Which plane flies at the speed of sound. The fastest plane in the world

19.03.2022

In the 60s, aviation circles in the USA, Great Britain, France and the USSR actively discussed projects for the creation of a passenger supersonic aircraft with a maximum speed of 2500-3000 km / h, a flight range of at least 6-8 thousand km. In November 1962, France and Great Britain signed an agreement on the joint development and construction of the Concorde (Consent).

The creators of the supersonic aircraft

“Thinking about the future of air transportation of people from one continent to another, you come to an unequivocal conclusion: supersonic airliners are undoubtedly needed, and I have no doubt that they will come into life ...”

The son of the academician, Alexei Tupolev, was appointed the lead designer of the project. More than a thousand specialists from other organizations closely cooperated with his design bureau. The creation was preceded by extensive theoretical and experimental work, including 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 machine layout. The speed of the designed liner is of fundamental importance - 2500 or 3000 km/h. The Americans, having learned that the Concorde is designed for 2500 km / h, said that they would release their passenger Boeing 2707, made of steel and titanium, only six months later. Only these materials withstood the heating of the structure in contact with the 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 long time, and Tupolev decides to build a supersonic aircraft from duralumin, based on a speed of 2500 km / h. The American Boeing project was subsequently closed altogether.

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 be the shape of the wing? We settled on a thin triangular wing with an outline of the leading edge in the form of the letter "8". The tailless scheme - inevitable with such a design of the carrier plane - made the supersonic liner stable and well controlled in all flight modes. Four engines were located under the fuselage, closer to the axis. Fuel is placed in caisson wing tanks. Balance tanks, located at the rear of the fuselage and wing bulges, are designed to change the position of the center of gravity during the transition from subsonic flight speed to supersonic. The nose was made sharp and smooth. But how in this case to provide pilots with a forward view? They found a way out - “bowing nose”. The circular section fuselage had a cockpit nose cone deflecting downward at an angle of 12 degrees during takeoff and 17 degrees during landing.

Supersonic aircraft takes to the sky

The first supersonic aircraft takes to the skies on the last day of 1968. The machine was driven by test pilot E. Yelyan. As a passenger aircraft, he was the first in the world to overcome the speed of sound in early June 1969, being at an altitude of 11 kilometers. The supersonic aircraft took the second speed of sound (2M) in the middle of 1970, being at an altitude of 16.3 kilometers. The supersonic aircraft incorporated many design and technical innovations. Here I would like to note such a decision as the front horizontal tail. When using the PGO, the flight maneuverability was improved and the speed was extinguished during the landing approach. The domestic supersonic aircraft could be operated from two dozen airports, while the French-English Concorde, having a high landing speed, could land only at a certified airport. The designers of the Tupolev Design Bureau did a tremendous job. Take, for example, field tests of the wing. They took place on a flying laboratory - the MiG-21I, specially converted 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 "044" went in two directions: the creation of a new economical non-afterburning turbojet engine of the RD-36-51 type and a significant improvement in the aerodynamics and design of a supersonic aircraft. The result of this was to meet the requirements for the range of supersonic flight. The decision of the commission of the Council of Ministers of the USSR on the variant of a supersonic aircraft with RD-36-51 was adopted in 1969. At the same time, at the suggestion of the MAP - MGA, a decision is made, until the creation of the RD-36-51 and their installation on a supersonic aircraft, to build 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, to carry out significant changes in aerodynamics, having received Kmax more than 8 in supersonic cruising mode. series on RD-36-51.

Construction of a modernized supersonic aircraft

The construction of the pre-production modernized Tu-144 ("004") began at the MMZ "Experience" in 1968. According to the calculated data with NK-144 engines (Cp = 2.01), the expected 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 М=2.2, the wing shape was changed in plan (the swept part along the leading edge was reduced to 76°, and the base one was increased to 57°), the wing shape became closer to the "Gothic". Compared to the "044", the wing area has increased, a more intense conical twist of the wing end parts has been introduced. However, the most important innovation in aerodynamics of the wing was the change in the middle part of the wing, which provided self-balancing in cruise mode with minimal loss of quality, taking into account optimization for flight deformations of the wing in this mode. The length of the fuselage was increased to accommodate 150 passengers, the shape of the bow was improved, which also had a positive effect on aerodynamics.

Unlike the "044", each pair of engines in twin 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 flow compression area, increasing the gap between the lower surface of the wing and the upper surface of the air intake - all this made it possible to more intensively use the effect of preloading the flow at the inlet to the air intakes at Kmax than it was possible to get on "044". The new layout of the engine nacelles required changes in the chassis: the main landing gear was placed under the engine nacelles, with their cleaning inside between the air channels of the engines, they switched to an eight-wheeled bogie, and the scheme for cleaning the nose landing gear also changed. An important difference between “004” and “044” was the introduction of a front multi-section destabilizer wing retractable in flight, which was extended from the fuselage in takeoff and landing modes, and made it possible to provide the required balancing with deflected elevon flaps. Design improvements, an increase in the payload and fuel supply led to an increase in take-off weight, which exceeded 190 tons (for "044" - 150 tons).

Pre-production Tu-144

The construction of the pre-production supersonic aircraft No. 01-1 (tail number 77101) was completed at the beginning of 1971, on June 1, 1971 it made its first flight. According to the factory test program, the machine completed 231 flights, lasting 338 hours, of which 55 hours flew supersonic. On this machine, complex issues were worked out - questions of the interaction of the power plant in various flight modes. On September 20, 1972, the car made a flight along the Moscow-Tashkent route, while the route was completed in 1 hour 50 minutes, cruising speed during the flight reached 2500 km / h. The pre-production machine became the basis for the deployment of mass 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.

The first flight of the serial Tu-144

The first flight of a serial supersonic aircraft No. 01-2 (tail number 77102) with NK-144A engines took place on March 20, 1972. In the series, according to the results of tests of the pre-production machine, the aerodynamics of the wing was corrected and its area was slightly increased again. The take-off weight in the series reached 195 tons. The specific fuel consumption of NK-144A by the time of operational testing of serial machines was intended to be increased to 1.65-1.67 kg / kgf hour by optimizing the engine nozzle, and later up to 1.57 kg / kgf hour, while the flight range should was to increase to 3855-4250 km and 4550 km respectively. By 1977, during testing and refinement of the Tu-144 and NK-144A series, we were actually able to achieve Cp = 1.81 kg / kgf hour in the cruising supersonic thrust mode of 5000 kgf, Cp = 1.65 kg / kgf hour in the takeoff afterburner thrust mode 20,000 kgf, Cp=0.92 kg/kgf hour in cruising subsonic thrust mode of 3000 kgf and in maximum afterburner mode in transonic mode received 11800 kgf. Fragment of a supersonic aircraft.

Flights and tests of supersonic aircraft

First stage of testing

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

Second stage of testing

In the second stage of operational testing, in accordance with the joint order of the ministers of the aviation industry and civil aviation dated September 13, 1977 No. 149-223, there was a more active connection of civil aviation facilities and services. A new testing commission was formed, headed by Deputy Minister of Civil Aviation B.D. Rough. By decision of the commission, then confirmed by a joint order of September 30 - October 5, 1977, crews were appointed to conduct operational tests:

First crew: pilots B.F. Kuznetsov (Moscow Transport Administration of the Civil Aviation), S.T. Agapov (ZhLIiDB), navigator S.P. Khramov (MTU GA), flight engineers Yu.N. Avaev (MTU GA), Yu.T. Seliverstov (ZhLIiDB), lead engineer S.P. Avakimov (ZhLIiDB).
The second crew: pilots V.P. Voronin (MGU GA), I.K. Vedernikov (ZhLIiDB), navigator A.A. Senyuk (MTU GA), flight engineers E.A. Trebuntsov (MTU GA) and V.V. Solomatin (ZhLIiDB), lead engineer V.V. Isaev (GosNIIGA).
The 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).
The 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).

Prior to the start of the tests, a lot of work was done to review all the materials received in order to use them “for offsetting” the fulfillment of specific requirements. However, despite this, some civil aviation experts insisted on the implementation of the "Program of operational tests of a supersonic aircraft", developed at GosNIIGA back in 1975 under the leadership of the lead engineer A.M. Teteryukov. This program required, in fact, the repetition of previously completed flights in the amount of 750 flights (1200 flight hours) on the MGA routes.

The total volume of operational flights and tests for both stages will amount to 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 strenuous from a technical point of view. Rhythmic work on schedule was provided without serious failures and major defects. The engineering and technical staff "had fun" assessing household equipment, preparing for passenger transportation. The flight attendants involved in the tests and the relevant specialists of the State Research Institute of Civil Aviation began to conduct ground training to work out the technology of servicing passengers in flight. The so-called. "jokes" and two technical flights with passengers. The "Raffle" was held on October 16, 1977, with a complete simulation of the ticket check-in, baggage check-in, passenger boarding, flight of real duration, passenger disembarkation, baggage check-in at the destination airport. From the "passengers" (the best employees of the Design Bureau, ZhLIiDB, GosNIIGA and other organizations) there was no end. The diet during the "flight" was at the highest level, since it was approved by the first class menu, everyone enjoyed it very much. The "draw" made it possible to clarify many important elements and details of passenger service. On October 20 and 21, 1977, two technical flights were made along the Moscow-Alma-Ata route with passengers. The first passengers were employees of many organizations who were directly involved in the creation and testing of a supersonic aircraft. Today it is even difficult to imagine the atmosphere on board: there was a sense of joy and pride, great hope for development against the backdrop of first-class service, to which technical people are absolutely not accustomed. In the first flights, all the heads of leading institutions and organizations were on board.

The road for passenger traffic is open

On the basis of the presented tables of Tu-144 compliance with the requirements of the Interim Airworthiness Standards for civilian Tu-144s of the USSR, the full amount of evidence presented, including acts on state and operational tests, on October 29, 1977, the chairman of the State Aviation Register of the USSR I.K. Mulkidzhanov approved the conclusion and signed the USSR's first airworthiness certificate type No. 03-144 for a supersonic aircraft with NK-144A engines.

The road for passenger traffic was open.

The supersonic aircraft could land and take off at 18 airports in the USSR, while Concorde, whose takeoff and landing speed was 15% faster, required a separate landing certificate for each airport. According to some experts, if the Concorde engines were placed in the same way as those of the Tu-144, then the accident on July 25, 2000 would not have happened.

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

The second serial copy of the supersonic aircraft

In June 1973, the 30th International Paris Air Show took place in France. The interest caused by the Soviet liner Tu-144, the world's first supersonic aircraft, was enormous. On June 2, thousands of visitors to the air show in the suburbs of Paris, Le Bourget, watched the second serial copy of the supersonic aircraft take to the runway. The roar of four engines, a powerful takeoff - and now the car is in the air. The sharp nose of the liner straightened and aimed at the sky. The supersonic Tu, piloted by Captain Kozlov, made its first demonstration flight over Paris: having gained the necessary height, the car went beyond the horizon, then returned and made a circle over the airfield. The flight took place in normal mode, 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 portend trouble. At first, everything went according to plan, - the audience, raising their heads, applauded in unison. The supersonic aircraft, having shown the "highest class", went down. At that moment, a French Mirage fighter appeared in the air (as it turned out later, he was filming an air show). A collision seemed inevitable. In order not to crash into the airfield and the spectators, the crew commander decided to climb higher and pulled the steering wheel towards himself. However, the height was already lost, large loads were created on the structure; as a result, the right wing cracked and fell off. A fire started there, and a few seconds later, a blazing supersonic aircraft rushed to the ground. A terrible landing occurred on one of the streets of the Parisian suburb of Goosenville. 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 an attempt by the crew of a supersonic aircraft to avoid a collision with the Mirage. When landing, the Tu got into a wake from the French Mirage fighter.

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

This version is given in Gene Alexander's book "Russian Aircraft since 1944" and in a June 11, 1973 article in Aviation Week and Space Technology magazine, written in fresh pursuit. The authors believe that pilot Mikhail Kozlov landed on the wrong runway - either by mistake of the flight director, or by the carelessness of the pilots. The controller noticed the mistake in time and warned the Soviet pilots. But instead of going to the second circle, Kozlov laid a sharp turn - and ended up right in front of the nose of the French Air Force fighter. The co-pilot at that time was filming a story about the crew of the Tu for French television with a movie camera and therefore was not wearing a seat belt. During the maneuver, he fell on the center console, and by the time he returned to his place, he had already lost height. Kozlov sharply pulled the steering wheel towards himself - overload: the right wing could not stand it. And here is another explanation for the terrible tragedy. Kozlov was ordered to squeeze the maximum out of the car. Even during takeoff, at low speed, he took almost a vertical angle. For a liner with such a configuration, this is fraught with huge overloads. As a result, one of the external nodes could not stand it and fell off.

According to A.N. Tupolev Design Bureau employees, the cause of the disaster was the connection of a poorly tuned analog control system unit, which led to a destructive overload.

The spy version belongs to the writer James Ahlberg. In short, it is. The Soviets tried to "furnish" the Concorde. Group N.D. Kuznetsova created good engines, but they could not work at low temperatures, unlike the Concorde ones. Then the Soviet intelligence officers got involved. Penkovsky, through his agent Greville Wine, obtained some of the drawings for the Concorde and sent them to Moscow through an East German trade representative. British counterintelligence thus established the leak, but instead of arresting the spy, they decided to let misinformation 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, however, judging by reports, damaged. The second was never found. There is an opinion that the "black box" of the supersonic aircraft has become the subject of contention between the KGB and the GRU.

According to the pilots, emergency situations occurred in almost every flight. On May 23, 1978, the second crash of a supersonic aircraft occurred. An improved experimental version of the liner, Tu-144D (No. 77111), after a fuel fire in the area of the engine nacelle of the 3rd power plant due to the destruction of the fuel line, smoke in the cockpit and the shutdown of two engines by the crew, committed forced landing on a field near the village of Ilyinsky Pogost, not far from the city of Yegoryevsk.

After landing, the crew commander V.D. Popov, co-pilot E.V. Elyan and navigator V.V. Vyazigin left the liner through the cockpit window. Engineers V. M. Kulesh, V. A. Isaev, V. N. Stolpovsky, who were in the cabin, left the liner through the front entrance door. Flight engineers O. A. Nikolaev and V. L. Venediktov were caught in the workplace by structures deformed during landing and died. (The deflected nose cone touched the ground first, worked like a bulldozer knife, gaining ground, and turned under the belly, entering the fuselage.) On June 1, 1978, Aeroflot permanently stopped supersonic passenger flights.

Improvement of the supersonic aircraft

The catastrophes in Paris and Yegorievsk led to the fact that the state's interest in the project 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 by "bad effects on people's health when crossing the sound barrier." Nevertheless, four of the five Tu-144Ds that were in production were nevertheless completed. Later they were based in Zhukovsky and took to the air as flying laboratories. In total, 16 supersonic aircraft were built (including long-range modifications), which made a total of 2556 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 was in Zhukovsky along with four Tu-144Ds.

Later, supersonic aircraft made only test flights and a few flights with the goal of setting world records.

On the Tu-144LL engines NK-32 were installed due to the lack of serviceable NK-144 or RD-36-51, similar to those used on the Tu-160, various sensors and test control and recording equipment.

A total of 16 Tu-144 liners were built, which made a total of 2,556 sorties and flew 4,110 hours (among them, 77144 flew the most, 432 hours). The construction of four more liners was never completed.

What happened to the planes

In total, 16 - sides 68001, 77101, 77102, 77105, 77106, 77107, 77108, 77109, 77110, 77111, 77112, 77113, 77114, 77115, 7716 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 fully equipped with parts and can be restored to flight condition.

TU-144LL No. 77114, which was used for NASA tests, is stored in a recoverable state at the airfield in Zhukovsky.

TU-144D No. 77115 is also stored at the airfield in Zhukovsky. In 2007, both liners were repainted and put on public display at the MAKS-2007 air show.

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

The photo shows the signature of the first cosmonaut who landed on the moon Neil Armstrong, pilot cosmonaut Georgy 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 onboard 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, lead engineer B.A. Pervukhin and flight engineer A.I. Next, the pilot-cosmonaut, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Major General Georgy Timofeevich Beregovoy, behind him on the left Lavrov Vladimir Alexandrovich, then the first American cosmonaut to land on the moon Neil Armstrong, then (standing behind the Nile) - Stepan Gavrilovich Korneev (head of the UVS from the department of external relations Presidium of the Academy of Sciences), in the center Tupolev Andrei Nikolaevich - 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 worker of science and technicians of the RSFSR, Hero of Socialist Labor. Tupolev Aleksey Andreyevich (son of A.N. Tupolev) on the far right is a Russian aircraft designer, academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences since 1984, Hero of Socialist Labor. The picture was taken in 1970. Signatures on the photo of G.T. Beregovoy and Neil Armstrong.

Concord

Concord 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 operation of their fleet of Conchords. The last flights took place on 24 October. The last flight of the Concorde took place on November 26, 2003, the G-BOAF (the last aircraft built) took off from Heathrow, flew over the Bay of Biscay, made a pass over Bristol, and landed at Filton Airport.

Why supersonic aircraft are no longer operated

Tupolev's supersonic aircraft is often referred to as the "lost generation". Intercontinental flights are recognized as uneconomical: in an hour of flight, a supersonic aircraft burned eight times more fuel than a conventional passenger one. For the same reason, long-distance flights to Khabarovsk and Vladivostok did not justify themselves. It is impractical to use the supersonic "Tu" as a transport liner 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 the deputy chief designer, Popov, with the support of supersonic flight enthusiasts, restored and commissioned two airliners, and in 1985 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, rate of climb and range with a load.

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

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.

Fly around the Earth in a couple of hours. It's not a myth, it's a reality if you're a passenger on a super-fast plane.

Boeing X-43

The X-43A hypersonic aircraft is the fastest aircraft in the world. The drone during testing showed fantastic results, it flew at a speed of 11,230 kilometers per hour. This is about 9.6 times faster than the speed of sound.

The X-43A was designed and built by NASA, Orbital Sciences Corporation and MicroCraft Inc. It took about ten years of research in the field of supersonic ramjet engines, which are capable of accelerating aircraft to supersonic speeds, for the record holder to be born. The project cost a quarter of a billion dollars.

The fastest plane on the planet is no different large sizes. Its wingspan is only one and a half meters, while the length is only 3.6 meters. The fastest aircraft was equipped with an experimental Supersonic Combustion Ramjet (SCRamjet) ramjet supersonic combustion engine. And its main feature is that there are no rubbing parts. Well, the fuel on which the record holder flies is a mixture of oxygen and hydrogen. The creators did not begin to allocate space for special tanks for oxygen, it is taken directly from the atmosphere. This allowed to reduce the weight of the aircraft. As a result, as a result of using oxygen with hydrogen, the engine emits ordinary water vapor.

The fastest aircraft in the world Boeing X-43 flies at a speed of 11,230 km/h

It is worth noting that the fastest aircraft in the world was developed specifically to test the latest technology, namely a hypersonic alternative to modern turbojet engines. Scientists believe that hypersonic aircraft will be able to fly to any point on Earth in just 3-4 hours.

Orbital Sciences Corporation X-34

X-34 is also the fastest aircraft. Moreover, it can develop even greater speed than the previous one, namely 12144 kilometers per hour. However, in the list of the fastest, he is still in second place. This is because in experiments he was able to develop a speed of less than 11,230 kilometers per hour. The aircraft receives acceleration with the help of a Pegasus solid-propellant rocket, which is attached to the aircraft.

For the first time, this fastest aircraft in the world was tested in the spring of 2001. And it took 7 years and 250 million dollars to create and test the Hyper-X engine. Tests of the X-34 ended in success only in the spring of 2004. Then during startup Pacific Ocean near the island of St. Nicholas, the car accelerated to 11 thousand kilometers per hour. This aircraft is more than a record holder. The length of the aircraft is 17.78 meters, the wingspan is 8.85 meters, the height is already 3.5 meters. The aircraft, although it flies quickly, has an impressive mass of 1270 kilograms. The maximum height it can reach is 75 kilometers.

North American X-15

The X-15 is already an experimental American rocket plane, it is equipped with rocket engines. The X-15 is the first and for forty years the only manned hypersonic aircraft in history to have made suborbital space flights with pilots. This aircraft's main task is to study the conditions of flight at hypersonic speeds, as well as to study the conditions for the entry into the atmosphere of winged vehicles. It is designed to evaluate new design solutions, coatings, as well as the psychophysical aspects of control in the conditions of the upper atmosphere. The concept of the project was approved in 1954. And in flight, an unofficial altitude record was recorded, which was held from 1963 until 2004. This aircraft is capable of flying at a speed of 7274 kilometers per hour.

However, despite the impressive speed, the plane weighs quite decently - more than 15 thousand kilograms. But this is taking into account the mass of fuel. When landing, the aircraft weighs half as much. The height to which the X-15 can climb is almost 110 kilometers. Well, the flight range is 543.4 kilometers.

SR-71 ("Blackbird")

SR-71 is a strategic supersonic reconnaissance aircraft air force USA. And this is the fastest aircraft, and also the highest-flying serial aircraft. It has remained so for the past 25 years. It has rather compact dimensions: length 32.76 meters, height 5.64 meters, and a wingspan of 16.95 meters. With such data, the mass of the aircraft is impressive, during takeoff it is more than 77 thousand kilograms, however, an empty aircraft weighs about 27 thousand kilograms. Well, the maximum speed with which the SR-71 is capable of flying is 3715 kilometers per hour.

MiG-25 ("Bat")

But this is the fastest jet military aircraft on the planet. It was on it that exactly 29 world records were set. Two versions of this aircraft have been developed and built: an interceptor and a reconnaissance aircraft. The length of the aircraft is 23.82 meters, the height is almost 6 meters, the wingspan is 13.95 for the reconnaissance aircraft and 14.015 for the interceptor. The maximum takeoff weight of the aircraft is 41,200 kilograms, and when landing, it is 18,800 kilograms. MiG-25 flies at a speed of 3395 kilometers per hour.

Fighter-interceptor MIG-25 - the fastest aircraft in Russia

MiG-31

This is a two-seat supersonic fighter-interceptor, which is designed for flights in all weather and is a long-range aircraft. The MiG-31 is the first Soviet 4th generation combat aircraft. It is necessary to intercept and destroy targets in the air at high, medium, low and extremely low altitudes, at night and day, in different weather conditions, with active and passive radar interference from the enemy, even false thermal targets. Four MiG-31 aircraft can control air space at 800-900 kilometers. One aircraft has a length of 21.62 meters, a height of 6.5 meters and a wingspan of 13.45 meters. A car flies at a speed of 3,000 kilometers per hour.

McDonnell-Douglas F-15 ("Eagle")

And this is an all-weather American tactical fighter of the 4th generation. He is capable of gaining air superiority. The Eagle was adopted in 1976. In total there are 22 modifications of the aircraft. F-15s were used in Persian Gulf, Yugoslavia and the Middle East. The fighter develops a maximum speed of 2650 kilometers per hour.

General Dynamics F-111 ("Aardvark" or "Pig")

F-111 is a two-seat tactical bomber. In 1996, he was withdrawn from the US Air Force. Its speed of movement is 2645 kilometers per hour.
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The exploration of the sky for many centuries was an unattainable dream for mankind. After the expanses nevertheless managed to conquer, the aircraft became more and more perfect and more enduring. A significant achievement in this field was the invention of supersonic military and passenger aircraft. One of these liners was the Tu-244, the features and characteristics of which we will consider further. Unfortunately, this project did not develop to mass production, like most similar developments. Currently, funds are being sought to resume the development of this project or similar aircraft.

Where did it all begin?

Aviation began to develop rapidly after the Second World War. Various projects of aircraft with jet engines were developed, which were supposed to replace conventional power units. An important point in the creation of supersonic airliners was not reaching the speed of sound, but overcoming this barrier, since aerodynamic laws change at such speeds.

Massively similar technologies have been used since the fifties of the last century. Among the serial modifications, domestic MiGs, American North American fighters, Delta Dagger, French Concordes and many others can be noted. In passenger aviation, the introduction of supersonic speeds has been much slower. Tu-244 is an aircraft that could not only compete in this industry, but become a world leader in it.

Development and creation

The first experimental civil aircraft capable of breaking the sound barrier appeared in the second half of the sixties of the 20th century. Since then and until now, only two models have been put into mass production: the Tu-144 and the French Concorde. Liners were typical aircraft for ultra-long flights. The operation of these machines ceased to be relevant in two thousand and three. Now supersonic airliners are not used to transport passengers.

There were attempts to create new modifications of jet civilian liners, but most of them remained under development or were closed altogether. Such long-term projects include the Tu-244 supersonic passenger aircraft.

He was supposed to replace his predecessor, have improved characteristics, borrowed from prototypes - the Concorde and some American aircraft. The project was completely taken over by the Tupolev Design Bureau, in 1973 the liner under development was named Tu-244.

purpose

The main objective of the project under development was the creation of a supersonic jet aircraft capable of safely, quickly and over long distances to transport passengers. At the same time, the device was supposed to significantly exceed conventional jet aircraft in all respects. The designers made a special bet on speed.

In other aspects, supersonic aircraft were inferior to their counterparts. First, transportation did not pay off economically. Secondly, flight safety was lower. By the way, the serial production and use of the Tu-244 predecessor in civil aviation was discontinued precisely for the second reason. Tu-144 during the first year of operation suffered several accidents that led to the death of the crew. The new project was supposed to eliminate existing shortcomings.

Tu-244 (aircraft): characteristics of the technical plan

The final model of the liner in question was to have the following performance indicators:

The crew piloting the liner includes three pilots.
Passenger capacity varied from 250 to 300 people.
Estimated cruising speed - 2175 kilometers per hour, which is twice the sound barrier.
Power plants - four motors with turbine fans.
The flight range is from seven to nine and a half thousand kilometers.
The carrying capacity is three hundred tons.
Length / height - 88 / 15 meters.
The area of a working surface - 965 sq.m. m.
Wingspan - forty-five meters.

If we compare the speed indicator, then the projected Tu-244 passenger aircraft, the history of which is quite interesting, has become a little slower than its direct competitors. However, due to this, the designers wanted to increase the capacity and increase the economic benefits of operating the machine.

Future prospects

The development of a new project, the result of which was to be a supersonic passenger aircraft Tu-244, dragged on for long years. A lot of changes and improvements were made to the design. However, even after the collapse of the USSR, the Tupolev Design Bureau continued to work in the given direction. In 1993, details of the project were even presented.

Nevertheless, the economic crisis of the nineties had a negative impact on this area. There was no official announcement of the closure of development, active actions too. The project was on the verge of freezing. Specialists from the United States are involved in the work, negotiations with which have been going on for a long time. To continue research, two liners of the one hundred and forty-fourth series were converted into flying laboratories.

What's next?

The supersonic Tu-244 (the aircraft, the photo of which is presented below) suddenly disappeared from the project documentation as an object of study. It was adopted in 2012 and assumed that the first hundred units of passenger airliners would enter service no later than 2025. Such leapfrog with the documentation caused a number of questions and rumors. In addition, several more interesting and promising developments have disappeared from this program.

Such a prospect was seen in a negative way. The facts testified that the project was frozen or completely closed. However, there has been no official confirmation or denial of this. Given the instability of the economy, one can make a lot of assumptions in a subjective configuration, but the facts speak for themselves.

Today's realities: Tu-244 (aircraft)

The history of the creation of this aircraft was announced above. And how are things now? Given all of the above, it can be assumed that the project in question is currently at least hovering in the air, if not covered at all. There is no official submission of a statement about the fate of the development, as well as the reasons for the reduction and suspension of the project. It is quite possible that the main problem lies in insufficient funding, its economic inconsistency or obsolescence. Alternatively, all three of these factors may occur together.

Not so long ago (2014), information about the possible resumption of the Tu-244 project slipped through the media. However, the official version on this issue has not yet been received. For the sake of objectivity, it is worth noting that foreign developments of passenger supersonic liners are also far from complete, many of them are closed or are under big question. I would like to believe that this grandiose machine will be built in accordance with all modern standards in the near future.

A little about the predecessor

The development of TU-144 by decision of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union began in 1969. The construction of a supersonic civil aircraft began at the MMZ "Experience". The estimated flight range of the liner should be three and a half thousand kilometers. To improve aerodynamics, the aircraft received a modified shape of the wings in plan and increased their area.

The length of the fuselage is made with the calculation of the internal accommodation of one hundred and fifty passengers. Two pairs of engines were placed under each wing. The jet aircraft made its first flight in 1971. The factory test program provided for about two hundred and thirty sorties.

Comparative characteristics

The supersonic Tu-244 is an aircraft whose dimensions are somewhat more significant than those of its predecessor. It has distinctive parameters in other tactical and technical values. For comparison, consider the performance of the Tu-144 liner:

crew - four people;
capacity - one and a half hundred passengers;
length / height - 67 / 12.5 meters;
thrust with afterburner - 17,500 kg / s;
weight limit - one hundred and eighty tons;
cruising speed is 2,200 kilometers per hour;
practical ceiling - eighteen thousand meters;
the maximum range is six and a half thousand kilometers.

The main external difference between the new aircraft (Tu-244) and its predecessor was to be a change in the design of the curved nose.

The cardinal feature of the two hundred and forty-fourth project from its prototype under the index "144" is the absence of a nose deflected down. Cabin glazing is made in the minimum equipment. Such a solution is focused on the fact that during the flight the necessary visibility will be provided, and takeoff and landing, regardless of weather conditions, is controlled by the electronic view optics unit.

It is worth noting that the current requirements of the environmental plan for civil airliners significantly impede the creation of a supersonic aircraft of this class, since its operation a priori becomes economically detrimental. Developments were undertaken to create a supersonic business class aircraft capable of breaking the supersonic barrier. However, the Tu-444 project was also suspended. Its advantages over competitors are its relative cheapness compared to the Tu-244, as well as the solution of technical issues related to environmental requirements for modern aircraft. For reference: the supersonic liner in question was presented to the general public in France (1993, air show in Le Bourget).

Finally

If all Soviet undertakings in aviation were finalized and implemented, it is quite possible that this industry would make a huge leap forward. However, economic, political and other problems significantly slow down this process. One of the brightest representatives in the world of supersonic civil aviation was to be the Tu-244 liner. Unfortunately, for a number of reasons, the project is still in development or "suspended" state. I would like to hope that there will be people who will finance the project, and this will ultimately lead to the creation of not only the fastest passenger aircraft, but also the transport of the future, characterized by efficiency, capacity and safety.

The speed of a sound wave is not a constant value, even if the sound propagation medium under consideration is air. The speed of sound at a fixed air temperature and atmospheric pressure changes with height above sea level.

As altitude increases, the speed of sound decreases. The conditional reference point of the value is the zero sea level. So, the speed with which the sound wave spreads along the water surface is 340.29 m/s, provided that the ambient temperature is 15 0 С and the atmospheric pressure is 760 mm. Hg So, aircraft flying at a speed higher than the speed of sound are called supersonic.

First achievement of supersonic speed

Aircraft are called supersonic aircraft based on their physical ability to travel at speeds higher than sound waves. In our usual kilometers per hour, this figure is roughly equal to 1200 km / h.

Even World War II aircraft with reciprocating internal combustion engines and propellers that create airflow during a dive already reached the speed mark of 1000 km / h. True, according to the stories of the pilots, at these moments the plane began to shake terribly due to strong vibration. The feeling was that the wings could simply come off the fuselage of the aircraft.

Subsequently, when creating supersonic aircraft, design engineers took into account the effect of air currents on the design of aircraft when the speed of sound was reached.

Overcoming the supersonic barrier by aircraft

When an airplane moves among air masses, it literally cuts through the air in all directions, creating a noise effect and air pressure waves diverging in all directions. When the aircraft reaches the speed of sound, there is a moment when the sound wave is not able to overtake the aircraft. Because of this, a shock wave appears in front of the frontal part of the aircraft in the form of a dense barrier of air.

The layer of air that has arisen in front of the aircraft at the moment the aircraft reaches the speed of sound creates a sharp increase in resistance, which serves as a source of changes in the stability characteristics of the aircraft.

When an airplane flies, sound waves propagate from it in all directions at the speed of sound. When the aircraft reaches a speed of M=1, that is, the speed of sound, sound waves accumulate in front of it and form a layer of compacted air. At speeds above the speed of sound, these waves form a shock wave that reaches the ground. The shock wave is perceived as a sonic boom, acoustically perceived by the human ear down on earth's surface like a dull explosion.

This effect can be constantly observed during exercises of supersonic aircraft by the civilian population in the area of flights.

Another interesting physical phenomenon in the flight of supersonic aircraft is the visual advance of aircraft of their own sound. The sound is observed with some delay behind the tail of the aircraft.

Mach number in aviation

A theory with a confirming experimental process of the formation of shock waves was demonstrated long before the first flight of a supersonic aircraft by the Austrian physicist Ernst Mach (1838 - 1916). The value expressing the ratio of the speed of an aircraft to the speed of a sound wave is called today in honor of the scientist - Mach.

As we have already mentioned in the water part, the speed of sound in air is affected by meteorological conditions such as air pressure, humidity and temperature. The temperature, depending on the height of the aircraft flight, varies from +50 on the Earth's surfaces to -50 in the stratosphere. Therefore, local weather conditions must be taken into account at different altitudes to achieve supersonic speeds.

For comparison, above zero sea level, the speed of sound is 1240 km / h, while at an altitude of more than 13 thousand km. this speed is reduced to 1060 km / h.

If we take the ratio of the speed of the aircraft to the speed of sound as M, then with a value of M> 1, it will always be supersonic speed.

Subsonic aircraft have M = 0.8. A fork of Mach values from 0.8 to 1.2 sets the transonic speed. But hypersonic aircraft have a Mach number of more than 5. Of the well-known Russian military supersonic aircraft, one can single out the SU-27 - an interceptor fighter, the Tu-22M - a missile carrier bomber. From the American known SR-71 - reconnaissance aircraft. The first supersonic aircraft in mass production was the American F-100 fighter in 1953.

Model of the space shuttle during testing in a supersonic wind tunnel. A special technique of shadow photography made it possible to capture where shock waves originate.

First supersonic aircraft

For 30 years from 1940 to 1970, the speed of aircraft increased several times. The first transonic flight was made on October 14, 1947 on an American Bell XS-1 aircraft in California over an air base.

The Bell XS-1 jet was piloted by US Air Force Captain Chuck Yige. He managed to accelerate the device to a speed of 1066 km / h. During this test, a significant slice of data was obtained to further push the development of supersonic aircraft.

Wing design for supersonic aircraft

Lift and drag increase with speed, so the wings become smaller, thinner and swept, improving streamlining.

In aircraft adapted for supersonic flight, the wings, unlike conventional subsonic aircraft, were pulled back at an acute angle, resembling an arrowhead. Externally, the wings formed a triangle in a single plane with its acute-angled top at the front of the aircraft. The triangular geometry of the wing made it possible to control the aircraft predictably at the moment of crossing the sound barrier and, as a result, to avoid vibrations.

There are models in which wings with variable geometry were used. At the time of takeoff and landing, the angle of the wing relative to the aircraft was 90 degrees, that is, perpendicular. This is necessary to create maximum lift at the moment of takeoff and landing, that is, at the moment when the speed decreases and the lift at an acute angle with unchanged geometry reaches its critical minimum. As the speed increases, the geometry of the wing changes to the most acute angle at the base of the triangle.

Aircraft-record holders

In the race for record speeds in the sky, a rocket-powered Bell-X15 aircraft achieved a record speed of 6.72 or 7200 km/h in 1967. This record could not be beaten after a long time.

And only in 2004, the NASA X-43 unmanned hypersonic aircraft, which was designed to fly at hypersonic speeds, was able to accelerate to a record 11,850 km / h as part of its third flight.

The first two flights ended unsuccessfully. To date, this is the highest figure for aircraft speed.

Supersonic vehicle testing

This Thrust SSC jet supersonic vehicle is powered by 2 aircraft engines. In 1997 he became the first land vehicle that broke the sound barrier. As in supersonic flight, there is a shock wave in front of the car.

The approach of the car is silent, because all the noise created is concentrated in the shock wave following it.

Supersonic aircraft in civil aviation

As for civilian supersonic aircraft, there are only 2 serial aircraft that perform regular flights: the Soviet TU-144 and the French Concorde. TU-144 made its debut flight in 1968. These devices were designed for long-distance transatlantic flights. Flight times were significantly reduced compared to subsonic vehicles by increasing the flight altitude to 18 km, where the aircraft used an unloaded air corridor and bypassed cloud loading.

The first civilian supersonic aircraft of the USSR TU-144 completed its flights in 1978 due to their unprofitability. The final point in the decision to refuse to operate on regular flights was made due to the crash of the prototype TU-144D during its testing. Although it is worth noting that outside of civil aviation, the TU-144 aircraft continued to be used for urgent postal and cargo delivery from Moscow to Khabarovsk until 1991.

Meanwhile, despite expensive tickets, the French supersonic aircraft Concorde continued to provide flight services for its European customers until 2003. But in the end, despite the richer social stratum of European residents, the issue of unprofitability was still inevitable.

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

Design of the supersonic aircraft Tu - 144.

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

The creators of the supersonic aircraft.

In the Soviet Union, the design bureau of academician Andrey Tupolev was engaged in the creation of a supersonic aircraft. At a preliminary meeting of the Design Bureau in January 1963, Tupolev stated:
“Thinking about the future of air transportation of people from one continent to another, you come to an unequivocal conclusion: supersonic airliners are undoubtedly needed, and I have no doubt that they will come into life ...”
The son of the academician, Alexei Tupolev, was appointed the lead designer of the project. More than a thousand specialists from other organizations closely cooperated with his design bureau. The creation was preceded by extensive theoretical and experimental work, including numerous tests in wind tunnels and natural conditions during analogue flights.

Concorde and Tu-144.

The wing shape of a supersonic aircraft.

A supersonic plane takes off into the sky.

Development and modification.

Work on the development of the basic design "044" went in two directions: the creation of a new economical non-afterburning turbojet engine of the RD-36-51 type and a significant improvement in the aerodynamics and design of a supersonic aircraft. The result of this was to meet the requirements for the range of supersonic flight. The decision of the commission of the Council of Ministers of the USSR on the variant of a supersonic aircraft with RD-36-51 was adopted in 1969. At the same time, at the suggestion of the MAP - MGA, a decision is made, until the creation of RD-36-51 and their installation on a supersonic aircraft, to build 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, to carry out significant changes in aerodynamics, having received Kmax more than 8 in supersonic cruising mode. series on RD-36-51.

Construction of a modernized supersonic aircraft.

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

Unlike the "044", each pair of engines in twin 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 flow compression area, increasing the gap between the lower surface of the wing and the upper surface of the air intake - all this made it possible to more intensively use the effect of preloading the flow at the inlet to the air intakes at Kmax than it was possible to get on "044". The new layout of the engine nacelles required changes in the chassis: the main landing gear was placed under the engine nacelles, with their cleaning inside between the air channels of the engines, they switched to an eight-wheeled bogie, and the scheme for cleaning the nose landing gear also changed. An important difference between "004" and "044" was the introduction of a front multi-section retractable destabilizer wing in flight, which was extended from the fuselage in takeoff and landing modes, and made it possible to provide the required balancing with deflected elevons-flaps. Improvements in the design, an increase in the payload and fuel supply led to an increase in takeoff weight, which exceeded 190 tons (for "044" - 150 tons).

Pre-production Tu-144.

The construction of the pre-production supersonic aircraft No. 01-1 (tail number 77101) was completed at the beginning of 1971, on June 1, 1971 it made its first flight. According to the factory test program, the machine completed 231 flights, lasting 338 hours, of which 55 hours flew supersonic. On this machine, complex issues of the interaction of the power plant in various flight modes were worked out. On September 20, 1972, the car made a flight along the Moscow-Tashkent route, while the route was completed in 1 hour 50 minutes, cruising speed during the flight reached 2500 km / h. The pre-production machine became the basis for the deployment of mass 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.

The first flight of the serial Tu-144.

The first flight of a serial supersonic aircraft No. 01-2 (tail number 77102) with NK-144A engines took place on March 20, 1972. In the series, according to the results of tests of the pre-production machine, the aerodynamics of the wing was corrected and its area was slightly increased again. The take-off weight in the series reached 195 tons. The specific fuel consumption of NK-144A by the time of operational testing of serial machines was intended to be increased to 1.65-1.67 kg / kgf hour by optimizing the engine nozzle, and later up to 1.57 kg / kgf hour, while the flight range should was to increase to 3855-4250 km and 4550 km respectively. By 1977, during testing and refinement of the Tu-144 and NK-144A series, we were actually able to achieve Cp = 1.81 kg / kgf hour in the cruising supersonic thrust mode of 5000 kgf, Cp = 1.65 kg / kgf hour in the takeoff afterburner thrust mode 20,000 kgf, Ср=0.92 kg/kgf hour in cruising subsonic thrust mode of 3000 kgf and in maximum afterburner mode in transonic mode received 11800 kgf. Fragment of a supersonic aircraft.

First stage of testing.

In a short period of time, in strict accordance with the program, 395 flights were performed 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 the aviation industry and civil aviation dated September 13, 1977 No. 149-223, there was a more active connection of civil aviation facilities and services. A new testing commission was formed, headed by Deputy Minister of Civil Aviation B.D. Rough. By decision of the commission, then confirmed by a joint order of September 30 - October 5, 1977, crews were appointed to conduct operational tests:
First crew: pilots B.F. Kuznetsov (Moscow Transport Administration of the Civil Aviation), S.T. Agapov (ZhLIiDB), navigator S.P. Khramov (MTU GA), flight engineers Yu.N. Avaev (MTU GA), Yu.T. Seliverstov (ZhLIiDB), lead engineer S.P. Avakimov (ZhLIiDB).
The second crew: pilots V.P. Voronin (MGU GA), I.K. Vedernikov (ZhLIiDB), navigator A.A. Senyuk (MTU GA), flight engineers E.A. Trebuntsov (MTU GA) and V.V. Solomatin (ZhLIiDB), lead engineer V.V. Isaev (GosNIIGA).
The 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).
The 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).

The final stage.

The road for passenger traffic is open.

The technical flights passed without serious remarks and showed the full readiness of the supersonic aircraft and all ground services for regular transportation. On October 25, 1977, the Minister of Civil Aviation of the USSR B.P. Bugaev and 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.
On the basis of the presented tables of Tu-144 compliance with the requirements of the Interim Airworthiness Standards for civilian Tu-144s of the USSR, the full amount of evidence presented, including acts on state and operational tests, on October 29, 1977, the chairman of the State Aviation Register of the USSR I.K. Mulkidzhanov approved the conclusion and signed the USSR's first airworthiness certificate type No. 03-144 for a supersonic aircraft with NK-144A engines.
The road for passenger traffic was open.

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

The second serial copy of the supersonic aircraft.

Disaster during a demonstration.

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

Improvement of supersonic aircraft.

Work on improving the supersonic aircraft continued for several more years. Five serial aircraft produced; five more 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 a 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 liner. 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 an airworthiness certificate. On the same day, passenger flights were opened. During their short operation, the liners carried 3194 passengers. On May 31, 1978, flights were stopped: a fire broke out on one of the serial Tu-144Ds, and the liner crashed, crashing during an emergency landing.
The catastrophes in Paris and Yegorievsk led to the fact that the state's interest in the project 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 by "bad effects on people's health when crossing the sound barrier." Nevertheless, four of the five Tu-144Ds that were in production were nevertheless completed. Later they were based in Zhukovsky and took to the air as flying laboratories. In total, 16 supersonic aircraft were built (including long-range modifications), which made a total of 2556 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 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 flag of Aeroflot, of which 55 were passenger flights (3,194 passengers were carried).
Later, supersonic aircraft made only test flights and a few flights with the goal of setting world records.
On the Tu-144LL engines NK-32 were installed due to the lack of serviceable NK-144 or RD-36-51, similar to those used on the Tu-160, various sensors and test control and recording equipment.
A total of 16 Tu-144 liners were built, which made a total of 2,556 sorties and flew 4,110 hours (among them, 77144 flew the most, 432 hours). The construction of four more liners was never completed.