Tu-244 - supersonic passenger aircraft

2024 Author: Harold Hamphrey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:06

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, 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 such project is the Tu-244 supersonic passenger aircraft, which we will discuss below.

Faster than sound

But before we start talking directly about the Tu-244, let's make a brief digression into the history of overcoming the speed of sound 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 with jet engines appeared, capable of reaching speeds greater than screw 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 maximizeaircraft speed. 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 XX century in military aviation. Production models such as the MiG-19, North American A-5 Vigilante, Convair F-102 Delta Dagger and many others have appeared.

Passenger supersonic aviation

But civil aviation is so unlucky. The first supersonic passenger aircraft appeared only in the late 60s. And to date, only two serial models have been created - 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.

Begin development

An aircraft project thatwas supposed to replace the Tu-144, the Tupolev Design Bureau was launched 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, flights on them were 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 its start.

Thus, it was 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 andoperating 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 the Tu-154, which could accommodate only 150 passengers.

The planned cruising speed was 2, 175 thousand km / h, which was twice the speed of sound. For comparison, the same indicator for the Tu-144 was 2,300 thousand km / h, and for the Concorde - 2, 125 thousand km / h. 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. Propulsion was provided by four turbofan engines. The flight range of the new aircraft was to be 7500-9200 km. Load capacity - 300 tons.

The airliner was supposed to be 88 m long, 15 m high, with a wingspan of 45 m and a working surface area of 965 m2.

The main external difference between the new aircraft and 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 a rather protracted nature 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, detailed information about the development was provided. 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 American specialists began to actively join the project, although contacts with them were made back in Soviet times.

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.

Closure or Freeze?

Against the backdrop of ongoing developments and statements that by 2025 TU-244 aircraft will be put into operation by 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. 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, we can say that the Tu-244 project is currently at least hovering in the air, and possibly even closed. There has not yet been an official announcement about 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 the influence of all three factors at the same time.

In 2014, the media speculated 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.