Supersonic military aircraft. Supersonic aircraft - history of development. Flights and tests of a supersonic aircraft
The original was taken from Speed, like a dream. Speed as a calling
The 1960s can perhaps be considered the golden years of supersonic aviation. It was at that time that it seemed that just a little more - and squadrons of supersonic aircraft would become the only option for air combat, and supersonic airliners would trace our firmament with their tracks, connecting everything big cities and world capitals. However, it turned out that, as in the case of manned space, man’s journey to high speeds is by no means strewn with roses: passenger aviation remains frozen at around 800 kilometers per hour, and military aircraft hang around the sound barrier, occasionally daring to briefly fly into low supersonic region, around Mach 2 or slightly higher.
What is this connected with? No, not at all because “there is no need to fly fast” or “no one needs this.” Rather, what we are talking about here is that at some point the world began to follow the path of least resistance and considered that scientific and technical progress- this is a self-running cart that is already going downhill, so pushing it additionally is just an unnecessary waste of extra effort.
Let’s ask ourselves a simple question: why is supersonic flight so difficult and expensive? Let's start with the fact that when overcoming an airplane supersonic barrier character of the flow around the body aircraft changes sharply: aerodynamic drag increases sharply, kinetic heating of the airframe structure increases, and due to a shift in the aerodynamic focus of the streamlined body, there is a loss of stability and controllability of the aircraft.
Of course, for the average person and unprepared reader, all these terms sound quite faded and incomprehensible, but if we summarize all this in one phrase, we get: “it’s difficult to fly at supersonic speed.” But, of course, it is by no means impossible. At the same time, in addition to increasing engine power, the creators of supersonic aircraft have to consciously change the appearance of the aircraft - characteristic “swift” straight lines appear in it, sharp angles on the nose and leading edges, which immediately distinguishes a supersonic aircraft even externally from “smooth” ones. "and "sleek" forms of subsonic aircraft.
The nose of the Tu-144 leaned down during takeoff and landing to provide at least minimal visibility to the pilots.
In addition, when optimizing an aircraft for supersonic flight, it develops another unpleasant feature: it becomes poorly suited for subsonic flight and is quite clumsy in takeoff and landing modes, which it still has to carry out at fairly low speeds. The same sharp lines and sweeping shapes that are so good at supersonic give in to the low speeds at which supersonic aircraft inevitably have to move at the beginning and end of their flight. And the sharp noses of supersonic cars also prevent pilots from full review Runway.
Here, as an example, are the nose parts of two Soviet supersonic aircraft that were not implemented in the series - the M-50 of the Myasishchev Design Bureau (in the background) and the T-4 “object 100” of the Sukhoi Design Bureau (nearby).
The efforts of the designers are clearly visible: this is either an attempt to reach a compromise in contours, like the M-50, or a sliding nose, deviating downward, like the T-4. It is interesting that the T-4 could well have become the first production supersonic aircraft that would fly completely in horizontal supersonic flight without natural visibility through the cockpit canopy: at supersonic, the nose cone completely covered the cockpit and all navigation was carried out only by instruments, in addition, the aircraft had optical periscope. The current level of development of navigation and telemetry means, by the way, makes it possible to abandon the complex design of the movable nose cone of a supersonic aircraft - it can already be lifted and landed only by instruments, or even without the participation of pilots at all.
Identical conditions and tasks give rise to similar designs. The Anglo-French Concorde's nose also moved down during takeoff and landing.
What prevented the USSR from creating, already in 1974, an innovative anti-ship warfare system based on the supersonic T-4, which was so advanced that there were as many as 600 patents in its design alone?
The thing is that by the mid-1970s the Sukhoi Design Bureau did not have its own production capacity to conduct extended state tests of the “100 object”. For this process, what was needed was not an experimental, but a serial plant, for which KAPO (Kazan Aviation Plant) was quite suitable. However, as soon as the decree began to be prepared on the preparation of the Kazan Aviation Plant for the assembly of the pilot batch of T-4, Academician Tupolev, realizing that he was losing the serial plant where the “strategic defect carrier” Tu-22 was produced, came up with an initiative proposal to create its modification Tu-22M, for which, supposedly, it was only necessary to slightly repurpose production. Although, later, the Tu-22M was developed as a completely new aircraft, the decision to transfer the Kazan plant to Sukhoi was not made at the time, and the T-4 eventually ended up in a museum in Monino.
Such a big difference between the Tu-22 and Tu-22M is a legacy of the fight against the T-4.
The issue of the nose cone is not the only compromise that the creators of supersonic aircraft have to make. For many reasons, they end up with both an imperfect supersonic glider and a mediocre subsonic aircraft. Thus, often the conquest of new frontiers in speed and altitude by aviation is associated not only with the use of a more advanced or fundamentally new propulsion system and a new aircraft layout, but also with changes in their geometry in flight. This option was never implemented in the first generation of supersonic vehicles, but it was this idea of a variable-sweep wing that eventually became practically canon in the 1970s. Such changes in wing sweep, while improving the aircraft's performance at high speeds, should not have deteriorated their performance at low speeds, and vice versa.
The Boeing 2707 was supposed to be the first passenger supersonic aircraft with variable sweep wings.
It is interesting that the fate of the Boeing 2707 was ruined not by its design imperfections, but only by a host of political issues. By 1969, as Boeing's 2707 development program entered its final stretch, 26 airlines had ordered 122 2707s from Boeing at a cost of nearly $5 billion. At this point, the Boeing program had already left the design and research phase and construction of two prototypes of the 2707 model had begun. To complete their construction and manufacture test aircraft, the company needed to raise somewhere between 1-2 billion. And the total cost of the program with construction 500 aircraft was approaching $5 billion. Government loans were required. Fundamentally, in another time, Boeing would have found its own funds for this, but the 1960s were not like that.
In the late 1960s, Boeing's production facilities were heavily loaded with the creation of the largest subsonic passenger aircraft in the world - the Boeing 747, which we still fly today. Because of this, model 2707 literally “did not crowd” ahead of the “air cattle carrier” for several years and ended up behind its knobby fuselage. As a result, all available funding and all equipment were used for the production of the 747, and 2707 was financed by Boeing on a residual basis.
Two approaches to passenger aviation— “Boeing 747” and “Boeing 2707” in one picture.
But the difficulties with the 2707 were much more serious than just technical issues or Boeing's production program. Since 1967, the environmental movement against supersonic technology has been growing in the United States. passenger transport. It was argued that their flights would destroy the ozone layer, and the powerful acoustic shock generated by supersonic flight was considered unacceptable for populated areas. Under pressure from public opinion and then from Congress, President Nixon created a 12-member commission to resolve the issue of financing the SST program, which included the Boeing 2707. But contrary to his expectations, the commission rejects the need for an SST not only for environmental but also for economic reasons. To create the first aircraft, according to their calculations, it was necessary to spend $3 billion, which would only pay off if 300 aircraft were sold. The financial condition of the United States was weakened by the long war in Vietnam and the costs of the lunar race.
Work on the 2707 model was stopped in 1971, after which Boeing tried to continue construction for about a year using its own funds. In addition, private individuals, including students and schoolchildren, also tried to support the “American Dream Plane”, for which more than a million dollars were raised. But this did not save the program. The eventual demise of the program coincided with a downturn in the aerospace industry and the oil crisis, as a result of which Boeing was forced to lay off almost 70,000 of its employees in Seattle, and the Model 2707 became known as “the plane that ate Seattle.”
Goodnight, sweet prince. The cockpit and part of the fuselage of a Boeing 2707 at the Hiller Aviation Museum.
What motivated the creators of supersonic cars? The situation with military customers is generally clear. Warriors always needed a plane that would fly higher and faster. Supersonic flight speed made it possible not only to reach enemy territory faster, but also to increase the flight ceiling of such an aircraft to an altitude of 20-25 kilometers, which was important for reconnaissance aircraft and bombers. At high speeds, as we remember, the lifting force of the wing also increases, due to which the flight could take place in a more rarefied atmosphere, and, as a result, at a higher altitude.
In the 1960s, 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. Of course, current air defense systems cover this kind of niche for the use of supersonic aircraft (for example, the S-400 complex can shoot down targets directly in space, at an altitude of 185 kilometers and at their own speed of 4.8 km/s, essentially being a missile defense system , not air defense). However, in actions against ground, surface and air targets, supersonic speed is quite in demand and is still present in long-term military plans for both Russian and Western aircraft. It’s just that the implementation of a rather complex supersonic flight is difficult to compatible with the task of stealth and stealth that they have been trying to instill in bombers and fighters over the past 30 years, due to which you have to choose, as they say, one thing - either hide or break through.
However, does Russia now have a reliable weapon against American AUGs? So, not to get within 300 kilometers of them to launch the Onyxes by some inconspicuous but vulnerable vessel? The T-4 had a coherent concept of its own style of destroying an aircraft carrier group, but does Russia have it now? I think not - just as there are still no hypersonic missiles X-33 and X-45.
American bomber XB-70 Valkyrie. It was with them that the MiG-25 was supposed to fight.
Where the future of military aircraft will turn is an open question.
I want to say a few more words about civil supersonic aircraft.
Their operation made it possible not only to significantly reduce flight time on long-distance flights, but also to use unloaded airspace at high altitudes (about 18 km), while the main airspace used by airliners (altitudes 9-12 km) was already even in the 1960s significantly busy. Also, supersonic aircraft flew along straight routes (outside airways and corridors). And this is not to mention the elementary thing: saving time for ordinary passengers, which amounted to about half the flight time during, for example, a Europe-USA flight.
At the same time, I repeat once again - the project of supersonic aircraft, both military and civilian, is by no means impossible from a practical point of view or in any way unrealistic from an economic point of view.
We just took a wrong turn at one time and rolled the cart of progress not uphill, but along the easiest and most pleasant path - down and downhill. Even today, supersonic passenger aircraft projects are being developed for the same segment for which another innovative concept was made: the Augusta-Westland AW609 tiltrotor. This segment is the segment of business transportation for wealthy clients, when the plane carries not five thousand passengers in brutal conditions, but a dozen people in conditions of maximum efficiency and maximum comfort. Meet Aerio AS2. If you're lucky, it will fly in the near future, in 2021:
I think that everything is already quite serious there - both the partnership with Airbus and the announced investments of 3 billion dollars allow us to consider the project not a “decoy”, but a serious application. In short, “a respectable gentleman - for respectable gentlemen.” And not for any beggars who allowed the world at the end of the twentieth century to turn onto an easy and convenient path.
However, I already wrote about this, I will not repeat it. Now it's nothing more than the past:
Now we live in a different world. In a world without supersonic aviation for everyone. However, this is not the worst loss.
On February 6, 1950, during another test, the Soviet jet fighter MiG-17 exceeded the speed of sound in horizontal flight, accelerating to almost 1070 km/h. This turned it into the first mass-produced supersonic aircraft. The developers Mikoyan and Gurevich were clearly proud of their brainchild.
For combat flights, the MiG-17 was considered transonic, since its cruising speed did not exceed 861 km/h. But this did not stop the fighter from becoming one of the most common in the world. IN different time it 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.
The MiG-17 is far from the only representative of the supersonic aircraft genre. We will tell you about a dozen more airliners that also outpaced the sound wave and became famous throughout the world.
Bell X-1
The US Air Force specially equipped the Bell X-1 with a rocket engine because 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), becoming the first and for 40 years the only manned hypersonic aircraft in human history (since 1959). who performed suborbital manned space flights. With its help, they even studied the reaction of the atmosphere to the entry of winged bodies into it. A total of three units of X-15 type rocket planes were produced.
Source: NASA
Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird
It would be a sin not to use 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 number 3.5). The main advantages are fast acceleration and high maneuverability, which allowed it to evade missiles. The SR-71 was also the first aircraft to be equipped with radar signature reduction technologies.
Only 32 units were built, 12 of which crashed. In 1998 it was withdrawn from service.
Source: af.mil
MiG-25
We cannot help 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 this, for many years in many parts of the Union, aircraft began to be incompletely refueled. 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 benefit of the fatherland. Therefore, in 1968, the design of the MiG-31 began. And on September 16, 1975, he was in the sky for the first time. This two-seat supersonic all-weather long-range fighter-interceptor accelerated to a speed of 2500 km/h (Mach number 2.35) and became the first Soviet fourth-generation 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 adverse weather conditions, with active and passive radar interference, as well as false thermal targets. Four MiG-31s can control airspace up to 900 kilometers long. This is not an airplane, 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 were built by the Americans. They modeled a fifth-generation multirole fighter, which became the most expensive among their colleagues. The Lockheed/Boeing F-22 Raptor is currently the only fifth-generation fighter in service and the first production fighter with a supersonic cruising speed of 1,890 km/h (Mach 1.78). Maximum speed 2570 km/h (Mach 2.42). No one has ever surpassed him in the air.
Source: af.mil
Su-100/T-4
The Su-100/T-4 (“weaving”) 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 strike and reconnaissance bomber-missile carrier, which they later even wanted to use as a passenger aircraft and booster for the Spiral aerospace system. The maximum speed of the T-4 is 3200 km/h (Mach 3).
The Cold War, which took place between the USA and the USSR from 1946 to 1991, is long over. At least that's what many experts think. However, the arms race did not stop for a minute, and even today it is in the stage of active development. Despite the fact that today the main threats to the country are terrorist groups, relations between world powers are also tense. All this creates conditions for the development of military technologies, one of which is a hypersonic aircraft.
Necessity
Relations between the United States and Russia are greatly strained. And although at the official level the United States in Russia is called a partner country, many political and military experts argue that there is an unspoken war between the countries not only on the political front, but also on the military one in the form of an arms race. In addition, the United States is actively using NATO to encircle Russia with its missile defense systems.
This cannot but worry the leadership of Russia, which has long ago begun developing unmanned aerial vehicles that exceed hypersonic speed. These drones can be equipped with a nuclear warhead, and they can easily deliver a bomb to anywhere in the world, and quite quickly. A similar hypersonic aircraft has already been created - this is the Yu-71 airliner, which is being tested today in strict secrecy.
Development of hypersonic weapons
For the first time, testing aircraft that could fly at the speed of sound began in the 50s of the 20th century. Then it was still associated with the so-called Cold War, when two developed powers (USSR and the USA) sought to overtake each other in the arms race. The first project was the Spiral system, which was a compact orbital aircraft. It was supposed to compete with and even surpass the US hypersonic aircraft X-20 Dyna Soar. Also, the Soviet aircraft had to be able to reach speeds of up to 7000 km/h and not fall apart in the atmosphere under overloads.
And although Soviet scientists and designers tried to bring such an idea to life, they failed to even come close to the cherished characteristics. The prototype did not even take off, but the USSR government breathed a sigh of relief when the American plane also failed during testing. The technologies of that time, including in the aviation industry, were infinitely far from the current ones, so the creation of an aircraft that could exceed the speed of sound several times was doomed to failure.
However, in 1991, a test was carried out of an aircraft that could reach speeds exceeding the speed of sound. It was a flying laboratory "Cold", created on the basis of the 5B28 rocket. The test was successful, and then the plane was able to reach a speed of 1900 km/h. Despite progress, development was stopped after 1998 due to the economic crisis.
Technologies of the 21st century
There is no exact official information on the development of hypersonic aircraft. However, if we collect materials from open sources, we can conclude that such developments were carried out in several directions at once:
- Creation of warheads for intercontinental ballistic missiles. Their mass exceeded the mass of standard missiles, but due to the ability to maneuver in the atmosphere, it is impossible or, at least, extremely difficult to intercept them with missile defense systems.
- The development of the Zircon complex is another direction in the development of technology, which is based on the use of the Yakhont supersonic missile defense system.
- Creation of a complex whose rockets can exceed the speed of sound 13 times.
If all these projects are united in one holding company, then by joint efforts an air-, ground- or ship-based missile can be created. If the Prompt Global Strike project, created in the United States, is successful, then the Americans will have the opportunity to hit anywhere in the world within one hour. Russia will be able to defend itself only with technologies of its own development.
American and British experts have recorded tests of supersonic missiles that can reach speeds of up to 11,200 km/h. Given such a high speed, it is almost impossible to shoot them down (not a single missile defense system in the world is capable of this). Moreover, they are even extremely difficult to spy on. There is very little information about the project, which sometimes appears under the name "Yu-71".
What is known about the Russian hypersonic aircraft "Yu-71"?
Considering that the project is classified, there is very little information about it. It is known that this glider is part of a supersonic rocket program, and in theory it is capable of flying to New York in 40 minutes. Of course, this information has no official confirmation and exists at the level of guesswork and rumors. But given that Russian supersonic missiles can reach speeds of 11,200 km/h, such conclusions seem quite logical.
According to various sources, the hypersonic aircraft "Yu-71":
- Has high maneuverability.
- Can plan.
- Capable of reaching speeds of over 11,000 km/h.
- Can go into space during a flight.
Statements
On this moment Tests of the Russian hypersonic aircraft Yu-71 have not yet been completed. However, some experts argue that by 2025 Russia may receive this supersonic glider, and it could be equipped with nuclear weapons. Such an aircraft will be put into service, and in theory it will be capable of delivering a targeted nuclear strike anywhere on the planet within just one hour.
Russia's representative to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin, said the USSR's once most developed and advanced industry had fallen behind the arms race in recent decades. However, more recently the army has begun to revive. Outdated Soviet technology is being replaced by new models of Russian developments. In addition, the fifth generation weapons, stuck in the 90s in the form of projects on papers, are taking on visible shape. According to the politician, new models of Russian weapons may surprise the world with their unpredictability. It is likely that Rogozin is referring to the new hypersonic aircraft Yu-71, which can carry a nuclear warhead.
It is believed that the development of this aircraft began in 2010, but in the United States they learned about it only in 2015. If information about it technical characteristics is true, then the Pentagon will have to solve a difficult problem, since the missile defense systems used in Europe and on their territory will not be able to counter such an aircraft. In addition, the United States and many other countries will simply be defenseless against such weapons.
Other functions
In addition to the ability to launch nuclear strikes on the enemy, the glider, thanks to powerful modern electronic warfare equipment, will be able to conduct reconnaissance and also disable devices equipped with electronic equipment.
If you believe NATO reports, then from approximately 2020 to 2025, up to 24 such aircraft may appear in the Russian army, which will be able to cross the border unnoticed and destroy an entire city with just a few shots.
Development plans
Of course, there is no data regarding the adoption of the promising Yu-71 aircraft, but it is known that it has been in development since 2009. In this case, the device will be able not only to fly in a straight path, but also to maneuver.
It is maneuverability at hypersonic speeds that will become a feature of the aircraft. Doctor of Military Sciences Konstantin Sivkov argues that intercontinental missiles can reach supersonic speeds, but at the same time they act like conventional ballistic warheads. Consequently, their flight path is easily calculated, which makes it possible for the missile defense system to shoot them down. But controlled aircraft pose a serious threat to the enemy, since their trajectory is unpredictable. Consequently, it is impossible to determine at what point the bomb will be released, and since the release point cannot be determined, the trajectory of the warhead’s fall is not calculated.
In Tula on September 19, 2012, at a meeting of the military-industrial commission, Dmitry Rogozin said that a new holding should soon be created, the task of which would be to develop hypersonic technologies. The enterprises that will be part of the holding were immediately named:
- "Tactical missile weapons."
- "NPO Mashinostroyenia" At the moment, the company is developing supersonic technologies, but at the moment the company is part of the Roscosmos structure.
- The next member of the holding should be the Almaz-Antey concern, which is currently developing technologies for the aerospace and missile defense industries.
Rogozin believes that such a merger is necessary, but legal aspects do not allow it to take place. It is also noted that the creation of a holding does not imply the absorption of one company by another. This is precisely the merger and joint work of all enterprises, which will speed up the development of hypersonic technologies.
Chairman of the Council under the Russian Ministry of Defense Igor Korotchenko also supports the idea of creating a holding company that would develop hypersonic technologies. According to him, the new holding is really necessary, because it will allow all efforts to be directed to the creation of a promising type of weapon. Both companies have great potential, but individually they will not be able to achieve the results that are possible by combining their efforts. It is together that they will be able to contribute to the development of the Russian defense complex and create the fastest aircraft in the world, the speed of which will exceed expectations.
Weapons as a tool of political struggle
If by 2025 not only hypersonic missiles with nuclear warheads are in service, but also Yu-71 gliders, this will seriously strengthen Russia’s political position in negotiations with the United States. And this is completely logical, because all countries during negotiations act from a position of strength, dictating favorable conditions to the opposite side. Equal negotiations between the two countries are possible only if both sides have powerful weapons.
Vladimir Putin, during a speech at the Army 2015 conference, said that nuclear forces are receiving 40 new intercontinental missiles. These turned out to be hypersonic missiles, and they can currently overcome existing missile defense systems. Viktor Murakhovsky, a member of the expert council of the military-industrial commission, confirms that ICBMs are being improved every year.
Russia is also testing and developing new cruise missiles that can fly at hypersonic speeds. They can approach targets at ultra-low altitudes, making them virtually invisible to radar. Moreover, modern missile defense systems in service with NATO cannot hit such missiles due to their low flight altitude. In addition, in theory, they are capable of intercepting targets moving at speeds of up to 800 meters per second, and the speed of the Yu-71 aircraft and cruise missiles is much higher. This makes NATO missile defense systems almost useless.
Projects from other countries
It is known that China and the United States are also developing an analogue of the Russian hypersonic aircraft. The characteristics of the enemy models are still unclear, but we can already assume that the Chinese development is capable of competing with the Russian aircraft.
Known as the Wu-14, the Chinese aircraft was tested in 2012, and even then it was able to reach speeds of over 11,000 km/h. However, there is no mention anywhere of the weapons that this device is capable of carrying.
As for the American Falcon HTV-2 drone, it was tested several years ago, but 10 minutes into the flight it crashed. However, before it, the X-43A hypersonic aircraft was tested, which was carried out by NASA engineers. During tests, it showed a fantastic speed of 11,200 km/h, which is 9.6 times the speed of sound. The prototype was tested in 2001, but then during the tests it was destroyed due to the fact that it got out of control. But in 2004 the device was successfully tested.
Similar tests by Russia, China and the United States cast doubt on the effectiveness of modern missile defense systems. The introduction of hypersonic technologies in the military-industrial sector is already producing a real revolution in the military world.
Conclusion
Of course, the military-technical development of Russia cannot but rejoice, and the presence similar aircraft to be adopted by the army is a big step in improving the country's defense capabilities, but it is foolish to believe that other world powers are not making attempts to develop similar technologies.
Even today free access to information via the Internet, we know very little about promising developments of domestic weapons, and the description of the Yu-71 is known only by rumors. Consequently, we have no way of knowing what technologies are being developed right now in other countries, including China and the United States. The active development of technology in the 21st century makes it possible to quickly invent new types of fuel and apply previously unfamiliar technical and technological techniques, so the development of aircraft, including military ones, is proceeding very quickly.
It is worth noting that the development of technologies that make it possible to achieve aircraft speeds exceeding 10 times the speed of sound will be reflected not only in the military, but also in the civilian sphere. In particular, such well-known aircraft manufacturers as Airbus or Boeing have already announced the possibility of creating hypersonic aircraft for passenger air transportation. Of course, such projects are still only in plans, but the likelihood of developing such aircraft today is quite high.
“Turn on supersonic!”
Supersonic passenger aircraft - what do we know about them? At least that they were created relatively long ago. But, for various reasons, they were not used for as long and not as often as they could have. And today, they exist only as design models.
Why is that? What is the peculiarity and “secret” of supersonic sound? Who created this technology? And also – what will be the future of supersonic aircraft in the world, and of course – in Russia? We will try to answer all these questions.
"Farewell flight"
So, fifteen years have passed since the last three functioning supersonic passenger aircraft made their last flights, after which they were written off. This was back in 2003. Then, on October 24, they all together “said goodbye to the sky.” The last time we flew at low altitude, over the capital of Great Britain.
Then we landed at London Heathrow Airport. These were Concorde-type aircraft owned by the aviation company British Airways. And with such a “farewell flight” they completed a very short history of passenger transportation at speeds exceeding sound...
That's what you might have thought a few years ago. But now it is already possible to say with confidence. This is the finale of only the first stage of this story. And probably all its bright pages are yet to come.
Today - preparation, tomorrow - flight
Today, many companies and aircraft designers are thinking about the prospects of supersonic passenger aviation. Some are making plans to revive it. Others are already preparing for this with all their might.
After all, if it could exist and function effectively just a few decades ago, today, with technologies that have seriously stepped forward, it is quite possible not only to revive it, but also to solve a number of problems that forced leading airlines to abandon it.
And the prospects are too tempting. The possibility of flying, say, from London to Tokyo in five hours seems very interesting. Cross the distance from Sydney to Los Angeles in six hours? And get from Paris to New York in three and a half? With passenger aircraft, which are capable of flying at higher speeds than sound travels, this is not at all difficult.
But, of course, before its triumphant “return” to the airspace, scientists, engineers, designers, and many others still have a lot of work to do. It's not just about restoring what once was by offering a new model. Not at all.
The goal is to solve many problems associated with passenger supersonic aviation. Creation of aircraft that will not only demonstrate the capabilities and power of the countries that built them. But they will also turn out to be really effective. So much so that they occupy a worthy niche in aviation.
The history of "supersonic" Part 1. What happened in the beginning...
Where did it all begin? In fact, from simple passenger aviation. And he has been like this for more than a century. Its design began in the 1910s in Europe. When craftsmen from the most developed countries of the world created the first aircraft, the main purpose of which was to transport passengers over various distances. That is, a flight with many people on board.
The first among them is the French Bleriot XXIV Limousine. It belonged to the aircraft manufacturing company Bleriot Aeronautique. However, it was used mainly for the amusement of those who paid for pleasure “walks”-flights on it. Two years after its creation, an analogue appears in Russia.
It was the S-21 Grand. It was designed on the basis of the Russian Knight, a heavy bomber created by Igor Sikorsky. And the construction of this passenger aircraft was carried out by workers of the Baltic Carriage Plant.
Well, after that, progress could no longer be stopped. Aviation developed rapidly. And the passenger one, in particular. At first there were flights between specific cities. Then the planes were able to cover distances between states. Finally, aircraft began to cross oceans and fly from one continent to another.
Evolving technologies and everything large quantity innovations allowed aviation to travel very quickly. Much sooner than trains or ships. And for her there were practically no barriers. There was no need to change from one transport to another, not only, say, when traveling to some particularly distant “end of the world”.
Even when it is necessary to cross land and water at once. Nothing stopped the planes. And this is natural, because they fly over everything - continents, oceans, countries...
But time was passing quickly, the world was changing. Of course, the aviation industry also developed. Airplanes over the next few decades, right up to the 1950s, changed so much when compared with those that flew back in the early 1920s and 30s that they became something completely different, special.
And so, in the middle of the twentieth century, the development of the jet engine began at a very rapid pace, even in comparison with the previous twenty to thirty years.
A small informational digression. Or - a little physics
Advanced developments have allowed aircraft to “accelerate” to speeds greater than the speed at which sound travels. Of course, first of all, this was applied in military aviation. After all, we are talking about the twentieth century. Which, sad as it may be to realize, was a century of conflicts, two world wars, the “cold” struggle between the USSR and the USA...
And almost every new technology, created by the leading states of the world, was primarily considered from the point of view of how it could be used in defense or attack.
So, airplanes could now fly at unprecedented speeds. Faster than sound. What is its specificity?
First of all, it is obvious that this is a speed that exceeds the speed at which sound travels. But, remembering the basic laws of physics, we can say that in different conditions, it may differ. And “exceeds” is a very loose concept.
And that’s why there is a special standard. Supersonic speed is one that exceeds sound speed up to five times, taking into account the fact that depending on temperature and other environmental factors, it can change.
For example - if we take normal atmospheric pressure at sea level, then in this case the speed of sound will be equal to an impressive figure - 1191 km/h. That is, 331 meters are covered in a second.
But what is especially important when designing supersonic aircraft is that as you gain altitude, the temperature decreases. This means the speed with which sound travels is quite significant.
So let's say, if you rise to a height of 20 thousand meters, then here it will already be 295 meters per second. But there is another important point.
At 25 thousand meters above sea level, the temperature begins to rise, since this is no longer the lower layer of the atmosphere. And so it goes on. Or rather, higher. Let's say at an altitude of 50,000 meters it will be even hotter. Consequently, the speed of sound there increases even more.
I wonder - for how long? Having risen 30 kilometers above sea level, you find yourself in a “zone” where sound travels at a speed of 318 meters per second. And at 50,000 meters, respectively – 330 m/s.
About the Mach number
By the way, it is interesting that to simplify the understanding of the features of flight and work in such conditions, the Mach number is used in aviation. general description such, can be reduced to the following conclusions. It expresses the speed of sound that occurs under given conditions, at a particular altitude, at a given temperature and air density.
For example, the flight speed, which is equal to two Mach numbers, at an altitude of ten kilometers above the ground, under normal conditions, will be equal to 2,157 km/h. And at sea level - 2,383 km/h.
The history of "supersonic" Part 2. Overcoming barriers
By the way, for the first time a pilot from the USA, Chuck Yeager, achieved flight speeds of more than Mach 1. This happened in 1947. Then he “accelerated” his plane, flying at an altitude of 12.2 thousand meters above the ground, to a speed of 1066 km/h. This is how the first supersonic flight took place on earth.
Already in the 1950s, work began on the design and preparation for mass production of passenger aircraft capable of flying at speeds faster than sound. They are led by scientists and aircraft designers from the most powerful countries in the world. And they manage to succeed.
That same Concorde, a model that will finally be abandoned in 2003, was created in 1969. This is a joint British-French development. The symbolically chosen name is “Concorde”, from French, translated as “concord”.
It was one of two existing types of supersonic passenger aircraft. Well, the creation of the second (or rather, chronologically, the first) is the merit of the aircraft designers of the USSR. The Soviet equivalent of the Concorde is called the Tu-144. It was designed in the 1960s and made its first flight on December 31, 1968, a year before the British-French model.
To this day, no other types of supersonic passenger aircraft have been implemented. Both the Concorde and the Tu-144 flew thanks to turbojet engines, which were specially rebuilt in order to operate at supersonic speed for a long time.
The Soviet analogue of the Concorde was operated for a significantly shorter period. Already in 1977 it was abandoned. The plane flew at an average speed of 2,300 kilometers per hour and could carry up to 140 passengers at a time. But at the same time, the price of a ticket for such a “supersonic” flight was two, two and a half, or even three times more than for an ordinary one.
Of course, such things were not in great demand among Soviet citizens. And maintaining the Tu-144 was not easy and expensive. That’s why they were abandoned so quickly in the USSR.
Concordes lasted longer, although the flights they flew on were also expensive. And the demand was not great either. But still, despite this, they continued to be exploited, both in Great Britain and in France.
If you recalculate the cost of a Concorde ticket in the 1970s at today's exchange rate, it will be about two tens of thousands of dollars. For a one way ticket. One can understand why the demand for them was somewhat less than for flights using aircraft that do not reach supersonic speeds.
Concorde could take on board from 92 to 120 passengers at a time. He flew at a speed of more than 2 thousand km/h and covered the distance from Paris to New York in three and a half hours.
Several decades passed like this. Until 2003.
One of the reasons for the refusal to operate this model was a plane crash that occurred in 2000. At that time, there were 113 people on board the crashed Concorde. They all died.
Later, an international crisis began in the field of passenger air transportation. Its cause is the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, in the United States.
Moreover, on top of that, the warranty period for the Concorde is ending. Airbus airline. All this together made the further operation of supersonic passenger aircraft extremely unprofitable. And in 2003, all Concordes were written off one by one, both in France and in the UK.
Hopes
After this, there were still hopes for a quick “return” of supersonic passenger aircraft. Aircraft designers talked about creating special engines that would save fuel, despite the flight speed. We talked about improving the quality and optimizing the main avionics systems on such aircraft.
But, in 2006 and 2008, new resolutions of the International Organization were issued civil aviation. They determined the latest (by the way, they are still valid at the moment) standards for permissible aircraft noise during flight.
And supersonic planes, as you know, did not have the right to fly over populated areas, that’s why. After all, they produced strong noise pops (also due to the physical characteristics of the flight) when they moved at maximum speeds.
This was the reason that the “planning” of the “revival” of supersonic passenger aviation was somewhat slowed down. However, in fact, after the introduction of this requirement, aircraft designers began to think about how to solve this problem. After all, it also took place before, it’s just that the “ban” focused attention on it – the “noise problem”.
What about today?
But ten years have passed since the last “ban”. And planning smoothly turned into design. Today, several companies and government organizations are engaged in the creation of passenger supersonic aircraft.
Which ones exactly? Russian: Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute (the same one that is named after Zhukovsky), Tupolev and Sukhoi companies. Russian aircraft designers have an invaluable advantage.
The experience of Soviet designers and creators of the Tu-144. However, it is better to talk about domestic developments in this area separately and in more detail, which is what we propose to do next.
But it’s not just the Russians who are creating a new generation of supersonic passenger aircraft. This is also a European concern - Airbus, and the French company Dassault. Among the companies in the United States of America that are working in this direction are Boeing and, of course, Lockheed Martin. In the country rising sun The main organization designing such an aircraft is the Aerospace Exploration Agency.
And this list is by no means complete. It is important to clarify that the overwhelming majority of professional aircraft designers working in this field are divided into two groups. Regardless of country of origin.
Some believe that it is in no way possible to create a “quiet” supersonic passenger aircraft at the current level of technological development of mankind.
Therefore, the only way out is to design a “simply fast” airliner. It, in turn, will go to supersonic speed in those places where this is allowed. And when flying, for example, over populated areas, return to subsonic.
Such “jumps,” according to this group of scientists and designers, will reduce flight time to the minimum possible, and not violate the requirements for noise effects.
Others, on the contrary, are full of determination. They believe that it is possible to fight the cause of the noise now. And they made a lot of efforts to prove that a supersonic airliner that flies quietly is quite possible to build in the very coming years.
And a little more fun physics
So, when flying at a speed of more than Mach 1.2, the airframe of the aircraft generates shock waves. They are strongest in the tail and nose areas, as well as some other parts of the aircraft, such as the edges of the air intakes.
What is a shock wave? This is an area where air density, pressure and temperature experience sudden changes. They occur when moving at high speeds, faster than sound speed.
To people who are standing on the ground, despite the distance, it seems that some kind of explosion is happening. Of course, we are talking about those who are in relative proximity - under the place where the plane flies. That is why supersonic aircraft flights over cities were banned.
It is precisely such shock waves that representatives of the “second camp” of scientists and designers are fighting against, who believe in the possibility of leveling out this noise.
If we go into detail, the reason for this is literally a “collision” with air at a very high speed. At the wave front there is a sharp and strong increase in pressure. At the same time, immediately after it, there is a drop in pressure, and then a transition to a normal pressure indicator (the same as it was before the “collision”).
However, a classification of wave types has already been carried out and potentially optimal solutions have been found. All that remains is to complete the work in this direction and make the necessary adjustments to the aircraft designs, or create them from scratch, taking into account these amendments.
In particular, NASA specialists came to realize the need for structural changes in order to reform the characteristics of the flight as a whole.
Namely, changing the specificity of shock waves, as far as possible at the current technological level. What is achieved by restructuring the wave, through specific design changes. As a result, the standard wave is considered as an N-type, and the one that occurs during flight, taking into account the innovations proposed by experts, as an S-type.
And with the latter, the “explosive” effect of pressure changes is significantly reduced, and people located below, for example, in a city, if an airplane flies over them, even when they hear such an effect, it is only like a “distant slam of a car door.”
Shape is also important
In addition, for example, Japanese aviation designers, not so long ago, in mid-2015, created an unmanned glider model D-SEND 2. Its shape is designed in a special way, allowing to significantly reduce the intensity and number of shock waves that occur when the device flies at supersonic speed.
The effectiveness of the innovations proposed in this way by Japanese scientists was proven during tests of D-SEND 2. These were carried out in Sweden in July 2015. The course of the event was quite interesting.
The glider, which was not equipped with engines, was raised to a height of 30.5 kilometers. By using hot air balloon. Then he was thrown down. During the fall, he “accelerated” to a speed of Mach 1.39. The length of D-SEND 2 itself is 7.9 meters.
After the tests, Japanese aircraft designers were able to confidently declare that the intensity of the shock waves when their brainchild flies at a speed exceeding the speed of sound propagation is two times less than that of the Concorde.
What are the features of D-SEND 2? First of all, its nose is not axisymmetric. The keel is shifted towards it, and at the same time, the horizontal tail unit is installed as all-moving. It is also located at a negative angle to the longitudinal axis. And at the same time, the tail tips are located lower than the attachment point.
The wing, smoothly connected to the fuselage, is made with normal sweep, but stepped.
According to approximately the same scheme, now, as of November 2018, the supersonic passenger AS2 is being designed. Professionals from Lockheed Martin are working on it. The customer is NASA.
Also, the Russian SDS/SPS project is now at the stage of improving its form. It is planned that it will be created with an emphasis on reducing the intensity of shock waves.
Certification and... another certification
It is important to understand that some projects of passenger supersonic aircraft will be implemented in the early 2020s. At the same time, the rules established by the International Civil Aviation Organization in 2006 and 2008 will still be in force.
This means that if before that time there is no serious technological breakthrough in the field of “quiet supersonic”, then it is likely that aircraft will be created that will reach speeds above one Mach only in zones where this is permitted.
And after that, when the necessary technologies do appear, in such a scenario, many new tests will have to be carried out. In order for aircraft to obtain permission to fly over populated areas. But these are only speculations about the future; today it is very difficult to say anything for sure on this matter.
Question of price
Another problem mentioned earlier is the high cost. Of course, today, many engines have already been created that are much more economical than those that were used twenty or thirty years ago.
In particular, those that can provide aircraft movement at supersonic speed are now being designed, but at the same time do not “eat up” as much fuel as the Tu-144 or Concorde.
How? First of all, this is the use of ceramic composite materials, which reduce temperatures, and this is especially important in hot zones of power plants.
In addition, the introduction of another, third, air circuit - in addition to the external and internal ones. Leveling the rigid coupling of a turbine with a fan, inside an aircraft engine, etc.
But nevertheless, even thanks to all these innovations, it cannot be said that supersonic flight, in today’s realities, is economical. Therefore, in order for it to become accessible and attractive to the general public, work to improve engines is extremely important.
Perhaps the current solution would be a complete redesign of the design, experts say.
By the way, it will also not be possible to reduce the cost by increasing the number of passengers per flight. Because those aircraft that are being designed today (meaning, of course, supersonic aircraft) are designed to transport a small number of people - from eight to forty-five.
A new engine is a solution to the problem
Among the latest innovations in this area, it is worth noting the innovative jet turbofan power plant created this year, 2018, by GE Aviation. In October it was introduced under the name Affinity.
This engine is planned to be installed on the mentioned AS2 passenger model. There are no significant technological “new products” in this type of power plants. But at the same time, it combines the features of jet engines with high and low bypass ratios. Which makes the model very interesting for installation on a supersonic aircraft.
Among other things, the creators of the engine claim that during testing it will prove its ergonomics. The fuel consumption of the power plant will be approximately equal to that which can be recorded for standard airliner engines currently in operation.
That is, this is a claim that the power plant of a supersonic aircraft will consume approximately the same amount of fuel as a conventional airliner that is not capable of accelerating to speeds above Mach one.
How this will turn out is still difficult to explain. Since the design features of the engine are not currently being disclosed by its creators.
What could they be - Russian supersonic airliners?
Of course, today there are many specific projects for supersonic passenger aircraft. However, not all are close to implementation. Let's look at the most promising ones.
So, Russian aircraft manufacturers who inherited the experience of Soviet masters deserve special attention. As mentioned earlier, today, within the walls of TsAGI named after Zhukovsky, according to its employees, the creation of the concept of supersonic passenger plane new generation.
The official description of the model, provided by the press service of the institute, mentions that it is a “light, administrative” aircraft, “with a low level of sonic boom.” The design is carried out by specialists, employees of this institution.
Also, in a message from the TsAGI press service it is mentioned that thanks to the special layout of the aircraft body and the special nozzle on which the noise suppression system is installed, this model will demonstrate the latest achievements in the technological development of the Russian aircraft industry.
By the way, it is important to mention that among the most promising TsAGI projects, in addition to what has been described, is a new configuration of passenger airliners called the “flying wing.” It implements several particularly relevant improvements. Specifically, it makes it possible to improve aerodynamics, reduce fuel consumption, etc. But for non-supersonic aircraft.
Among other things, this institute has repeatedly presented finished projects that have attracted the attention of aviation enthusiasts from all over the world. Let’s say, one of the latest, a model of a supersonic business jet, capable of traveling up to 7,000 kilometers without refueling, and reaching a speed of 1.8 thousand km/h. This was presented at the exhibition “Gidroaviasalon-2018”.
“...design is going on all over the world!”
In addition to the Russian ones mentioned above, the following models are also the most promising. American AS2 (capable of speeds up to Mach 1.5). Spanish S-512 (speed limit - Mach 1.6). And also, currently at the design stage in the USA, Boom, from Boom Technologies (well, it will be able to fly at a maximum speed of Mach 2.2).
There is also the X-59, which is being created for NASA by Lockheed Martin. But it will be a flying scientific laboratory, not a passenger plane. And no one has planned to put it into mass production yet.
The plans of Boom Technologies are interesting. Employees of this company say that they will try to reduce the cost of flights on the supersonic airliners created by the company as much as possible. For example, they can give an approximate price for a flight from London to New York. This is about 5000 US dollars.
For comparison, this is how much a ticket costs for a flight from the English capital to “New” York, on a regular or “subsonic” plane, in business class. That is, the price of a flight on an airliner capable of flying at speeds greater than Mach 1.2 will be approximately equal to the cost of an expensive ticket on an airplane that could not make the same fast flight.
However, Boom Technologies bet on creating a “quiet” supersonic passenger airliner will not work out in the near future. Therefore, their Boom will fly at the maximum speed it can develop only over water. And when you are above land, switch to a smaller one.
Given that the Boom will be 52 meters long, it will be able to carry up to 45 passengers at a time. According to the plans of the company designing the aircraft, the first flight of this new product should occur in 2025.
What is known so far about another promising project– AS2? It will be able to carry significantly fewer people - only eight to twelve people per flight. In this case, the length of the liner will be 51.8 meters.
Over water, it is planned to be able to fly at a speed of Mach 1.4-1.6, and over land - 1.2. By the way, in the latter case, due to its special shape, the plane, in principle, will not generate shock waves. For the first time, this model should take to the air in the summer of 2023. In October of the same year, the aircraft will make its first flight across the Atlantic.
This event will be timed to coincide with a memorable date - the twentieth anniversary of the day the Concordes last flew over London.
Moreover, the Spanish S-512 will take to the skies for the first time no later than the end of 2021. And deliveries of this model to customers will begin in 2023. The maximum speed of this aircraft is Mach 1.6. It can accommodate 22 passengers on board. The maximum flight range is 11.5 thousand km.
The client is the head of everything!
As you can see, some companies are trying very hard to complete the design and begin creating aircraft as quickly as possible. For whom are they willing to rush in such a hurry? Let's try to explain.
So, during 2017, for example, the volume of air passenger traffic amounted to four billion people. Moreover, 650 million of them flew long distances, spending from 3.7 to thirteen hours on the way. Next - 72 million out of 650, moreover, they flew first or business class.
It is these 72,000,000 people, on average, that those companies that are engaged in the creation of supersonic passenger aircraft are counting on. The logic is simple - it is possible that many of them will not mind paying a little more for a ticket, provided that the flight will be approximately twice as fast.
But, even despite all the prospects, many experts reasonably believe that the active progress of supersonic aviation, created for the transport of passengers, may begin after 2025.
This opinion is confirmed by the fact that the mentioned “flying” laboratory X-59 will first take to the air only in 2021. Why?
Research and Outlook
The main purpose of its flights, which will take place over several years, will be to collect information. The fact is that this aircraft must fly over various populated areas at supersonic speed. Residents of these settlements have already expressed their consent to conduct tests.
And after the laboratory plane completes its next “experimental flight”, people living in those populated areas, over which it flew, must talk about the “impressions” that they received during the time when the airliner was above their heads. And especially clearly express how the noise was perceived. Did it affect their livelihoods, etc.
The data collected in this way will be transmitted to the Federal Aviation Administration in the United States. And after their detailed analysis by specialists, a ban on flights may be possible. supersonic airliners over populated land areas will be cancelled. But in any case, this will not happen before 2025.
In the meantime, we can watch the creation of these innovative aircraft, which will soon mark the birth of a new era of supersonic passenger aviation with their flights!
In the early 60s, it became clear that the USSR needed a supersonic passenger aircraft, because The main jet airliner of that time, the Tu-104, flew from Moscow to Khabarovsk with two intermediate landings for refueling. The Tu-114 turboprop operated non-stop flights on this route, but was in flight for as long as 14 hours. And the supersonic Tu-144 would cover a distance of 8,500 kilometers in 3.5 hours! To ensure growing passenger flows on long transcontinental routes, the Soviet Union needed a new modern supersonic passenger aircraft (SPS).
However, a detailed analysis and study of the proposed SPS projects based on the first supersonic bombers showed that creating an effective competitive SPS by modifying a military prototype is an extremely difficult task. The first supersonic heavy combat aircraft, in their design solutions, mainly met the requirements of a relatively short-term supersonic flight. For the SPS, it was necessary to ensure a long cruising flight at speeds of at least two speeds of sound - Mach number equal to 2 (M = 2). The specifics of the task of transporting passengers additionally 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 flight duration in supersonic modes. 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 ATP must be designed as a matter of principle new type aircraft.
During the creation of the Soviet SPS, domestic aviation science and industry were faced with a number of scientific and technical problems that our subsonic passenger and military supersonic aviation had not encountered. First of all, to ensure the required flight performance characteristics of the SPS, this flight at a speed of M = 2 at a distance of up to 6500 km with 100-120 passengers, in combination with acceptable takeoff and landing data, it was necessary to significantly improve the aerodynamic quality of the aircraft at cruising flight speeds. It was necessary to solve the issues of stability and controllability of a heavy aircraft when flying in subsonic, transonic and supersonic regions, to develop practical methods for balancing the aircraft in all these modes, taking into account minimizing aerodynamic losses. A long flight at speed M=2 was associated with research and ensuring the strength of the airframe structure and components at elevated temperatures close to 100-120 degrees C, it was necessary to create heat-resistant structural materials, lubricants, sealants, as well as develop types of structures capable of long time work under conditions of cyclic aerodynamic heating.
The aerodynamic appearance of the Tu-144 was determined mainly by obtaining a long flight range in supersonic cruising mode, subject to obtaining the required stability and controllability characteristics, as well as the specified take-off and landing characteristics. The aerodynamic quality of the Tu-144 at double the speed of sound was 8.1, on the Concorde - 7.7, and for most supersonic MiGs of the mid-60s of the last century, the aerodynamic quality did not exceed a coefficient of 3.4. The airframe design of the first SPS mainly used traditional aluminum alloys; 20% of it was made of titanium, which can withstand heat up to 200 degrees C. The only aircraft in the world that also used titanium was the SR-71, the famous “Blackbird” ", American supersonic reconnaissance aircraft.
TU-144D No. 77115 at the MAKS 2015 air show / Photo (c) Andrey Velichko
Based on the conditions for obtaining the required aerodynamic quality and optimal operating modes of the airframe, aircraft systems and assemblies at subsonic and supersonic speeds, settled on the design of a tailless low-wing aircraft with a composite triangular wing of an ogive shape. The wing was formed by two triangular surfaces with a sweep angle along the leading edge of 78° and 55° for the rear base part. Four turbofans were placed under the wing. The vertical tail was located along the longitudinal axis of the aircraft. The airframe's design mainly used traditional aluminum alloys. The wing was formed from symmetrical profiles and had a complex twist in two directions: longitudinal and transverse. This achieved the best flow around the wing surface in supersonic mode; in addition, such a twist helped to improve the longitudinal balancing in this mode.
Construction of the first prototype Tu-144 (“044”) began in 1965, while a second prototype was being built for static testing. The experimental "044" was initially designed for 98 passengers, later this figure was increased to 120. Accordingly, the estimated take-off weight increased from 130 to 150 tons. The prototype 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 the Zhukovsky flight test and development base, where throughout 1968, development work was carried out and the vehicle was equipped with missing systems and units.
At the same time, flights of an analogue of the MiG-21I (A-144, “21-11”), created on the basis of the MiG-21S fighter, began at the LII airfield. An 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”. A total of two "21-11" aircraft were built; many test pilots flew on them, including those who were to test the Tu-144. The analogue aircraft successfully reached a speed of 2500 km/h; the materials from these flights served as the basis for the final development of the Tu-144 wing, and also allowed test pilots to prepare for the peculiarities of the behavior of an aircraft with such a wing.
December 31, 1968 - first flight of the Tu-144 At the end of 1968, the experimental "044" (tail number 68001) was ready for its first flight. A crew was assigned to the vehicle, consisting of: the ship's commander - Honored Test Pilot E.V. Elyan (who later received a Hero for the Tu-144 Soviet Union); co-pilot - Honored Test Pilot Hero of the Soviet Union M.V. Kozlov; leading test engineer V.N. Benderov and flight engineer Yu.T. Seliverstov. Considering the novelty of the aircraft, the design bureau made an extraordinary decision: for the first time, they decided to install ejection crew seats on an experimental passenger aircraft.
During the month, engine races, jogging, and ground system checks were carried out. From the beginning of the third ten days of December 1968, “044” was in pre-launch readiness, the vehicle and crew were completely ready for the first flight, during all these ten days there was no weather over the LII airfield, and the experienced Tu-144 remained on the ground. Finally, on the last day of the year 1968, 25 seconds after the start, “044” took off for the first time from the runway of the LII airfield and quickly gained altitude. The first flight lasted 37 minutes, during the flight the car was accompanied by an analogue aircraft "21-11". The Tu-144 managed to take off two months earlier than its Anglo-French “colleague” - the Concorde airliner, which made its first flight on March 2, 1969.
According to the crew's reviews, the vehicle proved to be obedient and "flyable." The first flight was attended by A. N. Tupolev, A. A. Tupolev, and many heads of OKB departments. The first flight of the Tu-144 became an event of world significance and an important moment in the history of domestic and world aviation. For the first time, a supersonic passenger plane took off.
On June 3, 1973, the first production vehicle crashed during a demonstration flight in Le Bourget. Commander test pilot 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 were killed. A commission was created to investigate the disaster, in which specialists from the USSR and France took part. Based on the results of the investigation, the French noted that there was no failure in the technical part of the aircraft, 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 crew, the presence of a movie camera in the hands of one of the crew members, which If it fell, the control wheel could become jammed. E.V. Elyan spoke most succinctly and accurately about the Tu-144 crash at Le Bourget in the 90s: “This disaster is a bitter example of how a confluence of small, at first glance, insignificant negligence, in this case on the part of the French flight control services, led to tragic consequences."
However, the Tu-144 began to make regular flights. The first operational flight was carried out on December 26, 1975 on the Moscow-Alma-Ata route, where the plane transported mail and parcels, and in November 1977, passenger transportation began on the same route.
The flights were carried out by only two aircraft - No. 77108 and No. 77109. Aeroflot pilots flew only as co-pilots, while the crew commanders were always test pilots from the Tupolev Design Bureau. A ticket cost a lot of money at that time - 82 rubles, and for a regular Il-18 or Tu-114 flight on the same route - 48 rubles.
From an economic point of view, after some time it became clear that the operation of the Tu-144 was unprofitable - supersonic aircraft flew half empty, and after 7 months the Tu-144 was removed from regular flights. Concorde experienced similar problems: only 14 aircraft flew from Europe to America, and even expensive tickets could not compensate airlines for huge fuel costs. Unlike the Tu-144, Concorde flights were subsidized by the governments of France and Great Britain almost until the beginning of the 90s. The cost of a ticket on the London-New York route in 1986 was 2,745 USD. Only very wealthy people could afford such expensive flights, for whom the formula “time is money” is the main credo of their existence. There were such people in the West, and for them, flying on Concordes was a natural saving of time and money, which is confirmed by their total flight time on intercontinental routes in 1989 of 325,000 flight hours. Therefore, we can assume that the Concorde program for the British and French was quite commercial, and subsidies were allocated to maintain prestige in relation to the Americans.
On May 23, 1978, the second Tu-144 crash occurred. An improved experimental version of the Tu-144D aircraft (No. 77111), after a fuel fire in the engine nacelle area of the 3rd power plant due to the destruction of the fuel line, smoke in the cabin and the crew turning off two engines, made an emergency landing on a field near the village of Ilyinsky Pogost, not far from the city Yegoryevsk. Crew commander V.D. Popov, co-pilot E.V. Elyan and navigator V.V. Vyazigin were able to leave the plane through the cockpit window. Engineers V.M. Kulesh, V.A. Isaev, V.N. Stolpovsky, who were in the cabin, left the plane through the front entrance door. Flight engineers O. A. Nikolaev and V. L. Venediktov found themselves trapped in their workplace by structures that were deformed during landing and died. The deflected nose cone touched the ground first; it worked like a bulldozer knife, entering the ground, turning under the bottom and entering the fuselage. On June 1, 1978, Aeroflot permanently stopped supersonic passenger flights.
Subsequently, the Tu-144D was used only for cargo transportation between Moscow and Khabarovsk. In total, the Tu-144 made 102 flights under the Aeroflot flag, of which 55 were passenger flights, in which 3,194 passengers were transported.
Photo: Tu-144 board USSR-77115 / (c) Baskakov V.D. Later, the Tu-144 made only test flights and several flights with the aim of setting world records. From 1995 to 1999, one significantly modified Tu-144D (No. 77114) called Tu-144LL was used by the American space agency NASA for research in the field of high-speed commercial flights in order to develop a plan for the creation of a new, modern supersonic passenger aircraft. Due to the lack of serviceable NK-144 or RD-36-51 engines, the Tu-144LL was equipped with NK-32, similar to those used on the Tu-160, various sensors and monitoring and recording equipment.
A total of 16 Tu-144 aircraft were built, which made a total of 2,556 sorties and flew 4,110 hours (among them, aircraft 77144 flew the most, 432 hours). The construction of four more aircraft was never completed.
Tu-144 board USSR-77114 parked at the Flight Research Institute named after. Gromov, airfield in Zhukovsky / Photo (c) Andrey Velichko, MAKS 2003 There are currently no aircraft that remain in flying condition. Only the Tu-144LL aircraft No. 77114 and TU-144D No. 77115 are almost completely complete with parts and can be restored to flight condition. Aircraft No. 77114, which was used for NASA tests, is stored at the airfield in Zhukovsky. TU-144D No. 77115 is also stored at the airfield in Zhukovsky. Once every two years, these machines are shown in a static parking lot during the MAKS international aerospace show.
| Tu-144 of various modifications | Concorde | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tu-144 (“044”) | Tu-144S | Tu-144D | Tu-144LL | ||
| Specifications | |||||
| Crew, people | 4 | 3 | |||
| Length, m | 59,40 | 65,70 | 61,66 | ||
| Height, m | 12,25 | 12,50 | 12,2 | ||
| Wingspan, m | 27,65 | 28,00 | 28,80 | 25,60 | |
| Wing area, m² | 438 | 503 | 507 | 358,6 | |
| Maximum take-off weight, kg | 180 000 | 195 000 | 207 000 | 203 000 | 185 000 |
| Payload weight, kg | 12 000 | 15 000 | 13 380 | ||
| Fuel weight, kg | 70 000 | 98 000 | 95 000 | 95 680 | |
| Engines | |||||
| Quantity | 4 | ||||
| NK-144 | NK-144A | RD-36-51A | NK-32-1 | Olympus 593 | |
| Thrust, maximum, kN | 171,6 | 178,0 | 196,1 | 245,0 | 170,0 |
| Supersonic thrust, kN | 127,5 | 147,0 | 137,5 | ||
| Flight characteristics | |||||
| Maximum speed, km/h | 2 443 | 2 500 | 2 285 | 2 500 | 2 330 |
| Cruising speed (supersonic), km/h | 2 300 | 2 200 | 2 120 | 2 300 | 2 150 |
| Landing speed, km/h | 270 | 295 | |||
| Practical range (fully loaded), km | 2 920 | 3 080 | 5 330 | 4 000 | 6 470 |
| Service ceiling, m | 20 000 | 18 300 | |||
| Run length, m | 2 930 | ||||
| Run length, m | 2 570 | ||||
It is interesting to compare the fate of the Tu-144 and the Anglo-French Concorde - machines similar in purpose, design and time of creation. First of all, it should be noted that Concorde was designed mainly for supersonic flights over uninhabited spaces Atlantic Ocean. According to the sonic boom conditions, this is a choice of lower altitudes of cruising supersonic flight and, as a result, a smaller wing area, a smaller take-off weight, a lower required cruising thrust of the power plant and specific fuel consumption.
The Tu-144 had to fly mainly over land, so high flight altitudes and corresponding aircraft parameters, as well as the required thrust of the power plant, were required. This should include less advanced engines. In terms of their specific parameters, the Tu-144 engines came close to the Olympus only in the latest versions, plus the worst specific parameters of domestic equipment and aircraft components compared to Western ones. All these negative initial aspects were largely compensated by the high perfection of the aerodynamics of the Tu-144 - in terms of the aerodynamic quality obtained when flying in supersonic cruising mode, the Tu-144 was superior to the Concorde. This was due to the complication of the aircraft design and a decrease in the level of manufacturability in production.
In the USSR the rich business people there was no, therefore there was no natural market for services that was supposed to satisfy the Tu-144. The aircraft obviously had to become largely subsidized and unprofitable in operation, which is why the program for creating the Tu-144 should be attributed to the concept of the country’s prestige. There were no real economic prerequisites for the use of ATP in the aviation services market of the USSR in the 60-70s of the twentieth century. As a result, on the one hand, the heroic efforts of the A. N. Tupolev Design Bureau and other enterprises and organizations of MAP to develop the Tu-144, and on the other, the initial emotional uplift and support from the country’s leadership, which gradually turned into indifference and, to a large extent, inhibition on the part of the Aeroflot management, which, by and large, simply did not need the low-income headache of mastering the complex Tu-144 complex. Therefore, in the early 80s, when the features of the coming economic and political crisis began to clearly appear in the USSR, the Tu-144 program was one of the first to suffer.