Tupolev Tu-154

164 SEATS ■ 900km/h (580mph)

Kuznetzov NK-8-2 (3 x 9,500kg,20,9501b) ■ MTOW 90,000kg (198,4151b) ■ Normal Range 2,850km (l,770mi)

Unlikely Champion

For those interested in records, in terms of the greatest, the fastest, or the ‘mostest’, the Tupolev Tu-154 offers a fascinating exercise in statistics. The work output of the Aeroflot fleet of this type is arguably the most productive of any individual aircraft type by any individual air­line in the world, measured by the standard method of calculation, based on the annual aggre­gate output of passenger miles.

This is not to suggest that the Tu-154 is therefore the most economical aircraft of any of its contemporary rivals. But in producing the aircraft and in operating it under the Soviet condi­tions of financial and operating criteria, the Tupolev Design Bureau and Aeroflot have served their country well. For offsetting the higher seat-mile costs is the excellent performance which includes the ability to take off and land at almost any reasonable airport, even those without paved runways.

THE TRIJETS COMPARED

First

Flight

Date

First

Service

Date

Aircraft

Type

Dimensions-m(ft)

Speed

km/h

(mph)

Seats

MTOW

kg

(lb)

Normal Range km (mi)

First

Airline

No.

Built

Length

Span

9 Jan

11 Mar

DH

35

29

930

84

59,000

1,900

B. E.A.

117

1962

1964

Trident

(115)

(95)

(580)

(130,000)

(1,200)

9 Feb

1 Feb

Boeing

40

33

930

94

76,650

3,200

Eastern

572

1963

1964

727-1 GO

(133)

(108)

(580)

(169,000)

(2,000)

27 Jul

14 Dec

Boeing

47

33

970

140

94,300

2,400

Northeast

1,260

1967

1967

727-200

(153)

(108)

(605)

(208,000)

(1,500)

3 Oct

9 Feb

Tupolev

48

38

900

164

90,000

2,850

Aeroflot

1,000*

1968

1972

Tu-154

(157)

(123)

(580)

(198,415)

(1,770)

Notes:

Production continues.

Tupolev Tu-154(Right) Passengers disembark from the inaugural Tu-154 flight to Simferopol, main airport for the Crimean resort area. (Boris Vdovienko)

Supersonic Diversion

Подпись: SSSR-68001/68002 Flying prototypes (2 more airframes used for static tests). SSSR-77101/77115 Production aircraft. One painted as 77144' for display at Paris Air Show 1975. 77102 crashed at Paris, 3 June 1973. One Tu-144D crashed near Ramenskoye on 23 May 1978.
Подпись:Подпись:Tupolev Tu-154Tupolev Tu-154

Sharing The Dream

While many in the West tended to dismiss the Tupolev Tu – 144 supersonic airliner project as being a copy of the Anglo – French Concorde, with allegations of much industrial espi­onage worthy of James Bond himself, the two aircraft were developed and produced simultaneously. The Tu-144, as many have surmised, was not copied, and did not follow the Concorde. In fact, it was the first to fly, and it was the first to go into service, albeit for air cargo service only, almost as a series of proving flights before the passenger service.

The Tupolev Tu-144, with its extensive use of titanium structure, and its advanced aerodynamics, gained the respect of American engineers and designers as no other Soviet air­craft had ever done before. But the Soviet supersonic program gradually lost momentum as the engineers and operator (Aeroflot) came face to face with reality; and the dream of supersonic airline schedules across the length and breadth of the U. S.S. R. faded.

Success — and Tragedy

The Tupolev Tu-144 had its moment of glory. Test pilot E. V. Yelian made the maiden flight on 31 December 1968, a date said to have been a political imperative, to be ahead of the Concorde, which first flew two months later. Both aircraft attracted world-wide publicity but then came disaster and tragedy. At the Paris Air Show, on 3 June 1973, a Tupolev Tu – 144 disintegrated as it pulled out of a steep dive. At first thought to be structural failure, then pilot error, or a combi­nation of both, later analysis has suggested that both pilot and aircraft could have been victims of enforced program­ming changes that jeopardized a well-disciplined demonstra­tion routine. Whatever the reason, it was a shattering blow to the hopes and aspirations of the Soviet aircraft industry.

Curtailed Service Record

Nevertheless, production continued. At first wholly support­ive of the SST, Bugayev, head of Aeroflot, faced formidable problems and the operation of the revolutionary aircraft

TU-144 PRODUCTION

seemed impracticable. The engines could not be programmed to operate at full efficiency in alternating subsonic and super­sonic speeds; high fuel consumption inhibited long range operations; the sonic boom limited the operational scope; and the cabin noise level was unacceptably high.

Ultimately, the entry of the Tupolev Tu-144 into airline service was almost a token gesture. Cargo flights began from Moscow to Alma Ata on 26 December 1975; passenger flights on the same route began on 1 November 1977; and these con­tinued intermittently for only a few months before the service ended on 1 June 1978, after 102 flights. The dream had ended.

Tupolev Tu-154

(Above) The Tupolev Tu-144, nose drooped, ready to take off on the inaugural passenger service from Moscow to Alma Ata on 1 November 1977. (Boris Vdovienko)