost, not far from the city Yegoryevsk.
After landing, crew commander V.D. Popov, co-pilot E.V. Elyan and navigator V.V. Vyazigin left the plane through the cockpit window. Engineers V.M. Kulesh, V.A. Isaev, V.N. Stolpovsky, who were in the cabin, left the aircraft through the front entrance door. Flight engineers O. A. Nikolaev and V. L. Venediktov found themselves trapped in their workplace by structures that were deformed during landing and died. (The deflected nose cone touched the ground first, worked like a bulldozer blade, picking up soil, and rotated under its belly, entering the fuselage.) On June 1, 1978, Aeroflot stopped supersonic passenger flights forever.

Improving supersonic aircraft.

Work on improving the supersonic aircraft continued for several more years. Five production aircraft were produced; another five were under construction. A new modification has been developed - Tu-144D (long-range). However, the choice of a new engine (more economical), RD-36-51, required significant redesign of the aircraft, especially the power plant. Serious design gaps in this area led to a delay in the release of the new airliner. Only in November 1974, the serial Tu-144D (tail number 77105) took off, and nine (!) years after its first flight, on November 1, 1977, the supersonic aircraft received a certificate of airworthiness. Passenger flights opened on the same day. During their short operation, the liners carried 3,194 passengers. On May 31, 1978, flights were stopped: a fire broke out on one of the production Tu-144Ds, and the airliner suffered a disaster, crashing during an emergency landing.
The disasters in Paris and Yegoryevsk led to the fact that interest in the project on the part of the state decreased. From 1977 to 1978, 600 problems were identified. As a result, already in the 80s, it was decided to remove the supersonic aircraft, explaining this with “a bad effect on people’s health when crossing the sound barrier.” Nevertheless, four out of five Tu-144Ds in production were still completed. Subsequently, they were based in Zhukovsky and took to the air as flying laboratories. A total of 16 supersonic aircraft were built (including long-range modifications), which made a total of 2,556 sorties. By the mid-90s, ten of them had survived: four in museums (Monino, Kazan, Kuibyshev, Ulyanovsk); one remained at the plant in Voronezh, where it was built; another one was in Zhukovsky along with four Tu-144Ds.

Subsequently, the Tu-144D was used only for cargo transportation between Moscow and Khabarovsk. In total, the supersonic aircraft made 102 flights under the Aeroflot flag, of which 55 were passenger flights (3,194 passengers were carried).
Later, supersonic aircraft only made test flights and a few flights to set world records.
The Tu-144LL was equipped with NK-32 engines due to the lack of serviceable NK-144 or RD-36-51, similar to those used on the Tu-160, various sensors and test monitoring and recording equipment.
A total of 16 Tu-144 airliners were built, which made a total of 2,556 sorties and flew 4,110 hours (among them, aircraft 77144 flew the most, 432 hours). The construction of four more airliners was never completed.

When might a new supersonic passenger plane take to the skies? Business jet based on the Tu-160 bomber: real? How to silently break the sound barrier?

The Tu-160 is the largest and most powerful supersonic aircraft and variable-wing geometry aircraft in the history of military aviation. Among the pilots he received the nickname "White Swan". Photo: AP

Do supersonic passenger cars have a future? - I asked the outstanding Russian aircraft designer Genrikh Novozhilov not long ago.

Of course have. At least a supersonic business aircraft will definitely appear,” answered Genrikh Vasilievich. - I have had the opportunity to talk with American businessmen more than once. They clearly stated: “If such an aircraft appeared, Mr. Novozhilov, then no matter how expensive it was, they would instantly buy it from you.” Speed, altitude and range are three factors that are always relevant.

Yes, they are relevant. The dream of any businessman: to fly across the ocean in the morning, conclude a major deal, and return home in the evening. Modern airplanes fly no faster than 900 km/h. A supersonic business jet will have a cruising speed of about 1900 km per hour. What prospects for the business world!

That is why neither Russia, nor America, nor Europe have ever given up attempts to create a new supersonic passenger car. But the history of those that have already flown - the Soviet Tu-144 and the Anglo-French Concorde - has taught us a lot.

This December it will be half a century since the Tu-144 made its first flight. And a year later, the liner showed exactly what it was capable of: it broke the sound barrier. He picked up a speed of 2.5 thousand km/h at an altitude of 11 km. This event went down in history. There are still no analogues of passenger aircraft in the world that are capable of repeating such a maneuver.

"One Hundred and Forty Four" opened a fundamentally new page in the global aircraft industry. They say that at one of the meetings at the CPSU Central Committee, designer Andrei Tupolev reported to Khrushchev: the car is turning out to be quite voracious. But he just waved his hand: your job is to wipe the noses of the capitalists, but we have enough kerosene...

The nose was wiped. They filled themselves with kerosene.

However, the European competitor, which took off later, was also not distinguished by its efficiency. Thus, in 1978, nine Concordes brought their companies about $60 million in losses. And only government subsidies saved the situation. Nevertheless, the “Anglo-French” flew until November 2003. But the Tu-144 was written off much earlier. Why?

First of all, Khrushchev’s optimism did not come true: an energy crisis broke out in the world and kerosene prices went up. The supersonic first-born was immediately dubbed “a boa constrictor around Aeroflot’s neck.” The enormous fuel consumption also knocked out the designed flight range: the Tu-144 did not reach either Khabarovsk or Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. Only from Moscow to Alma-Ata.

And if only that. A 200-ton “iron”, cruising over densely populated areas at supersonic speed, literally blew up the entire space along the route. Complaints poured in: cow milk yields fell, chickens stopped laying eggs, acid rain crushed them... Today you can’t say for sure where the truth is and where the lies are. But the fact remains: Concorde flew only over the ocean.

Finally, the most important thing is disasters. One - in June 1973 at the air show in Paris Le Bourget, as they say, in full view of the whole planet: the crew of test pilot Kozlov wanted to demonstrate the capabilities of the Soviet airliner... The other - five years later. Then a test flight was carried out with engines of a new series: they were just supposed to pull the plane to the required range.

Concorde also did not escape tragedy: the plane crashed in July 2000 while taking off from Charles de Gaulle airport. Ironically, it crashed almost where the Tu-144 once did. 109 people on board and four on the ground were killed. Regular passenger services resumed only a year later. But a series of incidents followed, and this supersonic aircraft was also put to rest.

On December 31, 1968, the first flight of the Tu-144 took place, two months earlier than the Concorde. And on June 5, 1969, at an altitude of 11,000 meters, our plane was the first in the world to break the sound barrier. Photo: Sergey Mikheev/ RG

Today, at a new stage in technology development, scientists need to find a balance between contradictory factors: good aerodynamics of a new supersonic aircraft, low fuel consumption, as well as strict restrictions on noise and sonic boom.

How realistic is it to create a new passenger supersonic aircraft based on the Tu-160 bomber? From a purely engineering point of view, it’s quite possible, experts say. And in history there are examples when military aircraft successfully “removed their shoulder straps” and flew “to civilian life”: for example, the Tu-104 was created on the basis of the Tu-16 long-range bomber, and the Tu-114 was based on the Tu-95 bomber. In both cases, it was necessary to redo the fuselage - change the wing layout, expand the diameter. In fact, these were new aircraft, and quite successful ones. By the way, an interesting detail: when the Tu-114 first flew to New York, there was neither a ramp nor a tractor suitable in height at the stunned airport...

At a minimum, similar work will be required for the conversion of the Tu-160. However, how cost effective will this solution be? Everything needs to be carefully assessed.

How many such planes do you need? Who will fly them and where? How commercially available will they be for passengers? How soon will the development costs pay off?.. Tickets on the same Tu-144 cost 1.5 times more than usual, but even such a high cost did not cover operating costs.

Meanwhile, according to experts, the first Russian supersonic administrative aircraft (business jet) can be designed in seven to eight years if the engine reserves are available. Such an aircraft can accommodate up to 50 people. Total demand in the domestic market is projected at 20-30 cars at a price of 100-120 million dollars.

A new generation of serial supersonic passenger aircraft may appear around 2030

Designers on both sides of the ocean are working on supersonic business jet projects. Everyone is looking for new layout solutions. Some offer an atypical tail, some a completely unusual wing, some a fuselage with a curved central axis...

TsAGI specialists are developing the SDS/SPS project ("supersonic business aircraft / supersonic passenger aircraft"): according to the plan, it will be able to perform transatlantic flights over a distance of up to 8600 km with a cruising speed of at least 1900 km/h. Moreover, the cabin will be transformable - from 80-seat to 20-seat VIP class.

And last summer at the air show in Zhukovsky, one of the most interesting was a model of a high-speed civil aircraft created by TsAGI scientists as part of the international project HEXAFLY-INT. This aircraft must fly at a speed of more than 7-8 thousand km/h, corresponding to Mach numbers 7 or 8.

But for a high-speed civil aircraft to become a reality, a huge range of problems must be solved. They are related to materials, the hydrogen power plant, its integration with the airframe and obtaining high aerodynamic efficiency of the aircraft itself.

And what is absolutely certain: the design features of the designed winged aircraft will be clearly non-standard.

Competently

Sergey Chernyshev, General Director of TsAGI, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences:

The level of sonic boom (a sharp pressure drop in the shock wave) from the Tu-144 was 100-130 pascals. But modern research has shown that it can be increased to 15-20. Moreover, reduce the volume of the sonic boom to 65 decibels, which is equivalent to the noise of a big city. There are still no official standards in the world on the permissible level of sonic boom. And most likely it will be determined no earlier than 2022.

We have already proposed the appearance of a demonstrator of a supersonic civil aircraft of the future. The sample must demonstrate the ability to reduce sonic boom in supersonic cruise flight and noise in the airport area. Several options are being considered: an aircraft for 12-16 passengers, also for 60-80. There is an option for a very small business aircraft - for 6-8 passengers. These are different weights. In one case, the car will weigh approximately 50 tons, and in another - 100-120, etc. But we start with the first of the designated supersonic aircraft.

According to various estimates, today there is already an unrealized market need for fast flights for business people on airplanes with a passenger capacity of 12-16 people. And, of course, the car must fly a distance of at least 7-8 thousand kilometers along transatlantic routes. The cruising speed will be Mach 1.8-2, that is, approximately twice the speed of sound. This speed is a technological barrier to the use of conventional aluminum materials in airframe construction. Therefore, the dream of scientists is to make an airplane entirely from temperature-controlled composites. And there are good developments.

Clear requirements for the aircraft must be determined by the launch customer, and then at the stages of preliminary design and development work, some changes in the original appearance of the aircraft obtained at the preliminary design stage are possible. But the sound principles for reducing sonic boom will remain unchanged.

The short passenger operation of the supersonic Tu-144 was limited to flights from Moscow to Alma-Ata. Photo: Boris Korzin/ TASS Photo Chronicle

I think we are 10-15 years away from a flying prototype. In the near future, according to our plans, a flying demonstrator should appear, the appearance of which is being worked out. Its main objective is to demonstrate the basic technologies for creating a supersonic aircraft with a low sonic boom level. This is a necessary stage of work. A new generation serial supersonic aircraft may appear on the horizon in 2030.

Oleg Smirnov, Honored Pilot of the USSR, Chairman of the Civil Aviation Commission of the Public Council of Rostransnadzor:

Make a passenger supersonic aircraft based on the Tu-160? For our engineers - absolutely real. No problem. Moreover, this car is very good, with remarkable aerodynamic qualities, a good wing and fuselage. However, today any passenger aircraft must first of all meet international airworthiness and technical requirements. The discrepancies, when comparing a bomber and a passenger plane, are more than 50 percent. For example, when some people say that when remodeling it is necessary to “inflate the fuselage,” you need to understand: the Tu-160 itself weighs more than 100 tons. “Inflate” means adding weight. This means increasing fuel consumption, reducing speed and altitude, and making the aircraft absolutely unattractive for any airline in terms of its operating costs.

To create a supersonic aircraft for business aviation, we need new avionics, new aircraft engines, new materials, and new types of fuel. On the Tu-144, kerosene, as they say, flowed like a river. Today this is impossible. And most importantly, there must be mass demand for such an aircraft. One or two cars ordered from millionaires will not solve the financial problem. Airlines will have to lease it and “work off” the cost. On whom? Naturally, on the passengers. From an economic point of view, the project will be a failure.

Sergey Melnichenko, General Director of ICAA "Flight Safety":

Over the almost 35 years that have passed since the start of serial production of the Tu-160, technology has advanced, and this will have to be taken into account when thoroughly modernizing the existing aircraft. Aircraft makers say it is much easier and cheaper to build a new aircraft according to a new concept than to rebuild an old one.

Another question: if the Tu-160 is rebuilt specifically as a business jet, will Arab sheikhs still be interested in it? However, there are a few "buts". The aircraft will need to obtain an international certificate (and the European Union and the USA are behind its issuance), which is very problematic. In addition, we will need new efficient engines, which we do not have. Those that are available do not consume fuel, but drink.

If the plane is converted to carry economy passengers (which is unlikely), then the question is - where to fly and who to carry? Last year we only just approached the figure of 100 million passengers carried. In the USSR these figures were much higher. The number of airfields has decreased several times. Not everyone who would like to fly to the European part of the country from Kamchatka and Primorye can afford it. Tickets for a “fuel-guzzling plane” will be more expensive than for Boeings and Airbuses.

If the plane is planned to be rebuilt purely for the interests of the heads of large companies, then this will most likely be the case. But then this question concerns them purely, and not the Russian economy and people. Although even in this case it is difficult to imagine that flights will be carried out only to Siberia or the Far East. Problem with area noise. And if the updated plane is not allowed to fly to Sardinia, then who needs it?

The Tu-144, which according to NATO codification was called the Charger, is a supersonic Soviet passenger aircraft developed by the Tupolev Design Bureau.

Built in the 1960s, it was the first supersonic airliner to be operated by airlines for commercial air travel.

History of Tu-144

The first flight of the Tu-144 prototype aircraft was carried out on December 31, 1968. During the creation, work was carried out simultaneously in two directions. The first implied the creation of a non-afterburning, economical turbojet engine of the RD-36-51 type, the second was aimed at improving the aerodynamic characteristics of the Tu-144.

As a result, they planned to complete the task of achieving supersonic flight. In 1969, by decision of the USSR Council of Ministers commission, the option of equipping the aircraft with the RD-36-51 power plant was adopted.

In parallel, the MGA organization made a decision to build six Tu-144s with more fuel-efficient NK-144A engines. The modernization with new engines met the requirements for the supersonic flight range of the first stage (4-4.5 thousand km); it was planned to equip production models with RD-36-51 engines.

The first pre-production modernized Tu-144 aircraft began to be assembled in 1968 at the MMZ “Experience”. According to calculated data, the NK-144 engines could provide a supersonic flight range of 3275 km, and the NK-144A - 3500 km.

To improve the aerodynamic characteristics of the car, the shape of the wing was changed. The degree of sweep was changed: along the leading edge it was 76°, and along the base - 57°. Unlike “044”, the wing area was increased, and intensive conical twist of the end parts of the wing was introduced. But the main thing that improved aerodynamics was the change in the central part of the wing, which ensured self-balancing in cruising speed modes. The changes affected the length of the fuselage, which could accommodate up to 150 passengers. The improvement of aerodynamic data was facilitated by reworking the shape of the forward fuselage. The twin engines along with the engine nacelles were moved apart, thereby freeing up space in the lower part of the fuselage. This arrangement entailed changes in the chassis system: the main landing gear supports were placed under the engine nacelles, and the retraction took place inside between the air ducts of the engines.

As a result of design improvements, an increase in fuel reserves and payload, the aircraft’s take-off weight increased to 190 tons (in the “044” project this figure was 150 tons).

The first pre-production copy of the Tu-144 was released at the beginning of 1971, and its first flight took place on June 1, 1971. According to the factory test program, 231 flights were carried out, 55 flight hours were completed in supersonic mode.

On September 20, 1972, the plane flew on the route Moscow - Tashkent, which was covered in 1 hour 50 minutes. During the flight, the cruising speed of the vehicle reached 2500 km/h.

Serial production of the Tu-144 airliner was established at the Voronezh Aviation Plant.

The production model, which was equipped with NK-144A engines, was first flown on 03/20/1972. Unlike the pre-production vehicle, the wing area was slightly added, which resulted in an increase in take-off weight to 195 tons.

On June 3, 1973, the first production aircraft crashed in front of 350 thousand spectators. The crew wanted to repeat the feat of the Concorde, which had performed a “fighter” maneuver the day before - to fly over the runway and take off again. However, this could not be done. Starting from an altitude of 1200 m, the plane suddenly began to dive and, only reaching 120 m above the ground, began to slowly rise. The overload far exceeded the permissible level, as a result of which first the left wing fell off, and then the tail section. The aircraft's structure was completely destroyed. The crash occurred near the small French town of Goussainville. As a result of the disaster, the entire crew of the liner and 7 local residents were killed, 28 people were injured.

The first passenger flight with the participation of the Tu-144 took place on October 1, 1977. Until May 1978, the aircraft operated 55 passenger and 47 cargo flights.

A total of 17 copies of the Tu-144 supersonic airliner were produced, 14 of which were produced in Voronezh. The equipment for the passenger compartments was ordered from the GDR. Currently, two Tu-144 aircraft are stored in the aviation museums of Monino and Ulyanovsk.

Design

The Tu-144 is an all-metal low-wing aircraft, which was made according to the “tailless” design. The fuselage of the aircraft is made as a semi-monocoque and has a smooth working skin with stringers and a set of frames. The Tu-144 has a tricycle chassis and a nose strut.

The power plant includes four NK-144A turbojet engines, in the Tu-144D modification - afterburning RD-36-51A. Each of the engines has its own air intake. The air intakes are arranged in pairs. The nose landing gear retracts into the space at the front of the fuselage between the air intakes.

Variable sweep aircraft wing. The wing skin is made of aluminum alloy sheets. Titanium elevons are located on the trailing edge. They, together with the rudders, perform deflection due to irreversible boosters. The cockpit is made movable like a “duck” to provide better visibility during takeoff and landing of the aircraft.

Most of the fuel is stored in 18 wing tanks. A balancing tank was placed at the rear of the fuselage. It receives fuel at the stage of transition from subsonic speed to supersonic. The landing could be carried out at any time of the day and in any weather conditions. A new technical solution was the debut application in the history of Soviet aircraft construction on this aircraft of an automated system for monitoring the performance of on-board systems. This in turn reduced the time and labor intensity of machine maintenance.

Tu-144 aircraft were used not only as airliners. They were used during studies of solar eclipses, the ozone layer, and focused sonic boom. These aircraft became training centers for cosmonauts who trained under the Buran program. In 1983, test pilot S.T. Agapov set thirteen world aviation records on the Tu-144D, which have not been broken to this day.

Tu-144 characteristics:

aircraft length without PVD - 64.45 m;

wingspan - 28.8 m;

aircraft height - 12.5 m;

wing area with influx - 506.35 m2;

maximum take-off weight - 207000 kg;

empty weight of the aircraft for the 150-passenger version - 99200 kg;

cruising supersonic flight speed - 2120 km/h;

practical flight range, with commercial load:

7 tons (70 passengers) - 6200 km;

11-13 tons (110-130 passengers) - 5500-5700 km;

15 tons (150 passengers) - 5330 km.

Tu-144 video