On February 6, 1950, during the next test, the Soviet jet fighter MiG-17 in level flight exceeded the speed of sound, accelerating to almost 1070 km / h. This made it the first mass-produced supersonic aircraft. Developers Mikoyan and Gurevich were clearly proud of their brainchild.
For combat flights, the MiG-17 was considered near-sounding, since its cruising speed did not exceed 861 km / h. But this did not prevent the fighter from becoming one of the most common in the world. At various times, he was in service with Germany, China, Korea, Poland, Pakistan and dozens of other countries. This monster even took part in the fighting in the Vietnam War.
MiG-17 is far from the only representative of the genre supersonic aircraft. We will talk about a dozen more air liners that also got ahead of the sound wave and became famous all over the world.
Bell X-1
The US Air Force specially equipped the Bell X-1 with a rocket engine, as they wanted to use it to study the problems of supersonic flight. On October 14, 1947, the device accelerated to 1541 km / h (Mach number 1.26), overcame a given barrier and turned into a star in the sky. Today, the record-breaking model rests in the Smithsonian Museum in the States.
Source: NASA
North American X-15
The North American X-15 is also equipped with rocket engines. But, unlike its American counterpart Bell X-1, this aircraft reached a speed of 6167 km / h (Mach number 5.58), turning into the first and for 40 years the only manned hypersonic aircraft in the history of mankind (since 1959). who performed suborbital manned space flights. With its help, even the reaction of the atmosphere to the entry of winged bodies into it was studied. In total, three units of X-15 type rocket planes were produced.
Source: NASA
Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird
Sin not to apply supersonic aircraft for military purposes. Therefore, the US Air Force designed the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, a strategic reconnaissance aircraft with a maximum speed of 3,700 km/h (Mach 3.5). The main advantages are fast acceleration and high maneuverability, which allowed him to evade missiles. Also, the SR-71 was the first aircraft to be equipped with technologies to reduce radar visibility.
Only 32 units built, 12 of which crashed. Removed from service in 1998.
Source: af.mil
MiG-25
We cannot but recall the domestic MiG-25 - a 3rd generation supersonic high-altitude fighter-interceptor with a maximum speed of 3000 km / h (Mach number 2.83). The plane was so cool that even the Japanese coveted it. Therefore, on September 6, 1976, Soviet pilot Viktor Belenko had to hijack a MiG-25. After that, for many years in many parts of the Union, the aircraft began to fill up not to the end. The goal is to prevent them from flying to the nearest foreign airport.
Source: Alexey Beltyukov
MiG-31
Soviet scientists did not stop working for the aerial good of the fatherland. Therefore, in 1968, the design of the MiG-31 began. And on September 16, 1975, he first flew into the sky. This two-seat, supersonic, all-weather long-range fighter-interceptor accelerated to a speed of 2,500 km/h (Mach number 2.35) and became the first fourth-generation Soviet combat aircraft.
The MiG-31 is designed to intercept and destroy air targets at extremely low, low, medium and high altitudes, day and night, in simple and difficult weather conditions, with active and passive radar interference, as well as false thermal targets. Four MiG-31s can control air space up to 900 kilometers long. This is not a plane, but the pride of the Union, which is still in service with Russia and Kazakhstan.
Source: Vitaly Kuzmin
Lockheed/Boeing F-22 Raptor
The most expensive supersonic aircraft was built by the Americans. They modeled a fifth-generation multirole fighter, which became the most expensive among their peers. The Lockheed/Boeing F-22 Raptor is the only fifth-generation fighter in service today and the first production fighter with a supersonic cruising speed of 1,890 km/h (Mach 1.78). The maximum speed is 2570 km / h (Mach 2.42). Until now, no one has surpassed him in the air.
Source: af.mil
Su-100/T-4
The Su-100/T-4 ("weave") was developed as an aircraft carrier fighter. But the engineers of the Sukhoi Design Bureau managed not only to achieve their goal, but to model a cool attack and reconnaissance bomber-missile carrier, which they later wanted to use even as passenger aircraft and booster for the Spiral aerospace system. The maximum speed of the T-4 is 3200 km/h (Mach 3).
Successes in the creation of supersonic combat aircraft in the 1950s, including heavy ones, created a favorable environment for studying the possibility of creating a supersonic passenger aircraft (SPA). The history of the appearance of the first SPS projects goes back to the first post-war years, when several hypothetical projects were proposed in the USA and Great Britain, which were very far from practical implementation in terms of their technical solutions. In the second half of the 1950s, first experimental and then serial supersonic heavy military aircraft appeared on both sides of the Iron Curtain, and, almost immediately, on their basis, the world's leading aviation firms prepared projects of ATP of various aerodynamic and layout schemes. A detailed analysis and further study of the proposed ATP projects based on the first supersonic bombers showed that the creation of an effective competitive ATP by modifying a military prototype is an extremely difficult task (in contrast to the process of creating the first jet passenger aircraft based on subsonic heavy combat aircraft).
The first supersonic combat heavy aircraft, in terms of their design solutions, basically met the requirements of a relatively short-term supersonic flight. For ATP, it was required to ensure a long cruising flight at speeds corresponding to at least M = 2, plus the specifics of the task of transporting passengers required a significant increase in the reliability of all elements of the aircraft structure, subject to more intensive operation, taking into account the increase in the duration of flights in supersonic modes. Gradually, analyzing all possible options for technical solutions, aviation specialists, both in the USSR and in the West, came to the firm opinion that a cost-effective SPS should be designed as a fundamentally new type of aircraft.
Andrey Nikolaevich decided to entrust the design of the Tu-144 to Department "K", which had previously dealt with unmanned vehicles and had sufficient experience in the development of long-term flight at speeds exceeding M = 2 (Tu-121 strike unmanned aircraft, unmanned reconnaissance aircraft - serial Tu-123 and experienced Tu-139). Andrey Nikolayevich appointed A.A. Tupolev as the chief designer and head of work on the Tu-144. It was under his leadership, with the involvement of the best forces of domestic aviation science and technology, that the ideology and future appearance of the Tu-144 was born in the K Department. Later, after the death of A.N. Tupolev and the appointment of A.A. Tupolev as the head of the enterprise, the topic of the Tu-144 was led by Yu.N. Popov and B.A. Gantsevsky. Soon, the Tu-144 becomes one of the main and priority topics in the activities of the Design Bureau and the entire MAP for the next 10 years.
The aerodynamic appearance of the Tu-144 was determined mainly by obtaining a long range of flight in supersonic cruising mode, provided that the required stability and controllability characteristics and the specified take-off and landing characteristics were obtained. Based on the promised specific costs of the NK-144, at the initial design stage, the task was set to obtain Kmax = 7 in the cruising supersonic flight mode. According to the total economic, technological, weight considerations, the number M of a cruise flight was taken to be 2.2. During the development of the aerodynamic layout of the Tu-144 at the Design Bureau and TsAGI, several dozen options. The "normal" scheme with horizontal tail in the rear fuselage was studied, it was abandoned, since such tail gave up to 20% in the overall balance of the aircraft's drag. They also abandoned the "duck" scheme, evaluating the problem of the influence of the destabilizer on the main wing. Finally, based on the conditions for obtaining the required aerodynamic quality and obtaining minimal focus differences at subsonic and supersonic speeds, we settled on a low-wing scheme - “tailless” with a composite delta wing of an ogive shape (the wing was formed by two triangular surfaces with a sweep angle along the leading edge of 78 ° - for the front influx parts and 55 ° - for the rear base part), with four DTRDFs located under the wing, with vertical tail located along the longitudinal axis of the aircraft, and a tricycle retractable landing gear.
The design of the airframe mainly used traditional aluminum alloys. The wing was formed from symmetrical profiles and had a complex twist in two directions: in the longitudinal and transverse. This achieved the best flow around the wing surface in supersonic mode, in addition, such a twist contributed to the improvement of longitudinal balancing in this mode. Elevons were placed along the entire trailing edge of the wing, consisting of four sections on each half-wing. The wing structure is multi-spar, with a powerful working skin made of solid plates made of aluminum alloys, central part wings and elevons were made of titanium alloys. The elevon sections were powered by two irreversible boosters. The rudder was also deflected with the help of irreversible boosters and consisted of two independent sections. The aerodynamic shape of the fuselage was chosen from the conditions for obtaining the minimum drag in supersonic mode. In order to achieve this, they even went to some complication of the design of the aircraft.
A characteristic feature of the Tu-144 was the descending, well-glazed nose of the fuselage in front of the pilot's cabin, which ensured good review at high takeoff and landing angles of attack inherent in an aircraft with a low aspect ratio wing. The lowering and lifting of the forward fuselage was carried out using a hydraulic actuator. When designing the deviating non-pressurized part and its units, it was possible to maintain the smoothness of the skin at the joints of the movable part with the pressurized cabin and the rest of the fuselage surface. The shape of the engine nacelles was determined mainly by layout considerations and the conditions for reliable operation. power plant. Four DTRDF NK-144 were placed under the wing close to each other. Each engine had its own air intake, and two adjacent air intakes were combined into a common unit. Underwing air intakes - flat with a horizontal wedge. The flow deceleration at supersonic flight speeds was carried out in three oblique shocks, in a direct closing shock, and in a subsonic diffuser. The operation of each air intake was provided by an automatic control system that changed the position of the wedge panels and the bypass flap depending on the operating mode of the NK-144 engine. The length of the engine nacelles was determined by the size of the engines and the requirements of TsAGI and TsIAM to ensure the necessary length of the air intake channels for the normal operation of the engines. It should be noted that, in contrast to the design of the air intakes and engines of the Concorde, where this process went as a whole, the design of the NK-144 and engine nacelles with air intakes went as two largely independent processes, which led to some extent to oversized engine nacelles and in the future to many mutual inconsistencies in the operation of engines and air intake systems.
It was supposed, as on the Concorde, to introduce a landing braking system due to the engine reverse, it was planned to install the reverse on the two extreme engines (the reverse system was not completed, as a result, the experimental and production vehicles were operated with a braking parachute). The main landing gear retracted into the wing, the front landing gear retracted into the front of the fuselage in the space between the two air intake blocks. The small construction height of the wing required a reduction in the size of the wheels; as a result, a twelve-wheeled bogie with relatively small diameter wheels was used in the main landing gear. The main fuel supply was located in the wing caisson tanks. The front caisson tanks of the wing and an additional keel tank served to balance the aircraft. The main work on the choice of the optimal aerodynamic scheme of the Tu-144 in the Design Bureau was headed by G.A. Cheremukhin, the unit headed by V.M. In particular, the steering units of the drive of the aircraft controls worked out the signals of the system for improving stability and controllability along the longitudinal and track channels. In some modes, this measure made it possible to fly with static instability.
The choice of the ideology of the Tu-144 control system is largely the merit of G.F. Naboyshchikov. L.M. Rodnyansky, who previously worked on control systems at the Design Bureau of P.O. Sukhoi and V.M. raw" Tu-22 control system. The cockpit was designed taking into account the requirements of modern ergonomics, it was carried out for four: the first and second pilots occupied the two front seats, the flight engineer was placed behind them, the fourth place on the first experimental machine was intended for the experimental engineer. In the future, it was supposed to limit the crew to three pilots. The decoration and layout of the Tu-144 passenger compartment corresponded to the world requirements for modern design and comfort; the latest finishing materials were used in their decoration. The flight and navigation equipment of the Tu-144 was equipped with the most advanced systems that domestic avionics could give at that time: a perfect autopilot and on-board electronic computer automatically maintained the course; the pilots could see on the screen located on the dashboard where the aircraft was currently located and how many kilometers were left to the destination; landing approach was carried out automatically at any time of the day under difficult weather conditions, etc. - all this was a serious leap forward for our aviation.
The construction of the first experimental aircraft Tu-144 ("044") began in 1965, at the same time the second copy was built for static tests. Experienced "044" was originally designed for 98 passengers, later this figure was increased to 120. Accordingly, the estimated take-off weight increased from 130 tons to 150 tons. The experimental machine was built in Moscow in the workshops of the MMZ "Experience", some of the units were manufactured at its branches. In 1967, the assembly of the main elements of the aircraft was completed. At the end of 1967, the experimental "044" was transported to ZHLI and DB, where throughout 1968 finishing work was carried out and the machine was completed with the missing systems and assemblies.
At the same time, flights of the MiG-21I analogue aircraft (A-144, "21-11"), created on the basis of the MiG-21S fighter, began at the LII airfield. The analogue was created in the Design Bureau of A.I. Mikoyan and had a wing geometrically and aerodynamically similar to the wing of the experimental "044". In total, two 21-11 machines were built, many test pilots flew them, including those who were to test the Tu-144, in particular E.V. Elyan. An analogue aircraft was successfully flown up to a speed of 2500 km/h and the materials of these flights served as the basis for the final adjustment of the Tu-144 wing, and also allowed the test pilots to prepare for the behavior of an aircraft with such a wing.
At the end of 1968, the experimental "044" (tail number 68001) was ready for the first flight. A crew was appointed to the car, consisting of: the commander of the ship - Honored Test Pilot E.V.E-lyan (who later received the Hero of the Soviet Union for the Tu-144); co-pilot - Honored Test Pilot Hero of the Soviet Union M.V. Kozlov; lead test engineer V.N. Benderov and flight engineer Yu.T. Seliverstov. Taking into account the novelty and unusualness of the new car, the design bureau made an extraordinary decision: for the first time, it was decided to install ejection seats for the crew on an experimental passenger car. During the month, there were engine races, runs, final ground checks of systems. From the beginning of the third decade of December 1968, "044" was in pre-launch readiness, the car and crew were completely ready for the first flight, during all these ten days there was no weather over the LII airfield and the experimental Tu-144 remained on the ground. Finally, on the last day of the outgoing 1968, 25 seconds after the moment of launch, "044" for the first time broke away from the runway of the LII airfield and quickly gained altitude. The first flight lasted 37 minutes, in flight the car was accompanied by an analogue aircraft "21-11".
A supersonic passenger aircraft, and it was an aircraft built in the USSR, the first Concorde would fly only on March 2, 1969. It has been proven in practice that heavy tailless aircraft have citizenship rights in the USSR (before this flight, everything was limited to a large number of heavy tailless aircraft projects). On June 5, 1969, the prototype aircraft exceeded supersonic speed for the first time at an altitude of 11,000 m; by May 1970, the aircraft flew at speeds of M = 1.25-1.6 at altitudes up to 15,000 m. half an hour at a speed exceeding 2000 km / h, at an altitude of 16960 m, a maximum speed of 2430 km / h was reached. , where she first "met" with the Anglo-French Concorde. The 044 was powered by experimental NK-144 engines with a specific fuel consumption in supersonic cruising mode of 2.23 kg / kgf hour, with such specific costs in tests, the Tu-144 managed to reach a supersonic flight range of 2920 km, which was significantly less than the required range . In addition, during the tests, they encountered some design flaws: during flights, increased vibration and heating of the rear fuselage from a quad engine package were observed, even titanium structures did not help out. Having completed the test flight program "044" (about 150 flights in total), it remained in one prototype. Nothing more was required of her; she fulfilled her task of proving the technical feasibility of creating a supersonic passenger aircraft in the USSR. It was necessary to move further, improving the design of the aircraft and engines.
Work on the development of the basic design of the 044 aircraft 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 the Tu-144. 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 Tu-144 version 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 the Tu-144, to build six Tu-144s with the NK-144A with reduced specific fuel consumption. The design of serial Tu-144s with NK-144A was supposed to be significantly modernized, to make significant changes in the aerodynamics of the aircraft, having received Kmax over 8 in supersonic cruising mode. This modernization was supposed to ensure that the requirements of the first stage in terms of range (4000-4500 km), were later transition in the series to RD-36-51.
The construction of the pre-production modernized aircraft 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 of the aircraft in cruising mode M = 2.2, the wing shape in plan was changed (the swept part along the leading edge was reduced to 76 degrees, and the base was increased to 57 degrees), 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, taking into account the accommodation of 150 passengers, the shape of the nose was improved, which also had a positive effect on the aerodynamics of the aircraft.
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 preload 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 cleaning scheme of the nose landing gear also changed. An important difference between "004" and "044" was the introduction of a front multi-section retractable in flight wing-ka-destabilizer, which was extended from the fuselage in takeoff and landing modes, and made it possible to provide the required balancing of the aircraft with deflected elevons-flaps. Design improvements, an increase in the commercial load and fuel supply led to an increase in the take-off weight of the aircraft, which exceeded 190 tons (for the "044" - 150 tons).
The construction of the pre-production Tu-144 No. 01-1 (tail number 77101) was completed at the beginning of 1971, on June 1, 1971 the aircraft made its first flight. According to the program of factory tests, the machine performed 231 flights, lasting 338 hours, of which 55 hours the aircraft flew at supersonic speed. On this machine, complex issues were worked out - issues of interaction between the power plant and the aircraft 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 the Tu-144 series.
The first flight of serial Tu-144 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. In fact, by 1977, during tests and refinements of the Tu-144 and NK-144A series, Cp = 1.81 kg / kgf hour in supersonic cruising mode of thrust 5000 kgf, Cp = 1.65 kg / kgf hour in 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.
On June 3, 1973, the first production car crashed during a demonstration flight at Le Bourget. The crew led by test pilot M.V. Kozlov died (in addition to M.V. Kozlov, co-pilot V.M. Molchanov, Deputy chief designer V.N. Benderov, flight engineer A.I. Dralin, navigator G. N. Bazhenov, engineer B.A. Pervukhin). To investigate the disaster, a commission was created, in which specialists from the USSR and France took part. According to the results of the investigation, the French noted that there was no failure in the technical part of the aircraft, and the cause of the disaster was: the presence of unfastened crew members in the cockpit, the sudden appearance of the Mirage aircraft in the field of view of the Tu-144 aircraft crew, the presence of a movie camera in the hands of one of the crew members , which, when falling, could jam the steering wheel. Apparently, at that moment, such a conclusion suited everyone. Perhaps E.V. Elyan spoke most succinctly and accurately about the Tu-144 crash in Le Bourget in the 90s: “This disaster is a bitter example of how a combination of small at first glance, insignificant negligence, in this French flight control services, led to tragic consequences.
Production of Tu-144 with NK-144A continued in Voronezh until early 1977. On these machines, a large amount of flight tests were carried out and flights with passengers were started. On Tu-144 No. 02-1 (tail number 77103), the first flight was made on December 13, 1973, the NPK-144 flight and navigation complex, the power supply system were worked out, tests were carried out in the rejected takeoff modes, technical flights were made around the cities of the USSR.
On the Tu-144 No. 02-2 (tail number 77144), first flight on June 14, 1974, studies were carried out on aerodynamics, strength, behavior at high angles of attack, the operation of aircraft systems and equipment in emergency flight situations was checked, in 1975 the car flew at Le Bourget.
Tu-144 No. 03-1 (tail number 77105) was built in 1973 and immediately converted into Tu-144D with RD-36-51A engines.
Tu-144 No. 04-1 (tail number 77106), the first flight on March 4, 1975, was used to evaluate the efficiency of the ACS, it solved some problems with the fuel system. December 26, 1975 on this machine was made the first operational flight on the route Moscow - Alma-Ata. By this time, in addition to the MAP pilots, the MGA pilots had already begun to fly the Tu-144. The aircraft carried cargo, mail along the route, flights took place at altitudes of 18,000 m and at speeds of 2,200 km/h. Currently, Tu-144 No. 04-1 can be seen in the exposition of the Museum in Monino.
Tu-144 No. 04-2 (tail number 77108), first flight on December 12, 1975, finishing work was carried out on navigation equipment systems, on ABS-144, on the director approach system, on autothrottle.
Tu-144 No. 05-1 (tail number 77107), the first flight on August 20, 1975, after factory tests and tests under various programs, was presented in 1977 as a complex object for joint state tests. According to the results of these tests, it was noted that the aircraft performance characteristics, with the exception of the practical flight range with a given number of passengers, take-off weight, correspond to the requirements specified for the Tu-144 (during tests, we obtained a practical supersonic flight range with a take-off weight of 195 tons at a commercial load 15 tons 3080 km, with 7 tons - 3600 km It was emphasized that the flight range of 4000-4500 km, with a payload of 14-15 tons on Tu-144 with NK-144A cannot be implemented and it was noted that obtaining the required range is possible with engines RD-36-51A.
After the completion of joint tests, the MAP-MGA decision is made to start passenger transportation on Tu-144 aircraft with NK-144A. Tu-144 No. 05-2 (tail number 77109), first flight on April 29, 1976, and Tu-144 No. 06-1 (tail number 77110), first flight on February 14, 1977, were used for regular passenger transportation along the Moscow - Alma-Ata. Tu-144 went on its first passenger flight on November 1, 1977. Flights over a distance of 3260 km at an altitude of 16000-17000 m at a speed of 2000 km / h were carried out once a week, the number of passengers on board did not exceed 80 people. Until the termination of regular operation with passengers in May 1978, Aeroflot crews on the Tu-144 performed 55 flights, carrying 3284 passengers. Tu-144 with NK-144A became the first passenger aircraft in the USSR to receive a national airworthiness certificate for the safety of passenger transportation, other Aeroflot aircraft at that time did not have such a certificate (the exception was the Tu-134, which was certified in Poland according to English standards airworthiness).
Modification: Tu-144
Wingspan, m: 28.80
Aircraft length, m: 65.70
Aircraft height, m: 12.85
Wing area, m2: 507.00
Weight, kg
- empty aircraft: 91800
-normal takeoff: 150000
-maximum takeoff: 195000
Engine type: 4 x turbofan NK-144A
Thrust, kgf
- normal: 4 x 15000
- forced: 4 x 20000
Maximum speed, km/h: 2500 (M=2.35)
Cruise speed, km/h: 2200
Practical range, km: 6500
Supersonic flight range, km: 2920
Practical ceiling, m: 18000-20000
Crew, people: 3
Payload 150 passengers or 15,000 kg of cargo.
Tu-144 before the first flight.
Tu-144 after takeoff.
M = 1.2-5).
Story
The 60-70s of the XX century were marked by the rapid development of supersonic aviation. The main problems of aircraft stability and controllability, their aerodynamic efficiency were solved. The high flight speed also made it possible to increase the ceiling over 20 km, which was relevant for reconnaissance and bombers (at that time, before the advent of anti-aircraft missile systems capable of hitting targets at high altitudes, the main principle of using bombers was to fly to the target at the highest possible altitude and speed). During these years, supersonic aircraft for various purposes were built and put into mass production: fighters (tactical and interceptors), bombers, fighter-bombers, reconnaissance aircraft (the first supersonic all-weather interceptor - Convair F-102 Delta Dagger; the first supersonic long-range bomber - Convair B -58 Hustler).
Nowadays, new aircraft are appearing, including those made using Stealth visibility reduction technology.
Comparative diagrams of Tu-144 and Concorde
Passenger supersonic aircraft
Only two mass-produced passenger supersonic aircraft are known that performed regular flights: the Soviet aircraft Tu-144, which made its first flight on December 31, 1968 and was in operation from 1975 to 1978 and performed two months later - on March 2, 1969 - its first flight anglo -French Concorde, which made transatlantic flights from 1976 to 2003. Their operation made it possible not only to significantly reduce the flight time on long-haul flights, but also to use unloaded airspace at high altitudes (≈18 km), while the main airspace used by liners (heights of 9-12 km) was already in those years loaded. Also, supersonic aircraft flew along straightened routes (outside the airways).
Despite the failure of several other former and existing projects of passenger supersonic and transonic aircraft (Boeing 2707, Boeing Sonic Cruiser, Douglas 2229, Lockheed L-2000, Tu-244, Tu-344, Tu-444, SSBJ, etc.) and the withdrawal from operation of aircraft of two implemented projects, were developed earlier and exist modern projects hypersonic (including suborbital) passenger airliners (for example, ZEHST, SpaceLiner) and military transport (landing) rapid response aircraft. The Aerion AS2 passenger business jet under development received a firm order for 20 units in November 2015 for a total cost of $2.4 billion with deliveries starting in 2023.
Theoretical problems
Flight at supersonic speed, in contrast to subsonic speed, proceeds under conditions of different aerodynamics, since when the aircraft reaches the speed of sound, the aerodynamics of the flow around changes qualitatively, due to which the aerodynamic drag sharply increases, and the kinetic heating of the structure from the friction of the air flow at high speed also increases , the aerodynamic focus is shifted, which leads to a loss of stability and controllability of the aircraft. In addition, such a phenomenon, unknown before the creation of the first supersonic aircraft, appeared as “wave drag”.
Therefore, achieving the speed of sound and effective stable flight at near- and supersonic speeds were impossible due to a simple increase in engine power - new design solutions were required. As a result, the appearance of the aircraft changed: characteristic straight lines and sharp corners appeared, in contrast to the "smooth" forms of subsonic aircraft.
It should be noted that the problem of creating an efficient supersonic aircraft cannot be considered resolved so far. The creators have to compromise between the requirement to increase speed and maintain acceptable takeoff and landing characteristics. Thus, the achievement of new frontiers by aviation in terms of speed and altitude is associated not only with the use of a more advanced or fundamentally new propulsion system and a new structural layout of aircraft, but also with changes in their geometry in flight. Such changes, while improving aircraft characteristics at high speeds, should not worsen their qualities at low speeds, and vice versa. Recently, the creators refuse to reduce the area of the wing and the relative thickness of their profiles, as well as to increase the sweep angle of the wing of aircraft with variable geometry, returning to the wings of small sweep and large relative thickness, if satisfactory values of maximum speed and practical ceiling have already been achieved. In such a case, it is considered important that the supersonic aircraft have good performance at low speeds and low drag at high speeds, especially at low altitudes.
After a person began to master the expanses of heaven, he always sought to improve aircraft as much as possible, to make them more reliable, faster, and more spacious. One of the most advanced inventions of mankind in this direction are supersonic passenger aircraft. But, unfortunately, with rare exceptions, most of the developments have been closed or are currently at the project stage. One of these projects is the Tu-244 supersonic passenger aircraft, which we will discuss below.
faster than sound
But before starting a conversation directly about the Tu-244, let's make a brief digression into the history of overcoming the speed of sound barrier by mankind, because this aircraft will be a direct continuation of scientific developments in this direction.
A significant impetus to the development of aviation was given by the Second World War. It was then that real projects of aircraft appeared with the ability to reach speeds greater than propeller ones. Since the second half of the 40s of the last century, they have been actively adopted both in military and civil aviation.
The next task was to increase it as much as possible. If reaching the supersonic barrier was not difficult, simply by increasing the power of the engines, then overcoming it was a significant problem, since the laws of aerodynamics change at such speeds.
Nevertheless, the first victory in the race with sound was achieved already in 1947 on an American experimental aircraft, but mass use of supersonic technologies began only in the late 50s - early 60s of the 20th century in military aviation. Production models such as the MiG-19, North American A-5 Vigilante, Convair F-102 Delta Dagger and many others appeared.
Passenger supersonic aviation
But civil aviation is not so lucky. The first supersonic passenger aircraft appeared only in the late 60s. Moreover, only two production models have been created so far - the Soviet Tu-144 and the Franco-British Concorde. These were typical long-haul aircraft. The Tu-144 was in operation from 1975 to 1978, and the Concorde from 1976 to 2003. Thus, at the moment, not a single supersonic aircraft is used for passenger air transportation.
There were many projects for the construction of super- and hypersonic airliners, but some of them were eventually closed (Douglas 2229, Super-Caravelle, T-4, etc.), while the implementation of others dragged on for an indefinitely long time (Reaction Engines A2, SpaceLiner, Next Generation Supersonic Transport). The Tu-244 aircraft project also belongs to the latter.
Start of development
The project to create an aircraft that was supposed to replace the Tu-144 was launched by the Tupolev Design Bureau back in Soviet times, in the early 70s of the last century. When designing a new airliner, the designers used the developments of its predecessor, the Concorde, as well as materials from American colleagues who took part in the work. All developments were carried out under the leadership of Alexei Andreevich Tupolev.
In 1973, the projected aircraft was named Tu-244.
Project objectives
The main objective of this project was to create a truly competitive supersonic passenger aircraft in comparison with subsonic jet airliners. Almost the only advantage of the former over the latter was the gain in speed. In all other respects, supersonic airliners were outperformed by their slower competitors. Passenger transportation on them simply did not pay off economically. In addition, flying on them was more dangerous than on simple jet-powered aircraft. The latter factor, by the way, became the official reason why the operation of the first Tu-144 supersonic aircraft was terminated just a few months after it began.
Thus, it was precisely the solution of these problems that was put before the developers of the Tu-244. The aircraft had to be reliable, fast, but at the same time, its operation for the purpose of transporting passengers had to be economically profitable.
Specifications
The final model of the Tu - 244 aircraft, accepted for development, was to have the following technical and operational characteristics.
The crew of the airliner included three people. The cabin capacity was taken at the rate of 300 passengers. True, in the final version of the project it had to be reduced to 254 people, but in any case it was much more than that of the Tu-154, which could accommodate only 150 passengers.
The planned cruising speed was 2.175 thousand km/h, which was twice as high. That is, the plane was planned to be made a little slower than its predecessor, but due to this, it would significantly increase its capacity, which was supposed to provide economic benefits from passenger transportation. The movement was provided by four. The flight range of the new aircraft was to be 7500-9200 km. Carrying capacity - 300 tons.
The airliner was supposed to have a length of 88 m, a height of 15 m, while its wingspan was 45 m, and the working surface area was 965 m 2.
The main external difference from the Tu-144 was to be a change in the design of the nose.
Continued development
The project for the construction of the second-generation supersonic airliner Tu-244 took on a rather protracted character and underwent significant changes several times. Nevertheless, even after the collapse of the USSR, the Tupolev Design Bureau did not stop developing in this direction. For example, already in 1993 at the air show in France was provided detailed information about development. However, the economic situation of the country in the 90s could not but affect the fate of the project. In fact, his fate hung in the air, although the design work continued, and there was no official announcement of its closure. It was at this time that they began to actively connect to the project American specialists, although contacts with them were made back in the days of the USSR.
To continue research on the creation of passenger supersonic airliners of the second generation, in 1993 two Tu-144 aircraft were converted into flying laboratories.
Closing or freezing?
Against the backdrop of ongoing developments and statements that by 2025 TU-244 aircraft will enter the operation of civil aviation in the amount of 100 units, the absence of this project in the state program for the development of aviation for 2013-2025, which was adopted in 2012, was quite unexpected. . It must be said that this program also lacked a number of other notable developments that until that time were considered promising in the aircraft industry, for example, the Tu-444 supersonic business aviation aircraft.
This fact could indicate that the Tu-244 project was either finally closed or frozen for an indefinite period. In the latter case, the release of these supersonic aircraft will be possible only much later than 2025. However, no official clarifications on this matter have been given, which leaves a fairly wide field for various interpretations.
prospects
Given all of the above, it can be stated that the Tu-244 project is currently at least hovering in the air, and possibly even closed. official announcement no word yet on the fate of the project. Also, the reasons why it was suspended or permanently closed are not voiced. Although it can be assumed that they may lie in the lack of public funds to finance such developments, the economic unprofitability of the project, or the fact that in 30 years it could simply become obsolete, and now more promising tasks are on the agenda. However, it is quite possible that all three factors can influence simultaneously.
In 2014, there were suggestions in the media about the resumption of the project, but so far they have not received official confirmation, as well as denials.
It should be noted that foreign developments of second-generation supersonic passenger aircraft have not yet reached the finish line, and the implementation of many of them is a big question.
At the same time, while there is no official statement from authorized persons, it is not worth completely putting an end to the project of the Tu-244 aircraft.
Consider building a supersonic passenger aircraft. In his opinion, the liner could be built on the basis of the Tu-160 military strategic bomber.
At the beginning of 2018, Putin already proposed to return to the construction of such aircraft in Russia. However, at that time, experts were skeptical about the president's idea, considering the project too expensive. Later in the Tupolev company that the new aircraft could make its first flight no earlier than 2027. The cost of all work on the creation of a serial aircraft in the company was estimated at 105 billion rubles.
Info24 I spoke with aviation experts and found out whether Russia still needs a new supersonic passenger aircraft.
Bad experience
In the history of world aircraft construction, there were two supersonic passenger liners: the Franco-British Concorde and the Soviet Tu-144. These aircraft could reach speeds of more than 2.4 thousand km / h, while the maximum speed of the Airbus A320 is 840 km / h. At the same time, the cost of a flight, for example, from Europe to the USA reached 7 thousand dollars. The flights were popular with businessmen.
The Tu-144 was developed at the Tupolev Design Bureau in the 1960s. It began to be used in passenger traffic in 1977, however, after several accidents, the management of the design bureau decided to freeze the project.
Supersonic passenger aircraft TU-144. Photo: RIA Novosti, wikimedia.org
Around the same time, the French company Aérospatiale and the British BAC developed a joint project called "Concorde". In total, 20 supersonic aircraft were produced, which were divided between British Airways and Air France. Over 3 million passengers have used supersonic flights in 27 years of scheduled and charter flights.
On July 5, 2000, one of the Concorde aircraft crashed on takeoff at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport. Then 113 people died. After that, flights of supersonic aircraft were suspended for a year and a half. They were completely discontinued in 2003 due to high prices for fuel.
Since then, the world no longer uses passenger supersonic aircraft.
"Not economy, but prestige"
Maxim Pyadushkin, Managing Director of the Air Transport Review magazine, told Info24 that the production of supersonic airliners faces not only technical, but also other obstacles.
“The same Concorde was operated at supersonic speed only over Atlantic Ocean, because, for example, in the USA, due to the shock wave, it is forbidden to fly over land at supersonic speeds. These aircraft were very limited use and the issue is still not resolved. The last "Concordes" were supplied almost for nothing, for a symbolic price, there the conversation was not about the economy, but about prestige. But they were no longer used shortly after the accident in Paris,” said Pyadushkin.
Franco-British supersonic airliner Concorde of British Airways. Photo: Les Chatfield, Flickr Why is the state
Aleksey Sinitsky, editor-in-chief of the Air Transport Review magazine, believes that by developing its own supersonic aircraft, Russia can stimulate the development of other industries.
“In the production of such liners there are a large number of issues that remain unresolved or unresolved. Of course, work on these issues is important, necessary and interesting for the creation of a new generation of highly efficient engines, so work needs to be done. But, in my opinion, this is not the main and not the strategic direction of civil aviation. There are much more mundane issues that, although they sound less romantic, still need to be addressed. But it is a completely different matter if we consider civil aviation as an opportunity to stimulate the development of the economy.
the development of aircraft construction entails improvements in other industries. therefore, it is strategically important for Russia, especially if it is not limited to import substitution, but, for example, to find its own areas of specialization and choose areas where it would be possible to act with competitive products on a global scale.
This does not necessarily apply to the whole aircraft, but, for example, to some node that we would do better than anyone else in the world,” Sinitsky said in a conversation with Info24.
Although the Concorde aircraft were sold to airlines at a ridiculous price, the expert does not believe that the money was lost: there were serious studies, the industry gained knowledge and technology. In addition, it was one of the first experiences of international cooperation, which subsequently led to a unified system of European aircraft construction.
Unprofitable and inconvenient
At the same time, Sinitsky does not deny that it is extremely difficult to make flights on supersonic liners pay off.
“If the country's leadership needs to improve transport accessibility, then this is one thing. But at the same time, world experience shows that efficiency wins over speed. The same Concorde program proved that in many respects economical flights turned out to be much more in demand, while supersonic flight is by definition uneconomical due to the generation of a compression wave under the aircraft. There are many questions about the economy of supersonic transportation, including how convenient it will be for passengers. For example, flying from Vladivostok to Moscow will be inconvenient in time due to the change in time zones - you will either need to fly out at an inconvenient time or arrive at an inconvenient time. In addition, if you have some comfort in a conventional aircraft, then it will be more crowded in a supersonic one, ”the expert said.
Illustration: Info24 The expert of the portal Avia.ru Vladimir Karnozov, however, is sure that it is possible to make flights profitable. True, for this it is “critically important” for them to fly not only across the Atlantic, but also through Pacific Ocean- for example, from Japan, China and Australia to the USA and Canada.
“It is believed that Concorde was unprofitable, but this is not entirely true. The project turned out to be unprofitable due to strong US opposition [on environmental regulations], which turned out to be effective, among other things, because the income from the commercial operation of the Concorde was formed mainly from ticket sales for flights to airports in New York and other large American metropolitan areas. . "Concorde" flew with stopovers from France to latin america and from England to the Middle East and beyond to South East Asia, but these routes brought significantly less revenue. As a result of US opposition, Western European industry produced fewer aircraft than planned, and the program was canceled ahead of schedule,” the aviation expert said.
For those who talk about free deliveries of Concorde to airlines and build on this argument about the insolvency of the liners, Karnozov offers to compare the cost of the first aircraft and the prices for subsonic airliners of that era. According to him, this is a huge amount of money that the airlines planned to return through many years of operation on flights from Europe to the United States, where the machine worked profitably.
Supersonic aircraft Concorde. Photo: nara.getarchive.net “If you open foreign aviation publications, then for the last 7-10 years this topic (the creation of supersonic passenger aircraft - approx. Info24) is constantly discussed, mainly in relation to business aircraft. But the problems in the development of such aircraft are not related to technology. Just under the influence of the United States, the aviation authorities of the countries of the Western world put forward excessive requirements for the environmental parameters of "supersonics" (supersonic aircraft, from the English supersonic - supersonic - approx. Info24), in particular, the noise level in the area and the magnitude of the sonic boom. There are no opportunities to influence the States, and certification requirements are put forward for the next generation of "supersonics" at their suggestion. If a solution is not found at the political level, then none of the idea to create a supersonic passenger aircraft will work. And if the requirements are softened, then a very interesting project will turn out, ”said Karnozov.
He added that the cost of creating such an aircraft is highly dependent on what requirements it will be created for. According to the expert, if the requirements are "reasonable", then the cost of the project will be several billion dollars, but if the creation of a supersonic liner is "customized" to the requirements of the United States, then "a budget of tens or even hundreds of billions of dollars will be insufficient."
Who can fly these planes
Flights on supersonic liners are extremely expensive - for example, the journey from London to New York can cost 7 thousand dollars. All experts agree that if such flights are in demand, then only among businessmen.
“If we are talking about the business transportation segment, then there may be a demand for speed here. But the fuel consumption in such aircraft will be very high, which is why even for wealthy people the cost can be quite high, ”said Info24 Fyodor Borisov, Leading Research Fellow at the Institute of Transport and Transport Policy, National Research University Higher School of Economics.
Illustration: Info24 Vladimir Karnozov agrees with him. According to the expert, supersonic aircraft are needed for "the upper segment, those who fly business class and first class today."
Attempts to create a new "supersonic"
Maxim Pyadushkin said that there are people and companies that are trying to enter the supersonic aircraft market, but they are focusing on business aviation, and a very limited circle of people will buy their aircraft.
Illustration: Info24 “Such projects started as startups, enthusiasts gathered and made blueprints. But no startup can build an airplane alone. For example, Aerion, which was supported by Boeing and other major manufacturers. This project has moved, perhaps, the furthest. This gives hope that since large manufacturers believe in it, the aircraft will be able to bring it to testing, a prototype and, in fact, a flight,” the aviation expert said.
