On this day in aviation history: The first flight of the Tupolev Tu-144 occurs in 1968. In true Cold War fashion, the news of the work on supersonic transport aircraft in nations like France and England (what would become the Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde) pushed the Soviet Union to develop its own version. The Tupolev Design Bureau took hints from other supersonic aircraft of the day, as well as information obtained from the Anglo-French projects to develop the design for the Tu-144. But while the Tu-144 and Concorde ended up similar in physical design, they differed significantly in their control, navigation and engine systems. There were also limitations in the kinds of innovative equipment the Soviets could procure. As a result, the Tu-144 tended to be more aerodynamic but heavier than the Concorde, and as a result had a shorter range. The Tu-144 actually flew earlier than the Concorde (by a little over two months) and seemed to have a promising future, but a now-famous crash at the 1973 Paris Air Show caused potential buyers to look on the Tu-144 with skepticism and production problems plagued it for most of its career. Only sixteen airframes were built and at least four still survive, all in European and Russian locations.
Posted on: Wed, 31 Dec 2014 14:00:00 +0000
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