Maximum takeoff weight Tu 154. Aviation of Russia

Aeroflot in the early 1960s decided to change the fleet of medium-haul aircraft. For the expanses of the country, a well-powered jet liner was required that could replace Tu-104, An-10 And IL-18. This is how the project came about. Tu 154- an aircraft that has served to this day.

History of creation

The design bureau of A.N. Tupolev started the project of a new aircraft in 1963. This machine was considered a continuation of Tupolev's jet liners, but with a better power-to-weight ratio and capable of accommodating at least 120 passengers, with a flight range of up to 6 thousand km.

The aircraft needed a runway length of at least 2,000 m, but at the same time, the aircraft must be operated from the ground, in a hot and high-mountain climate, and the parameters should not differ too much from Boeing 727.

Get index first Tu-104D, in 1964 the new aircraft was designated as Tu-154. The cross-sectional size of the fuselage turned out to be 3.8 m, like Tu-114 with an estimated passenger capacity of 141 people. After a long discussion, we decided to settle on a three-engine version with the placement of power plants in the tail of the car, choosing the Kuznetsov Design Bureau engine - NK-8. Gradually, the developers developed the appearance of a new medium-range aircraft.

The first prototype was made in 1966, and in early October 1968, test pilot Yu.V. Sukhov tore the car off the ground and gave it a ticket to the sky. In 1969 at an aviation exhibition in France Tu-154 was shown to the general public. In 1971, Aeroflot used pre-production cars only for postal transportation. Only in February 1972, the new liner completed its first flight, flying from Moscow to Mineralnye Vody and already in August 1972 new car committed international flight to Prague, the capital of what was then Czechoslovakia.

From 1975 to 1981, the machine was upgraded, a number of improvements made it possible to increase the maximum takeoff weight to 98 tons, this aircraft was assigned an index Tu-154B-2. In 1984, the aircraft was equipped with new economical engines and the takeoff weight was increased to 100-104 tons. In the series, these machines went under the designation Tu-154M.

Description of the aircraft Tu 154

Aerodynamic layout Tu-154- this is a glider with a low wing of constant sweep, a adjustable stabilizer is installed on the T-shaped tail, three engines are placed in the tail - two on the pylons on the sides of the body, the third with a forkeel air intake at the end.

The wing design is a three-spar caisson with a large twist center section and two detachable parts (POC). The location of the leading edge above the rear creates the appearance of a negative transverse V center section. The wing is equipped with rich mechanization, slats are located along the leading edge, three-slotted flaps and ailerons are placed at the rear, spoilers are located on the center section and the middle part of the wing.

A high degree of wing mechanization created the conditions for obtaining the required takeoff and landing speeds and made it possible to reduce the average fuel consumption at flight levels of 11-12 km.

Chassis Tu-154 made according to a three-bearing scheme, the main racks are carts with eight wheels, retractable into special wing gondolas. The two-wheeled support in the bow is controlled from the pilots' pedals, and on machines, starting from the modification Tu-154B-2 from the handle on the left console of the crew commander.

The stabilizer and slats are controlled by electric drives, spoilers and flaps are released and retracted by hydraulics. Boosters (hydraulic boosters) are involved in the control of the elevator, rudder and ailerons.

From the Tupolev family Tu-154 the first to receive the APU, from which the air conditioning and anti-icing systems work in the parking lot, after the start of the main power plants, these systems switch to work from the engines.

The passenger compartment is divided into two compartments, between them is a vestibule and a buffet-kitchen. 158 passengers were accommodated in two salons, but the designers provided the opportunity to install and remove additional seats by installing them on rails. The minimum number of seats can be made 128, and the maximum on routes of short duration it was possible to install a number of additional seats, bringing the number of passengers to 164 people.

The performance data of the aircraft Tu 154

• Wing area - 202 m2.
• The length of the aircraft is 47.9 m.
• The height of the aircraft is 11.4 m.
• Wingspan - 37.55 m.
• The weight of the unloaded aircraft is 54800 kg.
• The maximum takeoff weight is 100 tons.
• Engines - 3 D-30KU-154 turbofan engines.
• Thrust-to-weight ratio - 3 x 11000 kgf.
• The total fuel capacity is 39750 kg.
• Cruising speed - 850-900 km / h.
• Practical ceiling - 12100 m.
• Flight range - depending on the number of passengers from 3500 to 3900 km.
• The required runway length is 2500 m.
• Crew - 3 people.

Interesting facts about the Tu 154 aircraft

One of the names that Tu-154- This "Aurora" by association with the legendary cruiser. The revolutionary ship had three pipes, as well as three jet nozzles for this passenger liner.

March 19, 1973 Tu-154 missed the runway when flying to Prague, killing 66 people out of 100 flying this flight. The most famous disaster in operation Tu-154 happened on April 10, 2010. Performing a landing approach in fog, the plane carrying the President of Poland and representatives of the state crashed not far from the runway, passengers and crew were killed.

The most incredible incident happened to the flight Yakutsk - Moscow in September 2010. On Tu-154 radio communication failed, the control and navigation systems did not work, but the pilots managed to land the liner on a site that turned up in the vicinity of Izhma. The liner received minor damage, passengers and crew remained intact.

In my time Tu-154 having a cruising speed of 975 km / h, became one of the fastest medium-haul liners.

Tu-154 enjoyed great fame among the conquerors of the Arctic latitudes, flights of other liners in polar conditions were a great risk.

Video: Tu 154 landing with a super short run

Planes that have been skimming the skies for decades will inevitably retire. Such is the fate of any technology. Individual copies remain in museums, some arrange rides and bars, sometimes cinemas. Young people get acquainted with the aircraft familiar to their parents by running some kind of flight simulator game on personal computers. Tu-154 for a long time - four decades - was one of the most famous liners. Almost every Aeroflot passenger has been on board at least once (and most often - many times). Considering that in the Soviet years, most of the population of the USSR visited other cities, using by air, then the glory of the "Big Carcass" could be envied by any "star" of cinema or pop music.

Sample - "Boeing"

In the early sixties, the American concern Boeing was able to create a very good passenger liner, designed for the three leading airlines that control most of the local lines from the Gulf of Mexico to Alaska. The 727th model had an unusual layout. Jet engines were located in the rear fuselage: one inside, with an air intake in front of the horizontal tail, and two on the sides. In itself, the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe rear placement of the power plant was no longer new - it was used on the Caravelle, but two engines were enough for the French. According to Soviet designers, the Boeing 727 was the best fit for countries with large area and significant volume of domestic air traffic. It was not accepted to buy American samples in the USSR. It turned out to be easier and cheaper to create your own analogue, and make it the best. This is how the Tu-154 aircraft became.

Place in the ranks of civil aviation

It cannot be said that the Soviet middle highways were not provided technically. Excellent machines worked on them: Il-18, Tu-104 and An-10. Each of these types had their own merits. The Tu-104 had a high speed, inherited from the prototype - the Tu-16 bomber. Ilyushin was amazingly reliable. The An-10 cabin had a large width, and the upper wing arrangement guaranteed the convenience of boarding and disembarking passengers. In the mid-sixties, designers rarely thought about fuel economy, only in the aspect of practical range. An analysis of the flight performance data of the main types of airliners in operation led to the idea of ​​replacing them with a single model that combines all their positive features. Unification had another plus: simplified Maintenance, repair, preventive maintenance and training of pilots. Thus, the Tu-154, already at the stage of conceptual design, was an exclusively civilian aircraft with high operational and flight characteristics.

Differences and benefits

It can be argued that the general layout scheme (monocoque fuselage, low swept wing, power plant site and T-tail) was borrowed from the Boeing 727, but this is where the similarity with the ideological prototype ends. The Tu-154 aircraft has unique technical solutions in the field of designing the most important structural elements - from a highly mechanized wing to a stabilizer equipped with a three-position tilt system relative to the horizontal. The Tupolev liner accommodates more passengers, its landing gear is retracted into gondolas placed on the wing (Boeing hides them in the fuselage). In general, the Tu-154 is a completely new aircraft built in a technically advanced country at the modern level.

high rates

In 1965, design work began, which was led by S. M. Yeger, then A. S. Shengardt and the general designer A. A. Tupolev himself joined. In less than three years, the effort culminated in the construction of six prototypes, which were soon being tested. In October 1968, the first flight took place (test pilot Yu. V. Sukhov). The following year, the Tu-154 went into production at plant number 18 (Kuibyshev). At the same time, the "Russian Boeing" was shown at the Le Bourget aerospace show. In parallel with the construction of the first copies, further tests continued, aimed at identifying shortcomings, which lasted five years. Such a high rate of design and launch into production demonstrated to the whole world the enormous capabilities of the Soviet aviation industry and engineering school.

Rough "horse"

The plane turned out to be beautiful, with excellent flight characteristics, but its control required special skills. The power plant has excess power, this decision was made consciously. In flight, after climbing, the engines run at reduced speed, which leads to a fair amount of fuel economy and reduces noise. But the "workhorse" turned out to be too frisky, and the pilot had to monitor various parameters very carefully. In combination with three positions of the horizontal tail control pitch and pitch, any carelessness could lead to unpleasant and even tragic consequences. In the future, the designers managed to automate many controls, linking them together and simplifying piloting. A flight simulator developed at the Design Bureau - a simulator of the Tu-154 aircraft, played an important role in the training of pilots, but each machine, according to experienced aviators, had its own temper.

Unique Solutions

The aircraft can be attributed immediately to two generations of passenger liners - to the second and third. The design of the airframe was ahead of its time in many ways. Part of the wing mechanization means (three-slotted flaps, a three-position controlled stabilizer, three-axle bogies of the main landing gear, some ergonomic spatial issues of the cockpit, and much more) can be considered unique technical solutions. The Tu-154, like almost all Soviet aircraft, is very reliable due to the triple redundancy of all control systems. This means that in case of failure of electric and hydraulic drives, the device can be landed in the old fashioned way, on the same cable pulls. The DC power supply system operates on four batteries placed in pairs in the bow and tail sections. Unlike other Tupolev models, the radar took the place of the navigator, and he himself moved to the common cockpit, next to the flight engineer. Its work is also facilitated: the position of the aircraft is controlled by a specially designed navigation and computing device.

Control Features

The usual perception of most people about the work of the pilot is that his hands are on the helm during the entire flight, unless, of course, the autopilot is turned on. Approximately such a situation is assumed by a computer flight simulator. The Tu-154, however, after climbing is not controlled by the steering wheel, but by two small handles located on the front panel and between the pilot's seats. This is due to the fact that excessively energetic intervention in the flight parameters at cruising speed can lead to the aircraft stalling into a flat tailspin. The turn is carried out by an additional handle, the automation of the modes is such that the liner performs the approach itself, and then the descent occurs according to the control algorithm set by the ABSU. But this is all when the flight takes place completely in the normal mode ...

The cases were different.

IN real life sometimes situations arise that cannot be modeled either by a training or a game simulator. Tu-154 has been in various alterations over the years of operation. This plane happened to collide with an American flying tanker and land with a damaged plane (Manas air base, 2006). In another case, when landing, noticing snowplows, the pilot managed to raise the car and at an angle, on one landing gear, avoid mortal danger. The episode with the landing of an airliner with a completely de-energized on-board system on an abandoned airfield became very famous (Izhma, 2010). True, even then there was a human factor. The flight engineer, not noticing that one of the four batteries was out of order, connected it to a common circuit, causing a short circuit. It was possible to save the plane and passengers thanks to the highest qualification, courage and resourcefulness of the Tu-154 pilots. The landing was tough, but there were no casualties. Unfortunately, not all incidents ended so happily.

catastrophes

There is no perfect technology, plane crashes happen from time to time. Tu-154 in terms of accident rate has relatively good performance. The same "Boeing-727" for the period from the beginning of operation to 1984, 114 units were lost.

During the years of production (1968-2013), the plant in Kuibyshev (Samara) built 926 copies of various modifications (there were 22 in total), of which one and a half hundred were purchased by foreign air carriers. Of these, due to various flight accidents, 73 cars were lost, which resulted in the death of more than three thousand people. In most cases, Tu-154 crashes were caused by piloting errors and ground handling deficiencies. The largest number of victims (two hundred) was recorded when the liner collided with the ground in the Uchkuduk region on July 10, 1985. The reason, according to the conclusion of the commission, was the overload of the aircraft and the high air temperature, combined with crew fatigue. On March 8, 1988, board number 85413 burned down during an attempted hijacking (Ovechkin family). Two aircraft were destroyed by anti-aircraft missiles (in 1993, Sukhumi, and in 2001 over the Black Sea). The Ukrainian side did not admit the blame for the downed Tu-154.

There are few left

Today, this machine, so famous and recognizable in the past four decades, can be seen in the sky less and less. It is known that, as of the beginning of 2014, the world fleet of Tu-154s consisted of only eight dozen copies. Thus, the probability of becoming a passenger of the "big Carcass" is becoming less and less, but even today it is not equal to zero. Several Russian airlines continue to operate aircraft whose resource has not yet been exhausted. One hundred copies are mothballed in flying condition.

The level of comfort of this liner is quite within modern ideas, especially considering that the duration of flights rarely exceeds an hour and a half.

Flight Conditions and Safety - Information for Probable Passengers

Ceiling over 11 thousand m allows you not to worry about " air pockets". Salons two. The arrangement of seats, as a rule, is two-row, three on each side of the aisle. There are two layout options seats. There are 164 of them in the economy class cabin, in the business class (in front of the car) there are usually fewer seats, but they are more spacious, and the tickets are, accordingly, more expensive.

There is no reason to worry about flying on "junk". This aircraft continues to be one of the most reliable in the world. At least, there were no complaints from passengers who happened to use the services of Yakutia, U'Tair or Alrosa (the last Tu-154 operators), and no one has been expressing enthusiasm for airliners for a long time.

Flight characteristics

An ordinary passenger, as a rule, is of little interest in the technical details of an airliner device; he wants to know the price of a ticket and the flight time. The speed of the Tu-154 is approximately 900-930 km/h, which means that getting to and from the airport often takes longer than, for example, flying from Moscow to St. Petersburg. All other medium-haul liners of this class fly just as fast. Passenger planes today do not overcome the sound barrier.

The fuselage is considered narrow, its diameter is 3.8 m, but this also does not affect the comfort level, as well as the ticket price. Ceiling height (in literally) - more than two meters, and even the tallest passengers can move along the aisle without bending.

The dimensions of the aircraft are considerable: its length is almost 48 meters with a wingspan of 38 m. The take-off weight is about 100 tons. Range non-stop flight- from 2650 to 3900 km, depending on the degree of congestion. The thrust of each of the three D-30KU-154 engines is 11 tons. The crew, in addition to flight attendants, consists of four people (commander, co-pilot, navigator and flight engineer). For an hour of flight, the Tu-154 burns approximately 5.5 tons of kerosene, which can be almost 40 tons in four tanks. The length of the runway required to receive ships of this type is at least 2.5 km.

Lost Opportunities

There are two main reasons why the last resting place of this outstanding and beloved - both by pilots and passengers - aircraft in the coming years will be only a game computer simulator. The Tu-154 consumes too much fuel, and its fleet is pretty worn out. Unfortunately, at a time when the modernization of the liner was quite possible (it was even successfully equipped with a power plant running on liquefied gas), the country experienced enormous difficulties associated with the collapse of the USSR. New aircraft were practically not built, and the old ones were not always operated with high quality. Today, time has been lost, it is pointless to resume production of old types. The era of a new generation of liners is coming.

Tu-154B-2 aircraft of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. On board were 92 people - musicians of the ensemble named after A.V. Alexandrov, representatives of the media and public organizations.

Tu-154 is a jet medium-haul passenger aircraft, the most massive Soviet jet airliner. Until the end of the 2000s. - one of the main aircraft on medium-range routes in Russia.

Story

The aircraft was developed in the 1960s. V design office Aviation Plant No. 156 (since 1966 - Moscow Machine-Building Plant, MMZ "Experience", since 1989 - Aviation Scientific and Technical Complex named after A.N. Tupolev, now - JSC "Tupolev" as part of the United aircraft corporation, UAC). Andrey Tupolev led the development, the chief designers were Dmitry Markov, Sergey Yeger, Alexander Shengardt, Andrey Grishin. The new aircraft was created to replace the Tu-104 medium-haul airliner. The first flight was made on October 3, 1968, a modification of the Tu-154A was mass-produced. The first regular flight of this type was carried out on February 9, 1972 on the route Moscow - Mineral water. Serial production was carried out from 1970 to 2013 at the Kuibyshev Aviation Plant (since 1996 - JSC "Aviakor - Aviation Plant", Samara).

According to OAO Tupolev, at least 930 units of various modifications were built.

Modifications

In total, there are more than ten modifications of the Tu-154, including the Tu-154LL flying laboratories for testing the Buran spacecraft, the aircraft for the Open Sky program Tu-154M-LK-1, experimental versions for operation on hydrogen and methane fuel Tu -155 and Tu-156. The last serial passenger version was the Tu-154M-100.

Flight performance

The Tu-154 was built according to the aerodynamic scheme of a cantilever low-wing aircraft with a swept wing and a T-shaped fin. It has three engines located at the rear.

• aircraft length - 47.9 m;
• wingspan - 37.55 m;
• height - 11.4 m;
• maximum takeoff weight(hereinafter - for the most massive modification of the Tu-154M) - 104 tons;
• passenger capacity - 164-175 people;
• maximum speed- 950 km / h;
• practical range - 3 thousand 900 km;
• practical ceiling - 12 thousand m;
• crew - 4 people.

Operators

As of December 2016, about 60 Tu-154 units remain in operation, most of them are used by the military departments of Russia and China. Regular passenger operation practically stopped. Several copies are listed and continue to fly with Russian airline"Alrosa", Belarusian - "Belavia", North Korean - Air Koryo.

catastrophes

In total, at least 70 Tu-154 aircraft were lost in the crashes.

crashed plane

On December 25, a Tu-154B-2 modification aircraft with serial number 0572 crashed. It was built in 1983 at the Kuibyshev Aviation Plant (age 33 in 2016) in a passenger layout. After construction, he entered the USSR Air Force with registration number USSR-85572, in 1992 he became part of the Russian Air Force. Since 1994 registration number- RA-85572. In 1994-2008 operated jointly by the Russian Air Force and the 223rd special flight detachment of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.0sau / skt.

Knowledge and experience acquired in the post-war period during the development, testing, development and operation of the first jet passenger aircraft, allowed the team of the A.N. Tupolev Design Bureau in the early 60s to begin work on the next generation medium-haul passenger aircraft. The first passenger aircraft with Tu-104 and Tu-114 gas turbine engines were born on the basis of combat aircraft Tu-16 and Tu-95, Tu-124 and its development Tu-134 in many basic technical solutions was still a successful development of the ideas laid down in the Tupolev jet passenger firstborn. In contrast to them, the program for creating a new medium-highway passenger aircraft, which received the designation Tu-154, became the first passenger aircraft for the Tupolev team, which did not even have a military prototype in its "forefathers". From the very beginning, the Tu-154 aircraft was developed according to the canons of designing a passenger car with a preliminary study of the expected needs for such an aircraft from the domestic civil air fleet and the requirements of foreign potential buyers for the next 15-20 years, until the beginning of the 80s. Initially, the aircraft project was supposed to introduce a large number of technical innovations that made it possible to build an aircraft that was significantly superior in many parameters, as well as in complex indicators, to several types of domestic passenger aircraft at once and therefore capable of replacing them all in operation. At the same time, the task was to create an aircraft an aircraft of the same class "Model-727" being designed in the USA by the Boeing company, which is not inferior in its parameters.

In the early 60s on overhead lines Aeroflot of medium length from 1500 to 3500 km, the well-proven Tu-104, Il-18 and AN-10 aircraft have firmly established themselves. Of these, the Tu-104 and its modifications had the largest cruising speed yu and provided best comfort. AN-10 had the best take-off landing characteristics. IL-18 had the greatest flight ranges and the best economic performance. The domestic civil air fleet had at its disposal three completely different passenger aircraft of the same class, which led to difficulties in ensuring the normal process of technical operation of the fleet of aircraft that were structurally significantly different from each other.

Therefore, it was during this period that the question of replacing three different types of aircraft that were operated practically on the same airlines with one was on the agenda. At the same time, a condition was put forward: the new car had to absorb best qualities of their predecessors, taking into account some of the new regulatory requirements for passenger aircraft, which just began to be introduced during the creation of the Tu-154, in particular, more stringent requirements for takeoff and landing characteristics. It was thought that the new aircraft would be created taking into account the latest achievements of domestic and world aircraft construction. Preliminary work on the aircraft took about 2 years, and in the course of preliminary projects and preliminary design, the aircraft underwent a number of changes, while maintaining the basic ideas embodied in the original project.

Work in the Design Bureau to find the most optimal shape of the future aircraft was headed by the head of the Department technical projects CM. Jaeger. The first work on the Tu-154 aircraft began back in 1963 and was originally a logical development of the Tu-104 aircraft, but with a new tail section under three engines of the NK-8 type, while maintaining the rest of the fuselage and wing of the Tu-104B (project Tu-104D). Project Tu-104D on initial stage searches for the most rational layout was used as the initial one. In 1964, an aircraft project was prepared, which already had the designation Tu-154. The layout of the aircraft was similar to the Tu-104D, but had a fuselage diameter of 3.8 m and was designed for 109 passenger seats in the layout of the first class passenger cabin and 141 seats in the economy version. A feature of the layout of the passenger cabin was the central kitchen, which divided the cabin into two salons. The forward part of the fuselage of the Tu-104 type with navigation cockpit glazing and with a ROZ-1 type radar. In order to ensure the normal operation of the central engine, the inlet part of its air intake was made at a slight positive angle to the vertical axis. At the same time, a variant of the Tu-154 aircraft was considered with a slightly modified keel shape and the location of the stabilizer and central air intake, reminiscent of those used on the Boeing 727, the bow without a navigational cockpit with a radar nose cone. This option was also worked out in several layouts of the passenger cabin, for example: mixed for 112 seats and economic for 142 seats without a central kitchen. Two variants of the power plant were considered: for three NK-8 engines and for four engines of the D-20P-125M type, with installation in the rear fuselage of the type of Il-62, VC-10 aircraft and the design bureau of the Tu-110D aircraft. In both versions, the fuselage, wing, horizontal tail, rudder and passenger cabin remained unchanged. Only the rear parts of the fuselage with engine nacelles and the keel changed.

By the middle of 1965, on the basis of a large number of preliminary projects and technical proposals, the appearance of a medium-haul passenger aircraft designed to transport 16000-18000 kg of payload over a distance of 2850-4000 km with a cruising speed of 900 km/h, 5800 kg of payload over 5800-7000 km with a cruising speed of 850 km / h, capable of being operated in the entire range of takeoff weights from airfields of the 2nd class.

On August 24, 1965, the Decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR No. 647-240 was issued, according to which the Design Bureau of A.N. Tupolev was instructed to design and build a medium-range passenger aircraft Tu-154 with three turbofan engines of the NK-8-2 type with a take-off thrust of 9500 kg each. It should be noted that a competition was announced for this project of a medium-range aircraft, in which, in addition to the Design Bureau of A.N. Tupolev, the Design Bureau of S.V. Ilyushin participated. The Ilyushin Design Bureau proposed a project for a three-engine aircraft with three D-30 engines with a take-off thrust of 6800 kg, the projects were designated Il-72 / Il-74 (Il-74 is a later project with an increased number of passengers). Below is a comparison of the proposed projects:

As a result of the competition, the Tupolev Design Bureau received an order for a new aircraft, since the Tu-154 project most fully met the requirements for operation in the 70-80s and incorporated everything advanced that was at that time in the theory and practice of domestic aircraft construction . Serial production of the aircraft was supposed to be deployed at Moscow plant No. 30 (Znamya Truda, now MAPO), but later the series was transferred to plant No. 18 (KuAZ) in Kuibyshev. On November 20-21, 1965, the tactical and technical requirements of the MGA for the Tu-154 aircraft were approved. In December 1965, a layout commission was held. While all interdepartmental linking issues were being resolved, the Design Bureau was preparing drawings for pilot production and the construction of the first prototype of the aircraft at the experimental plant MMZ "Experience" was unfolding. A feature of the requirements of the Decree and TTT was that for the first time in the practice of designing a passenger aircraft, the requirement "take-off weight" was introduced into regulatory documents. The requirements for the aircraft were as follows:

#i takeoff weight, t 77-80 #i maximum payload, t 15 #i maximum amount passenger seats 160 #i specific fuel consumption NK-8-2, kg/kg.h 0.76 #i practical flight range
at maximum payload, cruising speed of 900 km/h at an altitude of 11,000 m, with ANZ for 1 hour of flight, with a takeoff weight of 77-80 tons, km 3,500
at a payload of 15.5 t, km 4700 - 5000 #i aerodrome class 2

The first experimental aircraft was to be ready in the spring of 1967, and the first production aircraft was to be ready in the fall of that year.

The layout of the Tu-154 was decided according to the scheme of the Tu-134 aircraft with the location of the power unit in the rear fuselage. At the time, this was a widespread configuration adopted by many aviation firms, and the Tu-154 was no exception. Aerodynamic alignment, selection of wing profiles, combined with high thrust-to-weight ratio, made it possible to achieve the highest cruising speed compared to other passenger cars of a similar type - up to 950 km / h while providing good performance stability and control over the entire range of speeds and flight altitudes.

The creators of the aircraft were faced with the task of combining maximum efficiency with maximum flight safety. From the point of view of efficiency, the twin-engine scheme was the most preferable, and according to the requirements adopted in those years of the concept, it was believed that the four-engine scheme was the safest, for the Tu-154 an intermediate three-engine scheme was chosen: two engines on the sides in the tail section on pylons and one - inside the rear fuselage with an air intake in the fork and S-shaped channel. The design of the Tu-154 aircraft was distinguished from most contemporary passenger aircraft by the chosen high thrust-to-weight ratio - 0.35-0.36 (0.22-0.27 - for most aircraft). The situation with the choice of this parameter is undeniable: on the one hand, this can lead to a decrease in the efficiency of the aircraft, but on the other hand, an excess of thrust guarantees the operation of the aircraft at airports with a runway length of 1500-1800 m and at airports located in high mountains and areas with a hot climate. Unlike the Western counterpart Boeing-727, the Tu-154 was optimized for flights at cruising altitudes of 11000-12000 m (for Boeing - 7600-9150), for this a wing was adopted relatively large area 180 m 2 (for Boeing - 145 m 2). The combination of both parameters made it possible, as a result, to obtain the minimum cruising fuel consumption of the aircraft.

TO design features of the Tu-154 aircraft design can be attributed to: #i three-engine scheme, with the transfer of engine thrust in cruising flight to a reduced flight mode (0.7-0.75 nominal), which should have a positive effect on the resource indicators of the power plant; #i a high degree of wing mechanization (slats, three-section flaps and spoilers), which made it possible to obtain not only moderate takeoff and landing speeds, but also gave ample opportunities for vertical maneuver, which, in turn, provided satisfactory performance in terms of noise on the ground ; #i on the Tu-154 aircraft, for the first time in domestic practice, for a passenger car, the principle of multiple redundancy of all major systems was implemented, which was the key to high security flight and allowed the design of systems on the principle of safe failure; #i for the first time in the practice of domestic passenger aircraft construction, and even more so in the practice of the Design Bureau, irreversible boosters were used on all steering surfaces; #i for the Tu-154, the main chassis with a three-axle bogie was developed, which made it possible to reduce the load on the airfield plate to 17000-19000 kg (unlike the Boeing-727-200A, which has a similar indicator of 31000-33000 kg) and improve braking and acceleration characteristics of the aircraft; #i Tu-154 became the first aircraft of the Design Bureau, on which an auxiliary power point, which ensured the autonomy of the aircraft on the ground; #i for the first time in the practice of the Design Bureau on the Tu-154, a primary alternating current system of a stable frequency was introduced with the provision of parallel operation of all main generators, which significantly increased the reliability of the electrical system and improved its performance; #i for the first time in the practice of the Design Bureau on the Tu-154 aircraft, engine thrust reverse was used, which made it possible to significantly improve the landing characteristics of the aircraft; #i on the Tu-154 aircraft, the automated on-board system BSU-154 (ABSU-154) was introduced, which made it possible to automate the piloting process in almost all flight modes, up to landing (initially, according to the requirements for the 1st category of ICAO, and then during modernization of the aircraft on the 2nd); #i aircraft Tu-154 became one of the first aircraft in the practice of the Design Bureau, in which the principles of integration of on-board equipment were partially applied.

In the course of designing, the Design Bureau relied on a wide range of use of the aircraft. The passenger cabin of the Tu-154 was divided by a buffet-kitchen and the middle vestibule into two salons - front and rear. In the basic version of the layout, the Design Bureau proposed to accommodate 158 passengers in both cabins, six in a row with a seat pitch of 0.75 m. up to 0.81 - 0.9 m, which made it possible to accommodate 158, 146 and 134 passengers in a short time, depending on the class. In the front cabin, 54 tourist class seats could be replaced with 24 first class seats in the form of double blocks instead of triple ones, then total number passengers on the plane decreased to 128 people. On short lines with a flight time of no more than two hours, 164 passengers were to be accommodated by reducing the size of the buffet-kitchen and installing an additional six seats. During the cold season, eight tourist-class seats were to be removed in the rear of the passenger cabin and one more wardrobe for 80-82 coats was equipped, in addition to small wardrobes located in the lobbies at each of the two entrance doors to the aircraft. In addition to the layouts considered, options for 110, 122 and a cabin version with an increased level of comfort and intended for special passenger transportation were proposed.

The creators of the Tu-154 paid Special attention comfort. Elegant decoration of passenger compartments, thoughtful layout of seats, automatic system air pressure regulation and a special microclimate satisfied the most demanding passenger.

Already during the design and construction of the first prototype aircraft, the Design Bureau considered a cargo version of the Tu-154 aircraft, designed to transport 25000 kg over a distance of 2000-2500 km with a cruising speed of 900 km/h. fuselage length for 240-250 passenger seats and a non-stop flight range of 2000-2500 km. During the design, it was proposed to prepare three main versions of the aircraft: Tu-154A, Tu-154D and Tu-154B. Tu-154A - the main serial version; Tu-154D - long-range variant with reduced payload, increased fuel capacity and increased wingspan; Tu-154B is an aircraft with an increased passenger capacity and payload due to an additional section inserted into the fuselage.

In 1968, the first two Tu-154 aircraft were built in pilot production: one for flight tests (tail number 85000, factory KX1), the second for static tests. The first machine in the second half of 1968 was transferred to the ZhLI and DB for flight tests. The second aircraft underwent static tests at the Design Bureau's static test laboratory from November 1968 to May 1971, in parallel with flight tests. The first flight of the prototype Tu-154 took place on October 3, 1968; the car was lifted into the air by a crew consisting of the commander of the ship Yu.V. Sukhov, co-pilot N.N. Kharitonov, flight engineer V.I. Evdokimov. On board were also the lead test engineer L.A. Yumashev, experimenter Yu.G. Efimov and flight electrician Yu.G. Kuzmenko. After the fine-tuning stage and the first flights, the aircraft was transferred to the Joint Tests, which were carried out in two stages. The first stage practically corresponded to the factory tests and was carried out by the MMZ "Experience" at the LII airfield. The first stage of testing began in December 1968 and ended in January 1971, the second stage, corresponding to the State tests, from June to December 1971. Testing everyday life began, with its joys and constant worries. At different times, the Tu-154 aircraft was tested by crews led by test pilots: S.T. Agapov, V.P. Borisov, I.K. Vedernikov, B.I. Veremey, E.A. Goryunov, N. E.Kulchitsky, V.M.Matveev, A.I.Talalakin, V.I.Shkatov.

Simultaneously with the start of testing the Tu-154, the preparation and deployment of serial production of the aircraft at KuAZ was going on (the aircraft was put into series at KuAZ in 1968. Previously, for this, the design bureau had to rework the serial technology and make the necessary changes to the design that corresponded to the specifics and organization of production of KuAZ (originally The Tu-154 was supposed to be mass-produced at the Znamya Truda plant in Moscow, but due to the heavy workload of the plant with the production of MiG-21 fighters and the development of the first MiG-23, the Tu-154 series was transferred to Kuibyshev). and as the first production aircraft, the first of which began to fly in 1970, and which actually became pre-production aircraft and took part in joint tests.However, despite serious difficulties, KuAZ produced the lead batch in a relatively short period of time and finalized it in accordance with the results of State and operational tests.

In addition to testing under the main Joint Testing Program, Tu-154 aircraft performed flights under the Special Flight Testing Program. Two cars No. 85001 and 85002 flew at high angles of attack, and the 85002 board was equipped with an anti-spin parachute and crew rescue equipment. During the tests, the aircraft were constantly improved: the flap control system was changed, the ABSU-154 system was improved, etc. On other machines, the power plant, aircraft systems and equipment were brought.

All work on the creation and development of the Tu-154 aircraft at the first stage was headed by Chief Designer D.S. Markov, and then by S.M. Yeger. It was they who laid down all the main problems associated with testing and development in the aircraft series. On May 25, 1975, A.S. Shengardt was appointed the head of work on the Tu-154 aircraft, who later became the Chief Designer for this machine and its numerous modifications, who has led and still manages the entire range of work related to the improvement of the Tu-154.

During the first stage of testing in 1969, an experimental Tu-154 aircraft was demonstrated at the salon in Le Bourget.

Flight tests of the Tu-154 lasted almost 5 years. Leader aircraft No. 85000-85005 did not get into mass operation. Aircraft No. 85005 now stands at the All-Russian Exhibition Center in Moscow as an exhibition copy. It is curious that aesthetically it is absolutely not outdated, not old-fashioned.

At the end of 1970, operational tests of the first aircraft began on Aeroflot lines. Operational tests were already carried out on six production aircraft (according to No. 85013). At the same time, the retraining of crews for a new type of passenger aircraft began. The cradle of the car was Vnukovo - that legendary airline, which gave way to the sky for almost all Tupolev civil aircraft. According to order No. 531 of December 15, 1970, the acting commander of the Vnukovo Production Association (VPO) B.E. Pashokov (future Minister civil aviation USSR), pilots of the 200th flight detachment were assigned for operational tests of the Tu-154 - ship commanders V.V. Borisov, G.N. Kuzichev, B.K. Modin, Yu.M. Sekretarev. The first crews included - along with the co-pilot, navigator, flight engineer - also radio operators. Operational tests were carried out at Vnukovo until May 1971.

In May 1971, the Tu-154 began to be used to transport mail from Moscow to Tbilisi, Sochi, Simferopol and Mineralnye Vody. The liner entered the Aeroflot routes in early 1972. Tu-154 made its first regular flight Moscow - Mineralnye Vody on the day of the 49th anniversary of Aeroflot - February 9, 1972. Flight 709 was performed by the crew consisting of the ship's commander E.I.Bagmut, co-pilot A.V.Alimov, navigator V.A.Samsonov and flight engineer S.S.Serdyuk. From February 25, 1972 began regular flights on Tu-154 from Vnukovo to Simferopol. In 1973, the operation of the Tu-154 began in Novosibirsk (Tolmachevo).

Tests of the Tu-154 basically confirmed its flight characteristics, but also showed that the aircraft requires further improvement in terms of improving the reliability of some of its structural components, assemblies, improving operational manufacturability and changes in the layout of the passenger cabin. However, the main problems of the aircraft were to ensure a given resource and the introduction of an automatic approach system up to a height of 30 m. In the future, the entire development of the Tu-154 aircraft, until the appearance of the Tu-154M modification, revolved mainly around solving these problems. Modifications of the Tu-154A and several variants of the Tu-154B with NK-8-2U engines with increased thrust were successively created, in which these tasks were consistently solved as operating experience was gained and the necessary systems, assemblies and equipment were ready.

The exclusion from service of the An-10 and Tu-104 and their replacement by Tu-154 aircraft has significantly increased the level of flight safety and aviation culture in our country.

Modifications

• Tu-154 - the first serial modification of the Tu-154. The aircraft was in serial construction at KuAZ from 1968 until the end of 1974, a total of 42 aircraft were produced, the first production aircraft took off in 1970. For 1974, the serial plant, together with the Design Bureau, prepared 16 layout options for the passenger cabin, the general solutions of which became standard for all subsequent modifications (tourist version for 152 passenger seats, tourist version for 144 seats, tourist version for 158 seats, tourist version for 152 seats with additional exits and special equipment, mixed version for 126 seats, tourist version for 144 seats for foreign transportation, tourist options for 158 seats and 164 seats for Bulgaria, 128-seat mixed for Bulgaria, 158-seat tourist variant for Hungary, 134-seat mixed variant for Hungary, 124-seat mixed variant for Egypt, 120-seat mixed with deluxe cabin for Egypt, 145- and 151-seat tourist variant for Egypt, "Salon" version of Tu-154K for 235 OAO. Almost all Tu-154 aircraft produced in the late 70s were converted into Tu-154B aircraft. Several Tu-154 machines owned by the design bureau and located in the ZHLI and DB were used as the base for various improvements and the introduction of new systems and equipment (new engines NK-8-2U, ABSU-154 2 ser, new logic of the operation of controls and mechanization, etc.). etc.), becoming in fact the prototypes of modifications of the Tu-154A and Tu-154B. Of the produced Tu-154s, three were exported: one to Hungary, two to Bulgaria.
• Tu-154A is a serial modification of the Tu-154 with improved flight and operational characteristics, with NK-8-2U engines with increased take-off thrust up to 10,500 kg. Tu-154A has been produced since 1974, a total of 78 Tu-154A aircraft were built, later all Tu-154A produced were converted into Tu-154B.
• Tu-154B - the most massive modification of the Tu-154. In total, from 1975 until the end of serial production in the mid-80s, 486 aircraft were produced in three versions (Tu-154B, Tu-154B-1 and Tu-154B-2), which differed mainly in the layout of the passenger compartment and passenger capacity. On the Tu-154B, the design of the airframe elements was strengthened, the take-off weight of the aircraft was increased, and many aircraft systems and equipment were improved.
• Tu-154E - Tu-154 project for two D-30A engines, with reduced weight and dimensions. The project was considered in the Design Bureau in 1977, but did not receive further development.
• Tu-154S - 9 Tu-154 and Tu-154A aircraft converted in the early 80s into cargo aircraft(up to 20 tons of cargo) - a cargo cabin instead of a passenger cabin and a large onboard loading hatch (2.8 x 1.87 m in size).
• Tu-154T - a tanker aircraft project for Tu-22M Long-Range Aviation aircraft, the development project was not received.
• Tu-154 AWACS - a project of an AWACS aircraft based on the Tu-154 with the Shmel complex, considered under the program for creating the Tu-156 AWACS complex in the late 60s and early 70s, did not receive development.
• Tu-154M (original project designations Tu-154-160, Tu-160A, Tu-164) - further development Tu-154 on the way to further improve its performance through the introduction of new, more economical D-30KU-154 engines, improvements in the local aerodynamics of the aircraft and airframe units, as well as improving the PNO.
• Tu-154M-LL (ULO) - a flying laboratory based on the Tu-154M to study the problems of laminar flow control.
• Tu-154MD is a Tu-154M modification project with a modified PNK, increased takeoff weight, fuel capacity, improved wing aerodynamics, reduced passenger capacity and a practical flight range with a maximum payload of up to 6100 km. The development project did not receive.
• Tu-154-100 serial modification of the Tu-154M, more limited and cheaper than the Tu-154MD. Mastered in a series in Samara.
• Tu-154M2 - Tu-154M modification project for two PS-90A-154 engines. For this modification, a preliminary design was carried out in the Design Bureau, the project was not accepted.
• Tu-154M3 - Tu-154M2 variant with NK-93 engines.
• Flying laboratories under the program VKS "Buran" on the basis of the Tu-154. To train pilots, test and select the optimal automatic landing system for the Soviet aerospace ship Buran, it was necessary to create a number of flying laboratories. For these purposes, five Tu-154s of various modifications were re-equipped under the Buran program, which were actively used in the training of the Buran crews and the development of its systems. Subsequently, the Tu-154LK-1 laboratory was prepared on the basis of the Tu-154M according to the same program, with improved characteristics. The Tu-154LK-2 laboratory was in operation.
• Tu-154M "Open Skies" - Tu-154M aircraft converted under the "Open Skies" program. One of the aircraft was converted in Germany. Similar work was carried out in the Design Bureau -Tu-154-ON.
• Tu-154R - reconnaissance aircraft, China

Blueprints

Sources

#i Under the signs "ANT" and "Tu" / V. Rigmant, Aviation and Cosmonautics No. 3 2000 / #i "Workhorse". Tu-154: 30 years in the sky. / A.Vulfov, D.Kolesnik, Aviation and Cosmonautics No.? 1998/

The most popular Soviet aircraft is the medium-haul elegant Tu 154 with three engines. Pilots affectionately call it "fifty dollars", "tupolev" or "aurora". These aircraft were in great demand both in the domestic aviation market and outside the country.

Manufacturer

The aircraft was developed in the design bureau of A.N. Tupolev (under the leadership of chief designer S.M. Yeger), was produced all the time at the Kuibyshev (now Samara) aviation plant No. 18 KUAZ (now called Aviakor). The plant was originally opened in Voronezh in 1931, with the start Patriotic War in 1941, production was evacuated to Kuibyshev (now Samara), where mass production of the Tu-154 was launched.

Start date of release and modification

The first serial production began in the spring of 1970. The first pre-production aircraft marked Tu 154 carried mail from Vnukovo to Georgia, Sochi, Crimea and Minvody. Passenger Transportation new liners began in February 1972. TU104 served as a prototype. It increased the number of engines to three and placed them in the tail of the aircraft. For the first time in the Soviet aircraft industry, duplication of control and monitoring systems was used, which raised flight safety to a new level. The engines began to work on reverse thrust, which made it possible to land aircraft more confidently.

After the first flights of pre-production aircraft, many shortcomings became apparent that reduced the quality of flights. In subsequent years of operation, they were constantly modernized and improved. So, a version of the Tu-154A liner was released, later Tu-154 B. Subsequent upgrades of the Tu 154 series aircraft were designated Tu-154B-1 and Tu-154B-2 - they made it possible to increase the capacity of the aircraft to 180 people. One of the latest modifications, the Tu-154M-100, has a new interior, a GPS system and modern imported avionics.

In total, more than 9 hundred units of the Tu 154 aircraft were produced at the plant in Samara, including its various modifications:

• Tu-154B - the avionics of the liner has an electro-mechanical indication, an automated control system is installed;
• Tu-154M - with more economical engines and a satellite navigation system, was the main export model of the aircraft from the Tu-154 line;

• TU-154 C - cargo liners: equipped with a cargo door (3 * 2 meters), the seats in the cabin were removed, cargo floors with roller conveyors were installed, the carrying capacity increased to 20 tons;
• Tu-154LL - flying laboratories as part of the work on the Buran space program;
• Tu-154M-ON - devices for work under the NATO monitoring program;
• Tu-155/156 - the first aircraft in the history of aviation to fly on liquefied gas (cryogenic fuel);
• Tu-154M-100 - increased take-off weight and distance between the rows of seats, the latest satellite navigation system and meteorological radar;
• Tu-154M-LK1 ("Salon") - was intended for travel of senior government officials, had a "luxury" interior trim and increased sound insulation.

Why did they stop producing

For forty years of serial production of Tu-154 liners, its equipment has become technically and morally obsolete. IN last years the production of aircraft of this brand became small-scale and single, the assembly was made from old stocks. Since fuel economy was not the main task during the design, it turned out that the "carcass" burns several times more kerosene than similar Western aircraft with the same engine power. Due to the low efficiency of flights, airlines began to gradually abandon the Tu-154 and take them out of service. There was no demand for liners of this type, so in 2013 it was announced that the production of these legendary aircraft would be discontinued.

Capacity, range, speed, altitude

Technical characteristics and flight performance of the aircraft of the TU 154 family (the most popular modifications)

A design feature of the Tu-154 is the location of the engines in the tail section of the aircraft: one - inside the fuselage compartment, two - on the sides in special gondolas.

The Tu-154 has an aerodynamic layout typical of a cantilever low-wing aircraft, i.e. the wing is located in the lower part of the fuselage, it is swept-back, the tail has a T-shape. Turbojet engines with two circuits. Such their arrangement leads to the fact that the tail of the aircraft weighs much more than the rest of it and requires powerful landing gear to prevent the aircraft from stalling on the tail (the TU-154 has as many as 10 of them, after takeoff they are removed into separate compartment on the wing). At the same time, debris is prevented from being sucked into the engines during take-off and landing, as well as the entry of birds during flight. According to aviation experts, a car of this brand is quite difficult to manage for an ordinary mass passenger airliner.

The scheme of seats in the cabin

The Tu-154 aircraft has from 150 to 180 passenger seats. How many seats are available on this particular board depends on the model of the liner, as well as the cabin layout option (in particular, the number of classes). Salons can be of three types:

• one-class layout (166 seats in total) - only economy class seats;
• three-class layout (134 seats in total): the first 12 seats are business class; the next 18 seats - comfort class; the last 104 places are the usual economy class;
• the most massive two-class layout (131 seats in total) - the first four rows are business class, the rest are economy class.

The layout of the seats in the business class is 2, and in the economy - three, through one aisle.

Description of seats by blocks of rows

As with any aircraft, the Tu-154 had its best and worst seats. So their location in the two-class cabin of the Tu-154 is shown in the figure below.

Seats in the business class have undoubted advantages, since the seats are soft, their location is large, they are the first to be served on-board food. In addition, the chairs are arranged in pairs, which means that there is no one more neighbor. There are no cradles for children in business class, so babies will not be disturbed by passengers in these seats. Within this class, seats in the 4th row are the least comfortable, since they are located close to the on-board toilets and the partition between the classes. Smells and sounds from toilets can reach here, and passengers in a hurry to get there create additional inconvenience. In the economy class, the layout of the seats is 3 * 3. The seat located in the middle in any of these rows is less comfortable - the view from the porthole is limited, and the neighbor from the extreme row prevents you from freely entering the aisle to stretch your legs during a long flight.

Baby cradles are sometimes attached to the partition between business and economy class, so row 5 is most preferable for passengers with children. In addition, no one will kneel down the back of the chair in front, because they are not there.

The most comfortable places are considered to be in the 11th and 19th rows, located next to emergency hatches, so there is more legroom than in the rest of the rows. However, passengers with handicapped, with children and pregnant women.

The seats in the last, 28th row are less comfortable, since they are adjacent to the toilets in the tail section of the liner, and these are the sounds of drained water, slamming doors and pushing passengers who want to get into the toilet. In addition, the backs of the chairs do not recline, because they rest against the wall of the toilet room. The food for these rows is almost over, and those sitting in the last row are waiting for it the longest.

Amenity and entertainment system on board

Of the amenities on board the Tu-154 series liners, there is an air conditioning system (including directional) and individual lighting. True, the remote control is one for a block of 3 chairs.

The luggage racks are quite roomy, located above the extreme side rows. It is believed that this aircraft was not inferior in terms of comfort to analogues of the Western aviation industry of those years. Due to the outdated design and the gradual decommissioning of TU-154 liners, sockets and Wi-Fi systems are not provided.

To date, only a few dozen Tu-154s are operated on airlines in the world (they no longer fly in Russia), but, nevertheless, this airliner remains one of the most popular passenger aircraft, the "workhorse" of the Soviet aviation industry. Many serial aircraft that have worked out their resources and decommissioned from airline fleets have been cut into scrap metal, some have become exhibits in open-air aviation museums.

We can say that together with the "carcasses" an entire era in mass passenger traffic has gone.

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