Supersonic passenger aircraft. Dossier. Supersonic aircraft Tu 144 wing

The TU-144 supersonic aircraft is a pioneer among passenger airliners with hypersonic speed, designed by USSR engineers in the late 1960s of the last century. The first Soviet supersonic passenger aircraft took off on December 31, 1968. Eduard Elyan, who has the title of Honored Test Pilot, flew at his helm.

The world's first supersonic passenger aircraft, the TU-144, was built in 1971 in the city of Zhukovsky, after which its production began at the aircraft plant in Voronezh. A total of 16 airliners were created.

History of creation

Aeronautics developed rapidly in the middle of the last century. The USSR and the USA tried to overtake each other in the invention of fighters and sought to build hypersonic airliners.

Pros for airlines:

• reduction of time in the air;
• no need for intermediate landings to refuel the engine;
• possibility of transporting goods on long routes.

Soviet aviators studied the experience of their colleagues during international air shows.

In 1963, work began on a passenger airliner. The USSR Council of Ministers recommended that it meet the following requirements:

• the flight distance should reach 4-4.5 thousand kilometers;
• cruising speed of the Tu-144 is 2300-2700 kilometers per hour;
• Cabin capacity is up to 100 passengers.

This model began to be created in 1964, and in 1965 it was exhibited in Le Bourget, France. Designer Alexei Tupolev emphasized that it should take off a couple of months before Concorde, which is what happened.

The new car was built on the basis of the MiG-21.

The design of which was modified: the horizontal tail was eliminated, the length of the fuselage was reduced and the wing span was increased.

In 1971, after a test flight between large European states, experimental use of the machine by Aeroflot began. The Voronezh aircraft plant began serial production.

Designer of the Soviet supersonic passenger aircraft TU-144

The son of aircraft designer Andrei Tupolev, Alexey Tupolev - Hero of Socialist Labor, laureate of the Lenin and State Prizes, awarded three Orders of Lenin, the Order of the Red Banner of Labor and the "Badge of Honor" - since 1942 he worked in his father's design bureau, developed the TU-2, TU-16.

His biography says that in 1953, Alexey Andreevich defended his candidate’s dissertation, and in 1963, his doctoral dissertation. For the next decade, he worked as the chief designer of the Moscow machine plant "Experience" and deputy general designer of OKB A.N. Tupolev.

With the participation of A.A. Tupolev created many samples of technology.

Flight characteristics of Tu-144

TU-144 device

9 series were designed, including 1 prototype of series 0, 1 - 1, 2 test gliders of series 1 and 16 aircraft.

The airframe material is heat-resistant aluminum alloy AKCH-1 and alloys VAD-23 and OTCH-1. Portholes – with heat-resistant fluorocrylate plexiglass.

The fuselage is divided into 3 parts:

1. Nasal. It is electrically deflected by 11 degrees during takeoff and by 17 during landing. The backup drive operates from a nitrogen cylinder under a pressure of 150 kg/sq.m. cm.
2. Central. It has a cabin that forms a sealed compartment with the bow and is divided into 3 salons. In the right row there are blocks of 3 seats, in the left - 2. In the rear part there are blocks of both 3 and 2 seats. In 1 salon there are comfortable double chairs. On the left side there are 2 doors for passengers and 4 service doors. For emergency exit to the wing there are hatches on the right and left. Some models are equipped with a lower hatch for the crew to exit.
3. Tail. There is a fuel tank and a parachute compartment.

The Tu-144 cabin is designed for 4 people, for whom anti-g suits and oxygen masks are provided.

Wing area – 503 sq. m, span - 28 m. Tail with 2-section rudder.

Each engine has an adjustable air intake; during the assembly process, the engines were modified to install one of the types - NK-144 or RD3651A (the aircraft with which later became known as TU-144D).

The fuel system consists of 8 groups of tanks. Fuel - T-6 or T-8 aviation kerosene. Tanks of 4 hydraulic systems are combined. Anti-icing is provided.

The chassis is a front support with 2 paired wheels.

Equipment components:

• power supply system;
• dashboard;
• recorders;
• radio-electronic equipment;
• auto control AVSU-144;
• navigation and flight control complex;
• electronic engine control system;
• fuel automatics.

Modifications of the passenger TU-144

Disasters on TU-144

During a flight demonstration in Le Bourget, France, on June 3, 1973, a tragedy occurred with the TU-144 aircraft, which was witnessed by 350 thousand citizens. The airliner was descending when a Mirage fighter appeared in the sky.

To avoid a collision, the commander decided to climb higher, but lost altitude. As a result of the resulting load, the right wing cracked and fell off, a fire started, and the plane crashed onto a street in the suburb of Goosenville. 6 crew members and 8 spectators on the ground were killed, and buildings were damaged.

Video of the Le Bourget disaster, 1973

5 years later, on May 23, 1978, a plane crash occurred during a test flight of a TU-144D near the city of Yegoryevsk in the Moscow region.

A fire started on board, the pilots were able to land, but 2 crew members died and the plane burned down.

This was the reason for removing the TU-144 from passenger flights.

Airplane in popular culture

The memory of beautiful aircraft is kept in museums:

• Air Force Museum in the village of Monino, Shchelkovo district, Moscow region;
• Ulyanovsk Museum of Civil Aviation;
• The Museum of Technology in Sinsheim, Germany, where the most high-quality restored exhibit is located, located next to the Concorde.

Cinematography also did not stand aside:

• the film “Mimino” (1977), where, according to the authors’ plans, the TU-144 flew to Delhi and San Francisco;
• children's film “A Drop in the Sea” (1973);
• "Incredible adventures of Italians in Russia." It was planned to show the TU-144 in the final frames, but due to the recent disaster at Le Bourget it was urgently replaced by the IL-62;
• "The Tale of the Human Heart" (1974);
• "Poem of Wings" (1979).

The TU-144D model is used in computer games, where the aircraft can be controlled virtually.

Advantages and disadvantages

To date, there are no remaining TU-144s in flying condition. Some of them can be seen as museum exhibits, the rest were dismantled or cut into non-ferrous metals in the 1990s of the 20th century.

Supersonic passenger July 14th, 2015

After they have sunk into oblivion" Concords" and Tu-144 there was no one left in the field of supersonic aviation. It is not clear whether such aircraft are not needed (unprofitable), or whether our civilization has not yet achieved such technical perfection and reliability in this direction.

Small private projects are gradually beginning to appear.

The American company Aerion Corporation from the small town of Reno, Nevada, began accepting orders for the creation of a private supersonic aircraft AS2 Aerion, which is being created with the support of Airbus

It’s not yet clear what will come of this, but here are the details...

The manufacturer says its patented laminar flow technology reduces aerodynamic drag over the wings by up to 80%, allowing the tri-engine powerplant to cover distances quickly. For example, a plane will fly from Paris to Washington in just three hours, and from Singapore to San Francisco in just six hours. Supersonic flights over US territory are prohibited, but this does not apply to flights over the ocean. The body of the aircraft is made mainly of carbon fiber and is “sewn” along the seams with a titanium alloy. Without refueling, the aircraft can fly up to 5,400 miles. The production of the first aircraft is planned for 2021.

Which supersonic aircraft projects have not been implemented in reality? Well, for example, some of the most serious ones:

Sukhoi Supersonic Business Jet (SSBJ, S-21) - a project of a supersonic business class passenger aircraft developed by the Sukhoi Design Bureau. In search of financing, Sukhoi OJSC collaborated on this project with Gulfstream Aerospace, Dassault Aviation, as well as a number of Chinese companies.

The development of the S-21 and its larger modification, the S-51, began in 1981 on the initiative of the chief designer of the Sukhoi Design Bureau at that time, Mikhail Petrovich Simonov. The project was headed by Deputy Chief Designer Mikhail Aslanovich Pogosyan.

An analysis of the commercial operation of Tu-144 and Concorde aircraft showed that with rising prices for aviation fuel, supersonic aircraft cannot compete with more economical subsonic airliners in the mass transportation segment. The number of passengers willing to significantly overpay for speed is small and is determined mainly by representatives of large businesses and senior officials. At the same time, the priority routes are airlines connecting world capitals. This determined the concept of the aircraft as intended to transport 8-10 passengers over a range of 7-10 thousand kilometers (to ensure non-stop flight between cities on the same continent and with one refueling when flying from any to any capital of the world). It was also important to reduce the flight length so that the aircraft could be accepted by all international airports in the world.

During the work on the aircraft, various layout options were studied - with 2, 3 or 4 engines. The collapse of the Soviet Union led to the cessation of government funding for the program. Sukhoi Design Bureau began searching for independent investors for the project. In particular, in the early 1990s, work was carried out in collaboration with the American company Gulfstream Aerospace - while an option with 2 English engines, designated S-21G, was being developed. However, in 1992, the American side withdrew from the project, fearing unaffordable costs. The project was suspended.

In 1993, investors for the project were found in Russia and the project was resumed. The $25 million received from investors made it possible to reach the design completion stage. Ground tests of engines were carried out, as well as tests of aircraft models in wind tunnels.

In 1999, the aircraft project was presented at the Le Bourget air show, at the same time Mikhail Petrovich Simonov stated that about 1 billion more dollars would be required to complete all work on the aircraft and begin production of serial airliners. With timely and full funding, the aircraft could have flown for the first time in 2002, and the cost per unit would have been about $50 million. The possibility of continuing collaboration on the project with the French company Dassault Aviation was considered, but the contract did not materialize.

In 2000, the Sukhoi Design Bureau tried to find investors for this project in China.

Currently, investments to complete the development and creation of aircraft have not been found. There is no mention of the aircraft in the state program “Development of the Aviation Industry for 2013 - 2025” adopted at the end of 2012.

ZEHST(short for Zero Emission HyperSonic Transport- English High-speed, zero-emission transport) is a supersonic-hypersonic passenger airliner project, implemented under the leadership of the European aerospace agency EADS.

The project was first presented on June 18, 2011 at the Le Bourget air show. According to the project, it is assumed that the aircraft will accommodate 50-100 passengers and reach a speed of up to 5029 km/h. The flight altitude should be up to 32 km.

The aircraft's jet system will consist of two turbojet engines used during takeoff and acceleration to 0.8 Mach, then rocket boosters will accelerate the aircraft to 2.5 Mach, after which two ramjet engines located under the wings will increase the speed to 4 Mach.

Tu-444- a project of a Russian supersonic passenger business aircraft developed by Tupolev OJSC. It replaced the Tu-344 project and was a competitor to the Sukhoi Design Bureau SSBJ project. There is no mention of the project in the state program “Development of the Aviation Industry for 2013-2025” adopted at the end of 2012.

The design of the Tu-444 began in the early 2000s, and in 2004 the preliminary design of the project began. The development was preceded by a calculation of the most advantageous technical characteristics for an aircraft of this class. Thus, it was found that a range of 7,500 kilometers is enough to cover the main business centers of the world, and the optimal take-off run length is 1,800 meters. The potential market was estimated at 400-700 aircraft, the first flight was scheduled to take place in 2015

However, despite the use of old developments from a number of design bureaus in the project, including Tupolev itself (for example, Tu-144, it was supposed to use AL-F-31 engines), the need for a number of technical innovations became clear, which turned out to be impossible without significant financial investments who could not be attracted. Despite the development of a preliminary design by 2008, the project stalled.

The idea of ​​Russian President Vladimir Putin, inspired by the flight of the new “White Swan”, to create a supersonic aircraft made not only the employees of the Kazan Aircraft Plant, but also many other observers think. Could a missile carrier inspire designers to create new types of supersonic aircraft?

The largest and most powerful supersonic aircraft in the history of military aviation, the Tu-160, known to many by its nickname “White Swan,” recently received a new life. For the first time in many years, the Kazan Aircraft Plant presented to the public the updated Tu-160M ​​bomber, named after the first commander-in-chief of the Russian Air Force, Pyotr Deinekin.

The first flight of the missile carrier was personally observed by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Armed Forces and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The head of state was deeply impressed by the flight of the new “White Swan” and highly appreciated the professionalism of the pilots performing the maneuver, asking them to thank the pilots even before the landing of the aircraft. The president’s emotions were not surprising, since Putin himself piloted the Tu-160 missile carrier back in 2005.

At the end of the flight, the president expressed a proposal to Kazan aircraft designers to create a version of the passenger supersonic “Swan” for civil aviation based on the new Tu-160M.

But in order to understand how realistic it is to realize Vladimir Putin’s idea, one should turn to the history of Russian aviation and remember what steps aircraft designers have already taken in this direction.

Tu-144

One of the greatest industrial successes in Russian history was the creation of the Tu-144 aircraft. It was manufactured long before the Tu-160 and became the first supersonic passenger airliner in the history of mankind. In addition, the Tu-144 to this day is one of two types of supersonic passenger aircraft known to history.

The airliner was created on the instructions of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, issued on July 19, 1963. The first supersonic passenger aircraft had serious requirements. The aircraft was supposed to be capable of flying at a cruising speed of 2,300 to 2,700 km/h over a distance of up to 4,500 kilometers, while carrying up to 100 passengers on board.

The first prototype of the aircraft was created by the Tupolev Design Bureau in 1965. Three years later, the plane took to the skies for the first time, two months ahead of its main and only competitor, the famous British-French Concorde.

The Tu-144 had a number of design features that even outwardly distinguished it from other aircraft. There were no flaps or slats on its wings: the plane slowed down thanks to the deflecting nose of the fuselage. In addition, the ancestor of modern GPS navigators was installed on the airliner - the PINO (Projection Indicator of Navigation Situation) system, which projected the necessary coordinates onto the screen from a filmstrip.

However, due to the excessive costs of operating and maintaining the airliner, the Soviet Union abandoned further production of the Tu-144. By the time production was abandoned, a total of 16 aircraft remained, two of which were later destroyed in the infamous crash at the Le Bourget International Air Show in 1973 and in the crash over Yegoryevsk in 1978. At the moment, there are only eight assembled aircraft left in the world, three of which can be fully restored and ready for further use.

SPS-2 and Tu-244

Photo: Stahlkocher / wikimedia.org

Another project that had serious expectations was the SPS-2, which was later given the promising name Tu-244 by its developer, the Tupolev Design Bureau.

The first information about work on a second-generation supersonic passenger airliner dates back to approximately 1971–1973 of the last century.

When developing the Tu-224, the designers took into account both the experience of creating and operating its predecessors - the Tu-144 and Concorde, and the Tu-160, as well as American supersonic aircraft projects.

According to the plans of the SPS-2 developers, the new airliner was supposed to lose the main “calling card” of its predecessor - the downward deflecting nose of the fuselage. In addition, the glass area of ​​the cockpit had to be reduced to a minimum sufficient for visibility. It was planned to use an optical-electronic vision system for takeoff and landing of the aircraft.

Also, the designed aircraft was supposed to rise to a height of up to 20 kilometers and accommodate about 300 passengers on board. To achieve such parameters, it was necessary to dramatically increase its size in all respects, which is what was planned to be done: with a fuselage length of almost 90 meters and a wingspan of about 50 meters, the Tu-244 would look like a giant compared to any existing analogues.

But the maximum speed of the airliner, compared to its predecessors, practically remained the same: the speed limit of the SPS-2 did not exceed 2500 km/h. In contrast, it was planned to increase the maximum flight distance to about 9,000 kilometers by reducing fuel consumption.

However, the production of such a supersonic heavyweight in the realities of the modern world turned out to be economically infeasible. Due to increased requirements for environmental standards, the costs of operating such a Tu-244 aircraft are currently prohibitive both for the aircraft manufacturer itself and for the country’s economy as a whole.

Tu-344 and Tu-444

These aircraft were developed by the Tupolev Design Bureau (later Tupolev OJSC, now Tupolev PJSC) as a response to the growing global demand for fast and small business-class aircraft. This is how various SBS projects - supersonic business aircraft - appeared.

Such aircraft were supposed to be small in size and able to carry about 10 passengers. The first SBS project from Tupolev, the Tu-344, was planned to be produced back in the 90s of the last century on the basis of the military supersonic bomber Tu-22M3. But its development turned out to be a failure in the initial stages, since for international flights the aircraft also had to meet high requirements in the field, which it did not meet already in the first stages of the project’s development. Therefore, the designer refused further work on the creation of the Tu-344.

Work on the project of its successor, the Tu-444, began in the early 2000s, its development reached the stage of the first sketches. Despite the fact that environmental problems had been resolved, the project required the attraction of large financial investments, but Tupolev was unable to find investors interested in this.

S-21 (SSBJ)

Photo: Slangcamm/ wikimedia.org

The only domestic project to create a supersonic aircraft for civil aviation, the development of which was not carried out by the Tupolev Design Bureau, was the project of the S-21 aircraft, also known as the Sukhoi Supersonic Business Jet (SSBJ).

The Sukhoi Design Bureau began work on this project in the 80s. The design bureau understood that the demand for large supersonic airliners had fallen since the days of Concorde and Tu-144 and would only decline in the future for reasons of economy. Therefore, Sukhoi designers were among the first to come up with the idea of ​​​​creating a supersonic business aircraft designed for direct flights between world capitals.

But the development of the S-21 was hindered by the collapse of the USSR, along with which government funding for the project ceased.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Sukhoi tried for many years to attract private investors to the project in Russia and abroad. The volume of incoming investments made it possible to conduct the first tests of engines for the S-21 in 1993.

But to complete the creation and start of serial production of the aircraft, according to the statement of Mikhail Simonov, the head of Sukhoi at that time, about one billion US dollars was required, but new investors for the company could not be found.

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 skies

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 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 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 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 part was increased to 57°), 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 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 the “004” and the “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 provide 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. This machine was used to work out complex issues regarding the interaction of the power plant 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 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 Av = 1.81 kg/kgf hour in cruising supersonic thrust mode 5000 kgf, Av = 1.65 kg/kgf hour in takeoff afterburner thrust mode 20,000 kgf, Av = 0.92 kg/kgf per hour in the cruising subsonic mode of thrust 3000 kgf and in the maximum afterburning mode in the transonic mode we received 11,800 kgf. A fragment of a supersonic aircraft.

Flights and tests 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:

1. 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).
2. 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).
3. 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).
4. 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 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. According to some experts, if the Concorde engines had been placed in the same way as the Tu-144, the accident on July 25, 2000 would not have occurred.

According to experts, the design of the Tu-144 airframe was ideal, but the shortcomings concerned the engines and various systems.

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 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.

Video: Tu-144 crash in 1973: how it happened

This version is given in Gene Alexander’s book “Russian Airplanes Since 1944” and in an article in Aviation Week and Space Technology magazine for June 11, 1973, written on fresh tracks. The authors believe that pilot Mikhail Kozlov landed on the wrong runway - either due to a mistake by the flight director, or due to the carelessness of the pilots. The controller noticed the error in time and warned the Soviet pilots. But instead of going around, Kozlov made a sharp turn - and found himself right in front of the French Air Force fighter. At that time, the co-pilot was filming a story about the Tu crew for French television with a movie camera and therefore was not wearing a seatbelt. During the maneuver, he fell onto the center console, and while he was returning to his place, he had already lost altitude. Kozlov sharply pulled the steering wheel towards himself - overload: the right wing could not stand it. Here is another explanation for the terrible tragedy. Kozlov received orders to get the most out of the car. Even during takeoff, at low speed, he took an almost vertical angle. For a liner with such a configuration, this is fraught with enormous overloads. As a result, one of the external nodes could not stand it and fell off.

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.

The spy version belongs to writer James Alberg. Briefly it is like this. The Soviets tried to “furnish” the Concorde. Group N.D. Kuznetsova created good engines, but they could not operate at low temperatures, unlike the Concorde ones. Then Soviet intelligence officers got involved. Penkovsky, through his agent Greville Wine, obtained part of the Concorde drawings and sent them to Moscow through an East German trade representative. British counterintelligence thus identified the leak, but instead of arresting the spy, it decided to let disinformation into Moscow through his own channels. As a result, the Tu-144 was born, very similar to the Concorde. It is difficult to establish the truth, since the “black boxes” did not clarify anything. One was found in Bourges, at the crash site, but, judging by reports, damaged. The second one was never discovered. It is believed that the “black box” of a supersonic aircraft has become a point of contention between the KGB and the GRU.

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.

What happened to the planes

A total of 16 were built - sides 68001, 77101, 77102, 77105, 77106, 77107, 77108, 77109, 77110, 77111, 77112, 77113, 77114, 77115, 77116 and 77144.

Those remaining in flying condition do not currently exist. The sides of Tu-144LL No. 77114 and TU-144D No. 77115 are almost completely complete with parts and can be restored to flight condition.

In repairable condition, TU-144LL No. 77114, which was used for NASA tests, is stored at the airfield in Zhukovsky.

TU-144D No. 77115 is also stored at the airfield in Zhukovsky. In 2007, both airliners were repainted and exhibited for public viewing at the MAKS-2007 air show.

No. 77114 and No. 77115 will most likely be installed as monuments or displayed at the airfield in Zhukovsky. In 2004-2005, some transactions were made with them to sell them for scrap metal, but protests from the aviation community led to their preservation. The danger of selling them for scrap metal has not been completely eliminated. The questions of whose ownership they will become have not been finally resolved.

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.

From left to right. Six crew members on board supersonic aircraft No. 77102: 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 (unfortunately, she did not specify who is in order). Next is the pilot-cosmonaut twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Major General Beregovoy Georgy Timofeevich, behind him on the left is Lavrov Vladimir Aleksandrovich, then the first American cosmonaut to land on the moon Neil Armstrong, then (standing behind Neil) - Stepan Gavrilovich Korneev (head of the Internal Affairs Directorate from the Department of External Relations Presidium of the Academy of Sciences), in the center Andrey Nikolaevich Tupolev - Soviet aircraft designer, academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences, Colonel General, three times Hero of Socialist Labor, Hero of Labor of the RSFSR, then Alexander Alexandrovich Arkhangelsky, chief designer of the plant, Soviet aircraft designer, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Honored Scientist and technicians of the RSFSR, Hero of Socialist Labor. Far right is Tupolev Alexey Andreevich (son of A.N. Tupolev) - Russian aircraft designer, academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences since 1984, Hero of Socialist Labor. The photo was taken in 1970. Captions on the photo of G.T. Beregovoy and Neil Armstrong.

Concord

Concorde accident.

Currently, the liner is not in operation due to the disaster on July 25, 2000. On April 10, 2003, British Airways and Air France announced their decision to cease commercial operations of their Concorde fleet. The last flights took place on October 24. Concorde's final flight took place on November 26, 2003, with G-BOAF (the last aircraft built) departing Heathrow, flying over the Bay of Biscay, passing over Bristol, and landing at Filton Airport.

Why are supersonic aircraft no longer in use?

Tupolev's supersonic aircraft is often called the "lost generation." Intercontinental flights are considered uneconomical: per hour of flight, a supersonic plane burns eight times more fuel than a regular passenger plane. For the same reason, long-distance flights to Khabarovsk and Vladivostok were not justified. It is not advisable to use the supersonic Tu as a transport airliner due to its small carrying capacity. True, passenger transportation on it nevertheless became a prestigious and profitable business for Aeroflot, although tickets were considered very expensive at that time. Even after the official closure of the project, in August 1984, the head of the Zhukovsky flight test base Klimov, the head of the design department Pukhov and deputy chief designer Popov, with the support of supersonic flight enthusiasts, restored and commissioned two airliners, and in 1985 they obtained permission to fly for setting world records. The crews of Aganov and Veremey set more than 18 world records in the class of supersonic aircraft - in speed, climb rate and flight range with cargo.

On March 16, 1996, a series of research flights of the Tu-144LL began in Zhukovsky, which marked the beginning of the development of the second generation of supersonic passenger airliners.

95-99 years. The supersonic aircraft with tail number 77114 was used by the American NASA as a flying laboratory. Received the name Tu-144LL. The main purpose is research and testing of American developments to create our own modern supersonic aircraft for passenger transportation.

On December 31, 1968, the experimental supersonic aircraft Tu-144 (tail number USSR-68001) made its first flight. The Tu-144 managed to take off two months earlier than its Anglo-French competitor, the Concorde airliner, which made its first flight on March 2, 1969.

Tu-144 is a supersonic passenger aircraft developed in the 1960s by the design bureau of Andrei Tupolev (now Tupolev OJSC, part of the United Aircraft Corporation).

Research into the development of a supersonic passenger aircraft (SPS) began in the late 1950s in the USA, England and France. In the early 1960s, the first preliminary designs of the SPS already appeared. This was the reason for the development of a similar aircraft in the USSR. On July 16, 1963, a resolution was issued by the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR “On the creation of the A.N. Tupolev Design Bureau SPS Tu-144 with four jet engines and on the construction of a batch of such aircraft.” Alexey Tupolev was appointed lead designer for the aircraft (since 1973 Boris Gantsevsky, since 1979 Valentin Bliznyuk). General management was carried out by Andrey Tupolev. The development of the engine was entrusted to the Nikolai Kuznetsov Design Bureau.

When working on the project, the developers had to face a number of complex technical problems: aerodynamics, kinetic heating, elastic and thermal deformations of the structure, new lubricants and sealing materials, new life support systems for passengers and crew. The development of the design and aerodynamics of the wing required a lot of effort (200 options were studied in the wind tunnel). The use of titanium alloys in construction required the creation of new machines and welding machines. These problems, together with the Andrei Tupolev Design Bureau, were solved by specialists from the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute (TsAGI), the Central Institute of Aviation Engine Engineering (CIAM), the Siberian Scientific Research Institute of Aviation (SibNIA) and other organizations. Since 1965, regular consultations have been held with the designers of the French company Aerospatial, which developed the Concorde SPS. During the preparation of working drawings, more than 1,000 specialists were seconded from the design bureau of Oleg Antonov and Sergei Ilyushin. When designing the aircraft, two analogue aircraft of the MiG-21I were used as a working model (now one of them is stored in the Air Force Museum in Monino).

In July 1965, the preliminary design of the Tu-144 was ready. In the same year, a model of an aircraft with a wingspan of about two meters was exhibited at the air show in Le Bourget (France). On June 22, 1966, a full-size mockup of the aircraft was approved. In parallel with the design, the experimental production of the OKB in Zhukovsky was producing two prototypes (flight and for static tests). The Voronezh and Kuibyshev aircraft factories also participated in their production.

On December 31, 1968, the crew led by test pilot Eduard Elyan took it into the air for the first time. On June 5, 1969, the prototype reached the speed of sound, and on June 26, 1970, it doubled it. For testing the Tu-144, Eduard Elyan was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Simultaneously with the flight tests, research was carried out at 80 ground stands, where all the most important design and layout solutions were worked out. With the help of these stands, for the first time in the USSR, a comprehensive system for assessing failures taking into account their consequences was developed. State tests continued until May 15, 1977. On October 29, 1977, the aircraft received an airworthiness certificate (for the first time in the USSR).

The Tu-144 was first shown at an aviation festival at Sheremetyevo Airport on May 21, 1970. In the summer of 1971, trial operation of the prototype began at Aeroflot. Flights were made from Moscow to Prague (Czechoslovakia, now the Czech Republic), Berlin (GDR, now Germany), Warsaw (Poland), Sofia (Bulgaria). In 1972, the Tu-144 was demonstrated at air shows in Hanover (Germany) and Budapest (Hungary).

The first production Tu-144 was assembled in the spring of 1971 in Zhukovsky. In 1972, production began at the Voronezh Aviation Plant. A total of 16 aircraft were built. Another one remained unfinished. Production aircraft differed from the prototype by having a fuselage length increased by 5.7 meters, a slightly modified wing shape and the presence of retractable front wings. The number of seats for passengers increased from 120 to 140. The first flight of the production aircraft took place on September 20, 1972 on the route Moscow - Tashkent - Moscow. In March 1975, the Moscow-Alma-Ata high-speed airline opened (mail and cargo were transported). On October 20, 1977, the first flight with passengers was carried out.

The Tu-144 is an all-metal low-wing aircraft designed according to the “tailless” design. The aircraft's wing is triangular, of low aspect ratio, and has a variable sweep angle (76° at the root and 57° at the ends of the wing). The wing skin is made of solid aluminum alloy plates. Along the entire trailing edge there are elevons made of titanium alloys. Elevons and rudders are deflected using irreversible boosters (an auxiliary device to increase the force and speed of the main mechanism).

The aircraft has four turbojet bypass engines with an afterburner NK-144A designed by Nikolai Kuznetsov's OKB (on the Tu-144D - non-afterburning RD-36-51A designed by Peter Kolesov's OKB-36), which are located close to each other under the wing. Each engine has its own separate air intake. The air intakes are grouped in pairs.

The main volume of fuel is located in 18 wing tanks. A balancing tank is installed at the rear of the fuselage. Fuel was pumped into it during flight to shift the center of mass during the transition from subsonic to supersonic speed.

The aircraft has a tricycle landing gear with a nose strut. The main supports have a two-axle eight-wheel bogie. All wheels are equipped with brakes. The supports are retracted forward along the flight into niches between the air intake channels.

The cockpit is integrated into the contours of the fuselage and does not have the usual protruding canopy. Therefore, the forward unsealed part of the fuselage with the radar and antenna systems tilts down during takeoff and landing, opening the cockpit windshields for visual viewing. To improve takeoff and landing characteristics, a retractable front horizontal tail was used.

To increase the reliability of operation on the aircraft, quadruple redundancy of all major systems was used. An on-board electronic computer was used to control the aircraft. The landing approach could be carried out automatically at any time of the day and in any weather. For the first time in the USSR, the Tu-144 used an automatic system for monitoring the technical condition of on-board systems, which made it possible to reduce the labor intensity of maintenance. Baggage on the plane was placed in containers in the luggage compartments.

Basic technical data of the serial SPS Tu-144D:

The length of the aircraft without PVD is 64.45 m;

Wingspan - 28.8 m;

Aircraft height - 12.5 m;

Wing area with overflow - 506.35 sq. m;

Maximum take-off weight - 207000 kg;

The empty weight of the aircraft for the 150-passenger version is 99,200 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.

Crew - 4 people.

The main disadvantages of the Tu-144 aircraft were the high cost of production and operation, increased noise, and it was not economical and consumed a large amount of fuel.

The creation and development of the Tu-144 became the largest and most complex program in the history of Soviet aircraft construction. As a result of long-term work, it was possible to create an aircraft of the highest world class, which in its basic flight performance characteristics is not inferior to the corresponding aircraft created in the West.

However, fate was unfair to the unique car. The first major failure was the crash on June 3, 1973, during a demonstration flight at the Le Bourget air show, in which 14 people were killed - six crew members and eight Frenchmen on the ground - and 25 were injured.

May 23, 1978 - an improved prototype version of the aircraft, the Tu-144D, equipped with improved engines, made an emergency landing near Yegoryevsk near Moscow due to a fire caused by the destruction of one of the fuel lines. Two of the seven crew members on board were killed.

On June 1, 1978, Aeroflot management decided to cancel Tu-144 passenger flights. In addition to the disasters, the fate of the Tu-144 was affected by its commercial unprofitability.

One of the improved Tu-144Ds was used for some time on the Moscow-Khabarovsk line to deliver urgent cargo. In total, the Tu-144 made 102 flights under the Aeroflot flag, 55 of which were passenger flights.

Until the mid-1990s, Tu-144 aircraft were used to conduct various tests, as well as to study the ozone layer of the Earth's atmosphere, solar eclipses, and focused sonic boom. Cosmonauts undergoing training under the Buran program trained on the Tu-144. In July 1983, the Tu-144D set 13 world aviation records.

From 1995 to 1999, one significantly modified Tu-144D (No. 77114) called Tu-144LL was used by the American space agency NASA for research into high-speed commercial flights in order to develop a plan for the creation of a new, modern supersonic passenger aircraft.

The experience gained during the creation of the Tu-144 was used in the development of heavy supersonic aircraft Tu-22M and Tu-160.

At the request of the Ministry of Science and by decision of the MAP, several aircraft were installed as exhibits on the territory of the Air Force Museum in Monino, the Civil Aviation Museum in Ulyanovsk, and aircraft factories in Voronezh, Kazan and Samara. One aircraft was sold to a private technology museum in Sinheim (Germany).

Several aircraft were melted down in the 1990s.

Two aircraft TU-144LL No. 77114, which was used for NASA tests, and TU-144D No. 77115 are stored at the airfield in Zhukovsky. One of them was exhibited at the MAKS air show, most recently in 2013.

The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources