History of supersonic aviation. Russian aviation at a glance. Civil supersonic aviation

When developing the project, the main goal was to obtain a plane that would be competitive with respect to the long-haul subsonic passenger aircraft that were in operation and in development. The competitiveness of such an aircraft (compared to a conventional subsonic airliner) had to be ensured by economic efficiency, environmental acceptability and convenience for passengers. At the same time, economic efficiency (lower unit costs) was determined by the greater productivity of the SPS-2 than that of subsonic aircraft (due to speed), which was supposed to ensure the transportation of growing passenger traffic by a smaller number of aircraft compared to the fleet of subsonic aircraft. The difference in the cost of the required number of both passenger aircraft and the costs of their operation was supposed to compensate for the increase in fuel costs for air carriers associated with the use of less economical SPS-2. The environmental acceptability of SPS-2 largely determined the success or failure of the project. The solution to this problem was associated with determining the level of environmental impact of SPS-2 on the environment (sonic boom, noise in the area, emission of harmful substances, including the impact of emissions on the ozone layer). All these problems, to one degree or another, faced the creation of SPS-1, but at the time of their initial design (the first half of the 60s), they were not treated as major ones. The main task was to create and put into operation a really flying ATP.

Work on SPS-2 has been and is being carried out at the Design Bureau for 25 years. Over the years, several different Tu-244 projects were prepared, differing from each other in aerodynamic layout, specific design solutions for the airframe, power plant and flight performance data. The main difference between the prepared SPS-2 projects and the SPS-1 was a higher level of aerodynamic characteristics of the aircraft, greater efficiency of power plants, as well as an increase in their weight and dimensions, while ensuring the transportation of more passengers over long flight distances. Work on SPS-2 at the OKB was directly supervised by A.A. Tupolev for many years. Currently, the Chief Designer for the SPS-2 theme is A.L. Pukhov, technical supervision of work on the Tu-244 is provided by M.I. Kazakov.
One of the first projects of the Design Bureau of the Tu-244 aircraft was the 1973 project with four engines with a take-off thrust of 37,500 kgf with a specific fuel consumption in supersonic cruising mode of 1.23 kg/kgf x hour. According to the project, the aircraft's take-off weight reached 360 tons, the payload was 30 tons (various passenger cabin layouts could accommodate from 264 to 321 passengers). The wing area reached 1100 m2. At a cruising speed of 2340 km/h, the aircraft with a normal commercial load should have had a flight range of 8000 km. In its scheme, this project was a further development of the Tu-144. The main efforts in developing the aerodynamic configuration were aimed at increasing the Kmax values ​​in order to obtain a given flight range. For this purpose, the relative midsections of the fuselage and engine nacelles were reduced on the aircraft, a wing of increased area and aspect ratio was used, mechanization of the leading edge of the wing was used in the form of deflectable nose parts (deflection was provided for in subsonic modes), separate engine nacelles with axisymmetric air intakes were located behind the line of maximum wing thickness, optimized the shape of the wing surface taking into account interference with engine nacelles, etc. As a result, when purging the models, it was possible to obtain cruising Kmax = 8.75-9.0 at M = 2.2 and in subsonic mode Kmax = 14.8.

At the end of 1976, a decision was made by the military-industrial complex under the Council of Ministers of the USSR on SPS-2, which determined the development procedure and basic data of the Tu-244. According to this decision, at the first stage it was planned to design SPS-2 of relatively small size with a take-off weight of 245-275 tons, a wing area of ​​570-750 m2 and with engines with a take-off thrust of 22500-27500 kgf. In the future, it was planned to transition to SPS-2 of larger dimensions. By 1985, the Design Bureau prepared a technical proposal for the Tu-244 with four variable cycle engines (VDC) with a take-off thrust of 24,000 kgf. The project envisaged the creation of a Tu-244 with parameters slightly larger than the Tu-144D: take-off weight 260 tons, wing area 607 m2, number of passengers - 150-170. Estimated flight range 7000-10000 km. The design cruising aerodynamic quality at supersonic speed for the project was determined to be 8.65. A feature of the project was the use of DIC engines in combination with air intakes that were shortened compared to the Tu-144. The use of DIC made it possible to optimize the operation of the power plant to the greatest extent in various flight modes and made it possible to perform highly economical subsonic flight over areas with high population density.
A project with liquid hydrogen engines was being worked on.
In 1993, two Tu-144Ds were converted into flying laboratories as part of work on the second generation ATP.
The technical complexity and increasing cost of programs to create SPS-2 forced leading aircraft manufacturing firms in the USA, Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the USSR (Russia) to coordinate their research on SPS-2, primarily in the field of environmental impact, starting from the late 80s , as well as in assessing humanity’s need for ATP and determining their rational parameters (it should be noted that similar cooperation was carried out before: starting from the mid-60s, cooperation was established between the USSR and France, albeit in limited quantities, on some problems of creating SPS-1). In the early 90s, in order to solve the problems of creating SPS-2, the so-called “Group of Eight” was formed at the international level, which included Boeing, McDonnell-Douglas, British Aerospace, Aerospatiale, Deutsche Aerospace Airbus (DASA), Alenia, Association of Japanese Aviation Corporations and JSC ASTC named after AN. Tupolev.
Based on previous studies on SPS-2, taking into account the prospects of both the Russian and world markets for future SPS, in close contact with leading Russian industry research centers (TsAGI, CIAM, VIAM, LII), the OKB continued to work on various aspects in the 90s SPS-2 project. By the second half of the 90s, the appearance of the future Russian SPS-2 Tu-244 had more or less taken shape, although in the course of further development of the project, the first flight of the Tu-244 is possible with normal development of work no earlier than in five to ten years. Basic “tailless” aerodynamic configuration, power plant of four turbojet engines in separate engine nacelles, take-off weight 320-350 tons, cruising speed M=2.0-2.05. The selected take-off weight, dimensions and passenger capacity (250-300 or more passengers) make it possible to ensure competitiveness with subsonic aircraft (such as the Boeing 747 and A 310) with 300-500 seats. The layout of the Tu-244 is aimed at ensuring high aerodynamic quality both in supersonic cruising flight (up to 9 or more), and in subsonic flight modes (up to 15-16), as well as in takeoff and landing modes to reduce noise levels and create increased comfort for passengers. The wing is trapezoidal in plan with an overflow and has a complex deformation of the middle surface and a variable profile along the span. Pitch and roll control, as well as balancing, are provided by elevons; the leading edge is equipped with mechanization such as deflectable toes. Compared to the Tu-144, the base part of the wing has a significantly smaller sweep angle along the leading edge, while maintaining a large sweep of the float part, which provides a compromise between cruising flights at high supersonic speeds and at subsonic speeds. The wing design is close to the Tu-144. It is envisaged to widely use composites in the structure of the wing, fuselage, tail, and engine nacelles, which should ensure a reduction in airframe weight by 25-30%. As on the Tu-144, the vertical tail has a two-section rudder and is structurally similar to the wing. The fuselage consists of a pressurized cabin, a nose and a tail compartment. For the selected passenger capacity of 250-320 people, a fuselage with a width of 3.9 m and a height of 4.1 m was optimal. The Tu-244 abandoned the deflectable nose of the fuselage. The glazing of the cockpit provides the necessary visibility in flight, and during takeoff and landing conditions the required visibility is provided by an optical-electronic vision system. The increase in the weight of the aircraft required a change in the landing gear layout, unlike the Tu-144, on the Tu-244 the landing gear consists of one front and three main struts, of which the outer ones have three-axle bogies and are retracted into the wing, and the middle strut has a bi-axial bogie and is retracted into the fuselage . The take-off thrust of each engine is determined to be 25,000 kgf, but the type is not yet completely clear: both DIC and conventional dual-circuit turbojet engines with an ejector nozzle, which provides noise absorption during takeoff and landing, are being considered. Systems and equipment of the Tu-244 should be developed taking into account the experience of the Tu-160 and Tu-204.
In an effort to ensure a flexible approach to the SPS-2 problem, during the work on the project, the OKB prepared several possible Tu-244 projects, differing in mass, dimensions, passenger capacity and minor differences in layout and design. One of the latest versions of the Tu-244, proposed by the OKB, is an aircraft with a take-off weight of 300 tons, a wing area of ​​965 m2, four turbofan engines with a take-off thrust of 25,500 kgf each and a passenger capacity of 254 people. The estimated practical range of supersonic flight with a normal commercial load is 7500 km.
Russia’s significant contribution to the development of SPS-2 was the creation of the Tu-144LL “Moscow” flying laboratory on the basis of the serial Tu-144D. Work on the Tu-144LL was carried out within the framework of international cooperation with the United States, with active funding from the Americans.
Information about the aircraft was presented at the Paris Air Show in June 1993. Estimated delivery date. into operation - 2025. The potential market is estimated at more than 100 aircraft.
project history

The layout of the Tu-244 aircraft is aimed at ensuring high aerodynamic quality both at supersonic cruising and at takeoff and landing modes to reduce noise levels, as well as creating increased comfort for passengers.
The Tu-244 WING has a trapezoidal shape in plan with an influx, has a complex deformation of the middle surface and a variable profile along the span. Pitch and roll control, as well as balancing, are provided by ailerons. The leading edge is equipped with mechanization such as deflectable toes. If on the Tu-144 aerodynamic quality of 8.1 was actually achieved at M = 2, then on the Tu-244 it was planned to achieve a lift quality of 10 at M = 2 and 15 at M = 0.9.
Structurally, the wing is divided into a middle wing, passing through the fuselage, consoles and the front part. A multi-spar and multi-rib power design was adopted for the middle part and consoles and a ribless one for the front part of the wing, as on the Tu-144.
It is advisable to use a high-strength titanium alloy of the VT-6Ch type as a structural material for the most loaded caisson of the middle part of the wing and consoles. For the relatively lightly loaded front part of the wing, for mechanization and non-power elements, aluminum alloys and composite materials are being studied. The widespread use of composite materials, for example graphite-epoxy, in the structure of the wing, empennage, engine nacelles, fuselage, according to our and foreign experts, can ensure a reduction in airframe weight by 25-30% by the year 2000.
The wing contains fuel caisson tanks and niches for cleaning the main landing gear.
The VERTICAL TERRAIN has a two-section rudder and is structurally similar to a wing.
The fuselage consists of a pressurized cabin, nose and tail compartments. The choice of the optimal fuselage diameter depends on passenger capacity. For the number of passengers 250-320, the optimal fuselage is 3.9 meters wide, in which passenger seats are arranged in a 3+3 abreast pattern in tourist and business classes and 2+2 in first class. The height of 4.1 meters allows you to equip a convenient trunk under the floor of the passenger compartment with loading containers of international standard. The Tu-204 aircraft has a similar fuselage section. The pressurized cabin will be made of aluminum alloys, the bow and tail compartments will be made of composites.
The plane does not have a deflectable nose, like the Tu-144. There is no ordinary cockpit “canopy” either. The glazing of the cockpit provides the necessary visibility during flight, and during takeoff, landing and movement on the ground, the required visibility of the runway is provided by an optical-electronic vision system that operates in all weather conditions.
The landing gear consists of a front strut and three main ones, of which the outer ones have three-axle bogies and are retracted into the wing, and the middle strut has a two-axle bogie and is retracted into the fuselage. The prototype of the nose support is the strut of the Tu-144 aircraft. The scheme with three main supports was chosen based on the conditions for ensuring the specified loads on the concrete of the runway.
Flight and navigation equipment had to provide landing in accordance with ICAO category IIIA.

• Description
• Developer OKB im. A.N.Tupoleva
• Designation Tu-244
• Type Supersonic passenger aircraft
• 1999 version
• Number of passengers 300 254
• Passenger accommodation (number / seat pitch, mm) Class I 20 / 1050
• II class 108 / 960
• Tourist class 108 + 65 / 870
• Geometric and mass characteristics
• Aircraft length, m 88.7 88.0
• Wing span, m 54.77 45.0
• Aircraft height, m ​​15.0
• Wing area, m2 1200 965
• Wing extension 2.5
• Wing sweep along the leading edge center section 75o
• console 35o
• Fuselage width, m 3.9 3.9
• Fuselage height, m ​​4.1
• Luggage compartment volume, m3 32
• Take-off weight (maximum), kg 350000 300000
• Aircraft weight without fuel, kg 172000
• Fuel weight, kg 178,000 150,000
• Power point
• Number of engines 4 4
• Engine type DTRD DTRD or DIC
• Engine thrust, kgf 4x 33,000 4x 25,000
• Flight data
• Cruising speed, M= 2.05 2.0
• Practical flight range, km 9200 7500
• Flight altitude, m 18000-20000 18000-20000
• Required runway length, m 3000

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Many Western experts saw Tu 144 only a copy of the English-French Concorde, but the Soviet airliner is heavier, much more powerful and faster. The aircraft, manufactured in the Soviet Union, was superior in a number of technical aspects to similar developments that were still at the design stage in the West.

The history of the creation of the Tu 144 aircraft

It was not commercial considerations or the experience of international airlines, but the vast expanses of the Soviet Union that became the rationale for the emergence of Tu 144. It has been calculated that each flight creates an average time savings of 24.9 hours, which is important for passengers such as doctors, scientists and military officers. Only supersonic airliners could increase this saving to 36 hours. This provided the basis for the production of 75 aircraft.

The order was entrusted to the OKB department, which was headed by A.A. Tupolev in July 1963. At OKB N.D. Kuznetsov developed a new NK-144 engine, made of high-strength materials that can withstand high temperatures and equipped with an afterburner chamber with an adjustable nozzle.

At the Mikoyan Design Bureau at the base MiG-21 built A-144- flying analogue Tu-144, the wing of which is a smaller copy of the wing of a supersonic airliner. Test flights on an analogue confirmed that the new vehicle can do without horizontal tail surfaces.

On the last day of 1968, accompanied by an analogue aircraft A-144 the first prototype flew for the first time Tu-144- much earlier than Concorde. The crew is test pilot E. Elyan and right pilot M. Kozlov, engineer Yu. Seliverstov and head of flight tests V. Benderov.

On June 5, 1969, the speed M=1 was exceeded. At the end of May 1970, they reached speed M=2 at an altitude of 16,300 m.

Finally, the car reached a speed of M=2.4 with a calculated cruising speed of M=2.35 (2500 km/h). Of course, this prototype is far from a passenger car, since the interior of the cabin was filled with testing equipment, and the crew members sat in ejection seats under shootable hatches.

After the demonstration Tu-144 at Sheremetyevo on May 21, 1970, nothing was heard about this project until the appearance of the first production aircraft in 1973. To the surprise of many, the plane was almost completely rebuilt.

Description of the design of the Tu 144 aircraft

Aerodynamic design Tu-144- this is a low-wing aircraft without horizontal tail, the fin with a rudder was located along the axis of the aircraft, engines were installed below the wing, the landing gear was two main struts with four wheels and one two-wheeled front one.

The new wing had leading edges formed by two straight lines, with trapezoidal tips, in addition, it received a pronounced twist and curvature with curved leading and trailing edges, especially at the tips. Wing area expanded to 438 m 2 . The elevons with a redesigned control system were extended to the tips and modified.

Titanium alloys were used in large quantities in the wing design, the areas of honeycomb cladding and stiffening elements were increased, and there were more welds instead of rivets. The fuselage was lengthened by 6.3 m.

The power plant was completely reconstructed, the left and right engine nacelles (two engines each) were moved apart. The air intakes were redone, changing their profile. The engines were moved to the rear of the vehicle, so that the nozzles protruded beyond the wing edge.

The front landing gear was lengthened and moved 9.6 m to the nose, retracting forward into an unpressurized niche. The main landing gear was converted into eight-wheeled trolleys, attached to trusses in the engine nacelles and retracted forward with a rotation of 90 0 between the air intake ducts.

A completely new and most noticeable element was the addition of a retractable PGO (fore horizontal tail) for high lift. This folding wing was attached to the top of the fuselage behind the cockpit.

The main volume of fuel is located in the wing caissons, and in the rear part of the hull there is a balancing tank, used to pump fuel into it from other tanks to eliminate a strong alignment shift during the transition from subsonic speed to supersonic and vice versa.

U Tu-144 a characteristic difference is the glazed lowered nose of the body, providing pilots with visibility at high angles of attack during the takeoff and landing regime, which is typical for a low aspect ratio wing. This lowering part does not in any way violate the tightness of the crew compartment, but the interface with the fuselage skin is made in such a way that the smoothness of the joint is preserved.

The cockpit accommodated three crew members, two pilots in front, and a flight engineer slightly behind them. The on-board computer and autopilot maintained the specified flight parameters, the display showed the location of the aircraft and the rest of the route to the arrival point. Automation brought the plane onto the landing glide path in difficult weather conditions, day and night.

The three cabins of the liner could easily accommodate 150 passengers. There was a luggage compartment at the tail of the plane, the passage between the seats was free, and was 1.93 meters high.

Flight characteristics of the Tu 144 aircraft

• Wing span – 28.8 m.
• The length of the aircraft is 64.45 m.
• The height of the aircraft is 12.5 m.
• Wing area – 506.35 m 2 .
• The empty weight of the aircraft (150 pax version) is 99.2 tons.
• Maximum take-off weight – 207 tons.
• Supersonic cruising speed is 2120 km/h.
• Range with commercial load: 7 tons (70 passengers) – 6200 km.

11 – 13 t. (110 – 130 passengers) – 5500 – 5700 km.

15 tons (150 passengers) – 5330 km.

Interesting facts about the Tu 144 aircraft

An interesting solution for Tu-144– this is the use of the front horizontal tail in takeoff and landing modes. The release of the PGO and the part of the hull deflected in front made it possible to reduce the landing speed to normal.

At engines Tu144 there was no reverse - this was compensated by powerful chassis cooling fans and a braking parachute.

Two sad facts: on June 3, 1973, at an air show in France, there was a dangerous collision between a plane and a Mirage fighter. Having performed a collision avoidance maneuver too quickly, Tu-144 fell on residential areas. The crew members were killed and 8 people in the city with them, 25 residents were injured.

During the next tests on May 23, 1978, a fire occurred in the fuel supply system. The pilots had to land on the first available field, two crew members were pinned by fragments of the aircraft structure and could not be saved, the remaining six people remained alive, the plane was completely burned out.

Tu-144 became the first passenger airliner to reach supersonic speed.

Fatal flaw Tu-144 There was a constant noise in the passenger compartment while the air conditioning system was cooling at supersonic speed.

High top speed Tu-144 unlike "Concord", was a compelling factor for its use as NASA's flying laboratory.

Video: Tu 144 take off

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 flaps, 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 tremendous 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 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 made, 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), and 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) to exceed 3500 km. In order to improve the aerodynamic characteristics in the 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” one. Compared to the “044”, the wing area increased, a more intense conical twist of the wing ends 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 the optimization of flight deformations of the wing in this mode, the length of the fuselage was increased to accommodate 150 passengers, the shape of the nose was improved, which also had a positive effect on the 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. Improvements to the design, 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 testing began, 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 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 “draw” 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 dirt, 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 a decrease in government interest in the project. 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.

The successes in the creation of supersonic combat aircraft, including the heavy class, in the 50s created a favorable environment for studying the possibility of creating a supersonic passenger aircraft (SPS). The history of the emergence of the first ATP projects goes back to the first post-war years, when several hypothetical projects were proposed in the USA and Great Britain, which in their technical solutions were very far from practical implementation. In the second half of the 50s, first experimental and then serial supersonic heavy military aircraft appeared on both sides of the Iron Curtain, and almost immediately, on their basis, the world's leading aviation companies prepared SPS projects of various aerodynamic and layout designs. A detailed analysis and further development of the proposed SPS projects based on the first supersonic bombers showed that creating an effective competitive SPS by modifying a military prototype is an extremely difficult task (in contrast to the process of creating the first jet passenger aircraft based on subsonic heavy combat aircraft).

The first supersonic heavy combat aircraft, in their design solutions, mainly met the requirements of a relatively short-term supersonic flight. For the SPS, it was necessary to ensure long-term cruising flight at speeds corresponding to at least M = 2, plus the specifics of the task of transporting passengers required a significant increase in the reliability of all elements of the aircraft structure, subject to more intensive operation, taking into account the increase in the duration of flights in supersonic modes. Gradually, analyzing all possible options for technical solutions, aviation experts, both in the USSR and in the West, came to the firm opinion that a cost-effective ATP must be designed as a fundamentally new type of aircraft.

Andrei Nikolaevich decided to entrust the design of the Tu-144 to Department “K”, which had previously dealt with unmanned vehicles and had sufficient experience in mastering long-term flight at speeds exceeding M=2 (attack unmanned aircraft Tu-121, unmanned reconnaissance aircraft - serial Tu-123 and experienced Tu-139). Andrei Nikolaevich appointed A.A. Tupolev as the chief designer and head of work on the Tu-144. It was under his leadership, with the involvement of the best forces of domestic aviation science and technology, that the ideology and future appearance of the Tu-144 was born in Department “K”. Subsequently, after the death of A.N. Tupolev and the appointment of A.A. Tupolev as the head of the enterprise, the Tu-144 project was led by Yu.N. Popov and B.A. Gantsevsky. Soon the Tu-144 becomes one of the main and priority topics in the activities of the Design Bureau and the entire MAP for the next 10 years.

The aerodynamic appearance of the Tu-144 was determined mainly by obtaining a long flight range in supersonic cruising mode, subject to obtaining the required stability and controllability characteristics and specified take-off and landing characteristics. Based on the promised specific costs of the NK-144, at the initial design stage the task was set to achieve Kmax = 7 in supersonic cruising flight mode. For overall economic, technological, and weight considerations, the cruising flight Mach number was taken to be 2.2. During the development of the aerodynamic configuration of the Tu-144 at the Design Bureau and TsAGI, several dozen possible options were considered. A “normal” design with horizontal tail surfaces in the rear fuselage was studied, but it was abandoned, since such tail surfaces contributed up to 20% to the overall drag balance of the aircraft. They also abandoned the canard design, having assessed the problem of the influence of the destabilizer on the main wing. Finally, based on the conditions for obtaining the required aerodynamic quality and obtaining minimal focus spreads at subsonic and supersonic speeds, we settled on a low-wing design - “tailless” with a composite triangular wing of an ogive shape (the wing was formed by two triangular surfaces with a sweep angle along the leading edge of 78° - for the front influx parts and 55° for the rear base part), with four turbofan engines located under the wing, with a vertical tail located along the longitudinal axis of the aircraft, and a three-legged retractable landing gear.

The airframe's design mainly used traditional aluminum alloys. The wing was formed from symmetrical profiles and had a complex twist in two directions: longitudinal and transverse. This achieved the best flow around the wing surface in supersonic mode, in addition, such a twist helped to improve the longitudinal balancing in this mode. Elevons were located along the entire trailing edge of the wing, consisting of four sections on each half-wing. The wing structure is multi-spar, with a powerful working skin made of solid plates made of aluminum alloys; the central part of the wing and elevons were made of titanium alloys. The elevon sections were driven by two irreversible boosters. The rudder was also deflected using irreversible boosters and consisted of two sections independent of each other. The aerodynamic shape of the fuselage was selected from the conditions for obtaining minimal drag in supersonic mode. To achieve this, they even went to some extent to complicate the design of the aircraft.

A characteristic feature of the Tu-144 was the lowering, well-glazed nose of the fuselage in front of the pilot's cabin, which provided good visibility at high takeoff and landing angles of attack inherent in an aircraft with a low aspect ratio wing. The lowering and raising of the forward part of the fuselage was carried out using a hydraulic drive. When designing the deviating unsealed part and its units, it was possible to maintain the smoothness of the skin at the junction of the moving part with the sealed cabin and the rest of the fuselage surface. The shape of the engine nacelles was determined mainly by layout considerations and reliability conditions of the power plant. Four NK-144 DTRDFs were placed close to each other under the wing. Each engine had its own air intake, and two adjacent air intakes were combined into a common block. The underwing air intakes are flat with a horizontal wedge. Flow deceleration at supersonic flight speeds was carried out in three oblique shock waves, a direct closing shock and a subsonic diffuser. The operation of each air intake was ensured by an automatic control system, which changed the position of the wedge panels and the bypass flap depending on the operating mode of the NK-144 engine. The length of the engine nacelles was determined by the size of the engines and the requirements of TsAGI and CIAM to ensure the required length of the air intake channels for normal operation of the engines. It should be noted that in contrast to the design of the air intakes and engines of the Concorde, where this process proceeded as a single whole, the design of the NK-144 and engine nacelles with air intakes proceeded as two largely independent processes, which led to some extent to the oversizing of the engine nacelles and subsequently to many mutual inconsistencies in the operation of engines and the air intake system.

It was planned, as on the Concorde, to introduce a landing braking system by reversing the engines; the reverse was planned to be installed on the two outer engines (the reverse system was not completed, as a result, the experimental and production vehicles were operated with a braking parachute). The main landing gear was retracted into the wing, the nose gear was retracted into the front part of the fuselage into the space between the two air intake blocks. The low construction height of the wing required a reduction in the size of the wheels; as a result, a twelve-wheeled trolley with wheels of a relatively small diameter was used in the main landing gear. The main fuel supply was located in the wing caisson tanks. The forward wing caisson tanks and the additional keel tank served to balance the aircraft. The main work on the selection of the optimal aerodynamic design of the Tu-144 in the OKB was headed by G.A. Cheremukhin, the optimization of the power plant for the project was dealt with by a division headed by V.M. Bul. On the Tu-144, many fundamental solutions of the remote control system were actually applied, in In particular, the steering units for driving the aircraft controls processed signals from the system for improving stability and controllability along the longitudinal and track channels. In some modes, this measure made it possible to fly during static instability.

The choice of the ideology of the Tu-144 control system is largely the merit of G.F. Naboishchikov. L.M. Rodnyansky, who had previously worked on control systems at the Design Bureau of P.O. Sukhoi and V.M. Myasishchev, made a great contribution to the creation and development of this fundamentally new control system, and in the early 60s did a lot to refine the very “ raw" Tu-22 control system. The cockpit was designed taking into account the requirements of modern ergonomics; it was designed for four people: the two front seats were occupied by the first and second pilot, behind them was the flight engineer, the fourth seat on the first prototype was intended for the experimental engineer. In the future, it was planned to limit the crew to three pilots. The decoration and layout of the Tu-144 passenger cabin met international requirements for modern design and comfort; the latest finishing materials were used in their finishing. The flight and navigation equipment of the Tu-144 was equipped with the most advanced systems that domestic avionics could provide at that time: a perfect autopilot and an on-board electronic computer automatically maintained the course; pilots could see on a screen located on the instrument panel where the plane was currently located and how many kilometers were left to their destination; landing approach was carried out automatically at any time of the day in difficult weather conditions, etc. - all this was a serious leap forward for our aviation.

Construction of the first prototype Tu-144 (“044”) began in 1965, while a second prototype was being built for static testing. The experimental “044” was initially designed for 98 passengers, later this figure was increased to 120. Accordingly, the estimated take-off weight increased from 130 tons to 150 tons. The prototype machine was built in Moscow in the workshops of the MMZ "Experience", some of the units were manufactured at its branches. In 1967, the assembly of the main elements of the aircraft was completed. At the end of 1967, the experimental “044” was transported to ZhLI and DB, where throughout 1968, finishing work was carried out and the vehicle was equipped with missing systems and units.

At the same time, flights of an analogue of the MiG-21I (A-144, “21-11”), created on the basis of the MiG-21S fighter, began at the LII airfield. An analogue was created at the A.I. Mikoyan Design Bureau and had a wing geometrically and aerodynamically similar to the wing of the experimental “044”. A total of two “21-11” aircraft were built; many test pilots flew on them, including those who were to test the Tu-144, in particular E.V. Elyan. The analogue aircraft successfully flew at speeds of 2500 km/h, and the materials from these flights served as the basis for the final adjustment of the Tu-144 wing, and also allowed test pilots to prepare for the behavior of an aircraft with such a wing.

At the end of 1968, the experimental “044” (tail number 68001) was ready for its first flight. A crew was assigned to the vehicle, consisting of: the ship's commander, Honored Test Pilot E.V.E-lyan (who later received the Hero of the Soviet Union for the Tu-144); second pilot - Honored Test Pilot Hero of the Soviet Union M.V. Kozlov; leading test engineer V.N. Benderov and flight engineer Yu.T. Seliverstov. Considering the novelty and unusual nature of the new car, the OKB made an extraordinary decision: for the first time, they decided to install ejection crew seats on an experimental passenger car. During the month, engine races, runs, and final ground checks of the systems were carried out. From the beginning of the third ten days of December 1968, “044” was in pre-launch readiness, the vehicle and crew were fully prepared for the first flight, during all these ten days there was no weather over the LII airfield and the experienced Tu-144 remained on the ground. Finally, on the last day of the year 1968, 25 seconds after the start, “044” first took off from the runway of the LII airfield and quickly gained altitude. The first flight lasted 37 minutes, during the flight the car was accompanied by an analogue aircraft “21-11”.

A supersonic passenger aircraft and it was an aircraft built in the USSR, the first Concorde would take flight only on March 2, 1969. It has been proven in practice that heavy tailless aircraft have citizenship rights in the USSR (before this flight, everything was limited to a large number of heavy tailless aircraft). On June 5, 1969, an experimental aircraft exceeded supersonic speed for the first time at an altitude of 11,000 m; by May 1970, the aircraft was flying at speeds M = 1.25-1.6 at altitudes up to 15,000 m. On November 12, 1970, “044” flew in an hour-long flight half an hour at a speed exceeding 2000 km/h, at an altitude of 16960 m, a maximum speed of 2430 km/h was reached. During testing, the prototype flew repeatedly outside the USSR; in May-June 1971, “044” took part in the salon in Le Bourget , where she first “met” the Anglo-French Concorde. The “044” was powered by experimental NK-144 engines with a specific fuel consumption in supersonic cruising mode of 2.23 kg/kgf/hour; with such specific consumption during testing, the Tu-144 managed to reach a supersonic flight range of 2920 km, which was significantly less than the required range . In addition, during the tests we encountered some design flaws: during flights, increased vibration and heating of the rear fuselage from the quad engine package were observed; even titanium structures did not help. Having completed the test flight program “044” (about 150 flights in total), it remained in one prototype. No more was required of her; she accomplished her task of proving the technical feasibility of creating a supersonic passenger aircraft in the USSR. It was necessary to move forward, improving the design of the aircraft and engines.

Work on the development of the basic design of the 044 aircraft 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 Tu-144. 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 Tu-144 version with RD-36-51 was made in 1969. At the same time, at the proposal of MAP-MGA, a decision is made, before the creation of the RD-36-51 and their installation on the Tu-144, on the construction of six Tu-144 with NK-144A with reduced specific fuel consumption. The design of the serial Tu-144 with NK-144A was supposed to be significantly modernized, significant changes to be made in the aerodynamics of the aircraft, 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 transition in series to RD-36-51.

Construction of the pre-production modernized Tu-144 (“004”) aircraft began at MMZ “Experience” in 1968. According to calculated data with NK-144 engines (Cp = 2.01), the estimated supersonic range should have been 3275 km, and with NK-144A (Cp = 1.91) it should have exceeded 3500 km. In order to improve the aerodynamic characteristics of the aircraft in cruising mode M = 2.2, the wing planform was changed (the sweep of the inflow part along the leading edge was reduced to 76 degrees, and the base was increased to 57 degrees), the shape of the wing became closer to “Gothic”. Compared to "044", the wing area has increased, and a more intense conical twist of the wing ends has been introduced. However, the most important innovation in wing aerodynamics 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 the aerodynamics of the aircraft.

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 of the 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 wing-destabilizer retractable in flight, which extended from the fuselage during takeoff and landing modes, and made it possible to ensure the required balancing of the aircraft with the elevons-flaps deflected. Improvements to the design, an increase in the payload and fuel reserves led to an increase in the aircraft’s take-off weight, which exceeded 190 tons (for “044” - 150 tons).

Construction of the pre-production Tu-144 No. 01-1 (tail No. 77101) was completed at the beginning of 1971, and the aircraft made its first flight on June 1, 1971. According to the factory test program, the aircraft completed 231 flights, lasting 338 hours, of which 55 hours the aircraft flew at supersonic speed. This machine was used to work out complex issues of interaction between the power plant and the aircraft in various flight modes. 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 the Tu-144 series.

The first flight of serial Tu-144 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.

On June 3, 1973, the first production vehicle crashed during a demonstration flight in Le Bourget. The crew led by test pilot M.V. Kozlov was killed (in addition to M.V. Kozlov, co-pilot V.M. Molchanov, Deputy Chief Designer V.N. Benderov, flight engineer A.I. Dralin, navigator G. N. Bazhenov, engineer B.A. Pervukhin). A commission was created to investigate the disaster, in which specialists from the USSR and France took part. Based on the results of the investigation, the French noted that there was no failure in the technical part of the aircraft, and the cause of the disaster was: the presence of unfastened crew members in the cockpit, the sudden appearance of the Mirage aircraft in the field of view of the crew of the Tu-144 aircraft, the presence of a movie camera in the hands of one of the crew members , which, if dropped, could jam the control wheel. Apparently, at that moment, such a conclusion suited everyone. Perhaps E.V. Elyan spoke most succinctly and accurately about the Tu-144 crash at Le Bourget in the 90s: “This disaster is a bitter example of how a confluence of seemingly small, insignificant negligence, in this case on the part of French flight control services, led to tragic consequences."

Production of the Tu-144 with NK-144A continued in Voronezh until the beginning of 1977. A large amount of flight testing was carried out on these machines and flights with passengers began. On Tu-144 No. 02-1 (tail No. 77103), the first flight was carried out on December 13, 1973, the NPK-144 flight and navigation system and power supply system were tested, tests were carried out in aborted take-off modes, and technical flights were made throughout the cities of the USSR.

On the Tu-144 No. 02-2 (tail No. 77144), first flight on June 14, 1974, studies were carried out on aerodynamics, strength, behavior at high angles of attack, the operation of aircraft systems and equipment was checked in abnormal flight situations, in 1975 the car flew in Le Bourget.

Tu-144 No. 03-1 (side number 77105) was built in 1973 and immediately converted into Tu-144D with RD-36-51A engines.

Tu-144 No. 04-1 (tail No. 77106), first flight on March 4, 1975, was used to evaluate the efficiency of the SCV, and some problems with the fuel system were solved on it. On December 26, 1975, this machine made its first operational flight on the Moscow-Alma-Ata route. By this time, in addition to MAP pilots, MGA pilots had already begun flying the Tu-144. The plane transported cargo and mail along the route; flights took place at altitudes of 18,000 m and at speeds of 2,200 km/h. Currently, Tu-144 No. 04-1 can be seen on display at the Museum in Monino.

Tu-144 No. 04-2 (tail No. 77108), first flight on December 12, 1975, development work was carried out on navigation equipment systems, on ABS-144, on the director approach system, on the autothrottle.

Tu-144 No. 05-1 (tail No. 77107), first flight on August 20, 1975, after factory tests and tests under various programs, was presented in 1977 as a complex object for joint state tests. Based on the results of these tests, it was noted that the flight performance characteristics of the aircraft, with the exception of the practical flight range with a given number of passengers, take-off weight, corresponded to the requirements specified for the Tu-144 (during testing, they obtained a practical supersonic flight range with a take-off weight of 195 tons at commercial load 15 tons 3080 km, with 7 tons - 3600 km It was emphasized that the flight range of 4000-4500 km, with a commercial load of 14-15 tons on the Tu-144 with NK-144A, cannot be realized and it was noted that obtaining the required range is possible with engines RD-36-51A.

After the completion of joint tests, MAP-MGA decides to begin passenger transportation on Tu-144 aircraft with NK-144A. Tu-144 No. 05-2 (tail No. 77109), first flight on April 29, 1976, and Tu-144 No. 06-1 (tail No. 77110), first flight on February 14, 1977, were used for regular passenger transportation along the Moscow-Moscow highway. Alma-Ata. The Tu-144 departed on its first passenger flight on November 1, 1977. Flights over a distance of 3260 km at an altitude of 16000-17000 m at a speed of 2000 km/h were carried out once a week, the number of passengers on board did not exceed 80 people. Until the end of regular passenger operation in May 1978, Aeroflot crews on the Tu-144 performed 55 flights, carrying 3,284 passengers. The Tu-144 with NK-144A became the first passenger aircraft in the USSR to receive a national airworthiness certificate for the safety of passenger transportation; other Aeroflot aircraft at that time did not have such a certificate (the exception was the Tu-134, which was certified in Poland according to English standards airworthiness).

Modification: Tu-144
Wingspan, m: 28.80
Aircraft length, m: 65.70
Aircraft height, m: 12.85
Wing area, m2: 507.00
Weight, kg
- empty plane: 91800
-normal takeoff: 150000
-maximum take-off: 195000
Engine type: 4 x NK-144A turbofan engines
Thrust, kgf
-normal: 4 x 15000
-forced: 4 x 20000
Maximum speed, km/h: 2500 (M=2.35)
Cruising speed, km/h: 2200
Practical range, km: 6500
Supersonic flight range, km: 2920
Practical ceiling, m: 18000-20000
Crew, persons: 3
Payload 150 passengers or 15,000 kg of cargo.

Tu-144 before its first flight.

Tu-144 after takeoff.

The end of the 50s, the arms race during the Cold War pushed the development of technology, and military aircraft successfully broke the sound barrier. The world rejoices: this period of time is characterized by the introduction of advanced technologies into all spheres of life. It is logical that the next step that world aviation is trying to take is the creation of supersonic passenger aircraft. They are called the future of civil aviation, and airlines are rushing to keep up with the times and placing orders for new aircraft. It was believed that the time of subsonic aircraft had passed.

The Birth of Concorde

Concorde, which translates as “concord,” is a joint “brainchild” of France and Great Britain. Initially, these countries conducted independent research in the field of creating a supersonic passenger aircraft, but it soon became obvious that for a number of reasons it was easier to join forces, which is what happened in 1961. Work on the project was coordinated and divided: part of the development was carried out by France, part by Great Britain, and the production and final assembly of the aircraft were also carried out.

Concorde's first flight took place on March 2, 1969. By that time, more than 70 pre-orders had been placed by various airlines for the supersonic aircraft. Concorde's commercial prospects looked very attractive and success was predicted for it.

Around the same time, in 1969, Boeing was introducing its new long-haul aircraft, the Boeing 747, to the market. Boeing management was quite depressed by rumors about the Concordes: they seemed to be serious competitors to the Jumbo, and they even planned to transfer the 747 to cargo flights after the launch of the Concordes on the line.

The Concorde's advertising campaign was impressive: the periodical press of that time gave supersonic aircraft a leading role in passenger transportation, parties were held in honor of the Concorde, and they participated in promotional tours. Ordinary citizens dreamed of being the first to board the Concorde as passengers.

Supersonic in the USSR

In parallel with the creation of Concorde, development of a supersonic passenger airliner was carried out in the USSR. It was developed by the Tupolev Design Bureau and made its first flight on December 31, 1968. The Tu-144 had some design features that distinguished it from the Concorde, such as the front horizontal tail, which gave it an advantage during descent and landing. 18 airports in the Soviet Union could serve the Tu-144.

However, difficulties arose with the operation of the aircraft. The Tu-144 made its first flight on December 26, 1975 along the Moscow-Alma-Ata route with postal cargo on board. Tu-144 began serving passenger flights on November 1, 1977 on the same route. There were no trained crews to service it - the role of commander was always performed by test pilots from the Tupolev Design Bureau, and Aeroflot pilots acted as co-pilots. High operating costs, including increased fuel consumption, were reflected in ticket prices. The cost of a ticket for a Tu-144 on the Moscow-Alma-Ata route was almost one and a half times higher than the regular price.

The Tu-144 ceased passenger transportation in 1978 due to low profitability; later they were used for transporting goods from Moscow to the Far East of the country, flight tests, or as a “flying laboratory”.

The end of the era of supersonic passenger aircraft

Concordes were the newest aircraft of the time, which required new design solutions and innovations that greatly increased the cost of its production and, as a result, the final cost of the aircraft. The cost of maintaining the aircraft and fuel consumption, which was significantly higher than that of subsonic passenger airliners, were greatly underestimated.

As a result of the 1973 oil crisis, world prices for oil and aviation fuel increased. In addition, since 1970, the economical and promising Jumbo Boeing 747 has been on the route. Having assessed operating costs, airlines began to recall previously placed orders for Concordes.

By that time, 14 production aircraft had been produced, 9 of which were purchased by Air France and British Airways, and then more in order to maintain the reputation of the countries that developed the Concorde. The remaining five aircraft were sold at a symbolic price of one pound sterling (or one franc for the French). The main condition for purchasing Concordes at such prices is commercial operation of the aircraft. They were also purchased by English and French airlines.

Against all odds, the Concords go on line. Almost immediately it becomes clear that their operation is unprofitable - Concordes cannot even reach self-sufficiency. They try to compensate for the high cost of tickets with a high level of service. Flights operated by supersonic aircraft are positioned as flights for businessmen and wealthy people who value time rather than money. At least charter flights bring some profit.

The main Concorde routes were flights across the Atlantic: Paris-New York (Air France), London-New York and London-Barbados (British Airways).

This is how Concordes maintained the prestige of their airlines until 2000.

Concorde disaster near Paris

On July 25, 2000, at Charles de Gaulle International Airport, an Air France Concorde was preparing to take off. It was scheduled to fly from Paris to New York with one hundred passengers and nine crew members on board.

While taking off on the runway, the Concorde ran into a titanium piece of the engine of a McDonnell Douglas DC-10 that had previously taken off, the tire of one of the landing gear burst, and a piece of rubber hit the wing of the plane. The impact damaged the fuel tank and began leaking kerosene, which immediately ignited.

Despite the fire, the crew could no longer stop the plane from taking off. The commander decided to take off; he expected to make an emergency landing at Le Bourget airport on three engines, but soon another one of them failed. The plane began to disintegrate in mid-air, and Concorde lost control.

It crashed three kilometers from the airport, in the suburbs of Paris. There was a small hotel in the affected area. Everyone on board the Concorde was killed, four people on the ground were killed, and several were injured.

This tragedy entailed irreversible consequences. Concorde flights were grounded for more than a year and their popularity plummeted. After the resumption of flights, Concorde no longer enjoyed the former loyalty of the few loyal passengers. Supersonic passenger aircraft began to cause more and more losses, and the question of removing Concordes from service was raised.

Goodbye Concorde!

In 2003, two airlines, the main operators of the Concorde, announced the cessation of its commercial operation. Concorde made its last flight on November 26, 2003. His fans, aviation enthusiasts from different countries, came to the airport to see off the plane. Since then, the Concordes have been permanently parked in various museums. They can be seen in Le Bourget at the Aerospace Museum, at Heathrow Airport in the UK, and other exhibitions.

The Soviet supersonic passenger plane Tu-144 also earned its place in the museum. Tu-144 are permanently parked in Monino, in the Air Force Museum; at the Ulyanovsk Civil Aviation Museum, etc.

Concorde and Tu-144 are the only supersonic passenger aircraft that have been operated on commercial flights. With their departure, the era of supersonic civil aviation of the last century ended.