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Aviation History
1975
1975 - 2332.PDF
FLIGHT International, 23 October 1975 638 COMMERCIAL AIRCRAFT OF THE WORLD believed to be the eighth off the line—had revised and strengthened canards without the four slots of the 1973 air craft. A crew escape-hatch had been added. Living up to claims that the Soviet Union would fly an SST in ,.1968, the first prototype Tu-144 made its maiden flight on December 31 of that year, beating Concorde by about two months. On May 26 it became the first commercial transport to exceed Mach 2. The Tu-144 has flown at up to Mach 2-4. The existence of the project was first revealed when a model was displayed at the 1965 Paris Show, but the design has undergone considerable development since then. The first flight of the Tu-144 was also the first for the NK-144 turbo- fans—a development of the NK-8s in the 11-62. The production Tu-144 is a completely revised aircraft com pared with the prototypes. It is about 20ft, 6m longer and has accommodation for 140 passengers. Normal seating is three-abreast in the first-class cabin and five abreast in the tourist cabins. The cabin is some 4in, 10cm wider than the prototypes and the standard of the interior decor brought favourable reaction at Paris. Among the most noticeable changes has been the addition of 10ft, 3m-span, canard "moustaches" mounted on the forward fuselage just behind the cockpit side windows. When stowed they lie flat against the fuselage side and move forward when deployed to a fixed position at a slight sweep-back angle with marked anhedral during take-off and landing. They provide lifting trim loads and therefore better field performance. Other changes include separation and movement outboard of the engine nacelle pairs, new Concorde-type cambered wing, new eight-wheel undercarriage bogies and quadruple brakes and the deletion of the transparent visor. Thrust reversers are apparently under development. Blown-in doors behind the intakes on the sides and undersides of the nacelles take in extra air at low speeds. The production aircraft sits at a higher ground angle than Concorde and the prototype Tu-144. The take-off thrust, with reheat on the NK-144s, has been boosted from 38,5001b, 172kN to 44,0001b, 196kN to match the higher weights of the production aircraft. The approach speed is quoted as remaining constant at 152kt, 280km/hr, so it can be assumed that the canard is used to cater for the higher weight rather than to reduce touchdown speed. Steel brakes, rather than carbon as on Concorde, are fitted. Take off ground roll has dropped to 6,240ft, 1,900m at gross weight—an apparent 17 per cent improvement. Landing roll is quoted as 3,600ft, 1,100m. The production aircraft shown at Paris showed considerable refinement and a high standard of external finish. It seems likely that the Russians intended that the first two Tu-144s should be crudely finished prototypes only, and that produc tion aircraft would incorporate major changes if necessary, based on the results of flight testing. Such modifications would probably have been prohibitively expensive for the Concorde programme. The basic structure of the Tu-144 is VAD-23 light alloy but 18 per cent of the airframe is made of titanium alloy. The Tupolev design bureau is believed to be studying a second-generation SST with 180 to 200 seats and better operating economics. The Kuznetsov design team is working on a variable-cycle powerplant which could see application to this uprated Tu-144 some time in the future. Tu-144 orders: Aerofiot, 30-plus. Tupolev Tu-154/154A The Tu-154 entered service with Aero fiot in May 1971—initially on cargo services, as is customary —but during 1972 it began flying passengers. The Tu-154 is essentially a replacement for the Tu-104, now in its 16th year of Aeroflot service, and the 11-18. Slotted in size and in range between the Tu-124 and Tu-134 twinjets and the Ilyushin 11-62, the trijet Tu-154 is likely to be a key aircraft in the Aeroflot fleet in the 1970s. Announced in the spring of 1966^ this three-turbofan- powered aircraft first flew on October 4, 1968. It is powered by three Kuznetsov NK-8-2s of 21.0001b, 93-5kN thrust, similar to those fitted to the 11-62. Triple-slotted trailing-edge flaps, leading-edge slats and six-wheel main bogies permit opera tion from packed earth and gravel. An APU is standard, and Icao Cat 2 automatic approaches can be made. The Tu-154 has a good airfield performance derived from a high thrust- to-weight ratio and the high-lift wing. Deliveries of Tu-154s to Aeroflot appear to have begun again following a gap in production which occurred while the lessons from a number of fatal crashes were incorporated. A crash in Egypt last year resulted in a request from Egyptair that its Tu-154s be returned to the Soviet Union and its money refunded. The Tu-154A is an improved version powered by the NK-8-2U. There appear to be various sub-types in the1 Tu-154 series, all with minor differences in such items as wing fences, blow-in doors and tail cones. Tu-154/154A orders: Aeroflot, 90-plus; Balkan, 7; Egyptair, 8 (now returned to Russia); Malev, 5 (2 ex-Egyptair). Total built, 120-plus. VFW-Fokker VFW 614 The first production VFW 614 was delivered to Cimber Air in August. The production of 30 614s has been authorised and Fokker-VFW International is continuing negotiations with the Romanian Government for the co-production of a large number of aircraft. The first few machines would be built at Bremen, but a second line would progressively open in Romania. The Romanian line might supply up to 50 VFW 614s to Eastern European customers as An-24 replacements. Fokker-VFW International is believed to have received an order for eight aircraft from French regional carrier Touraine Air Transport. The scheme for airlines to take options coupled with small deposits on the VFW 614 has been abandoned. The range of the 614 is very nearly double that originally predicted because of an increase in maximum take-off weight from 41,0001b, 18,600kg to 44,0001b, 19,950kg. This allows the full fuel tankage to be used, giving a range with maximum payload of about 650 n.m., 1,200km. VFW anticipates a break-even with 14-20 passengers aboard and says that the aircraft will be able to operate from 90 per cent of all civil airports. High block speeds are obtained through high cruise speed and good climb performance (llmin to a 21,000ft, 6,400m cruise altitude). One example cited is a gain of up to 20min (or 60 per cent) on a 125-mile stage over some turboprops. VFW-Fokker VFW 614 orders: Cimber Air, 2; TAT, 8. Yakovlev Yak-40 British certification of the Yak-40 was applied for in October 1972 and is now well advanced, accord ing to UK agents Aero Technical Supplies. A Civil Aviation Authority team spent three weeks in the Soviet Union carry ing out an inspection of Soviet production techniques and an extensive flight-test programme was undertaken. Since then considerable progress is reported and it is hoped that certification will be complete by March 1976. The Yak-40 offered for British certification has a gross weight of 35,3001b, 16,000kg, a fuel capacity of 6,6001b, 3,000kg, and 32 passenger seats. The Italian operator Aertirrena was the first Western distributor and used two aircraft on local scheduled services. West German LBA certification—similar to EAR Part 25— is held and five Yak-40s are in service with General Air. The trijet Yak-40 first flew on October 21, 1966, and is the first small turbofan-powered feederliner to go into service and is also the first airliner to come from the Yakovlev design bureau. With three Ivchenko AI-25 turbofans of 3,3001b, 14-7kN thrust, offered with a TBO of 3,000hr, the basic Yak-40 is also available with a cargo door. It can operate from short, rough grass strips by virtue of its straight wing, large plain trailing-edge flaps and robust undercarriage. The aircraft is designed for a life of 30,000hr. Yak-40 orders: Aeroflot, 500-plus; Aertirrena, 3; Balkan Bul garian, 6; Bulkta Afghan, 3; General Air, 5; CSA, 6; North Vietnam NLHX, 4. Number built, 650-plus; airline service, 527-plus. Yakovlev Yak-42 The Yak-42 was one of the two new com mercial transports to make their maiden flights in the last year (the other was the DHC Dash 7). The new Soviet trijet took to the air on March 7 from an airfield near Moscow. Designed to take off from airfields no larger than those required by the smaller Yak-40, the 100/120-seat Yak-42 has been developed for Aeroflot's Siberian services and can operate in temperatures ranging from — 50°C to +50°C. Slightly larger than the F.28 and the now-moribund HS.146, it is powered by three Lotarev D-36 turbofans of 14,2001b thrust—the first high-bypass-ratio (5-34:1) turbofan to be developed in the Soviet Union. The Yak-42 is of simple aerodynamic design and will have a maximum take-off weight of 110,0001b, 50,000kg, a maximum payload of 30,8001b, 14,000kg, and a take-off run from rough fields of 2,600ft, 800m. With maximum payload the range will be 1,120 miles, 1,800km, while maximum range with full tanks will be 1,750 miles, 2,800km. Wing span and fuselage length have both been given as 114-8ft, 35m, and the 12-5ft, 3-8m- wide cabin provides single-class, six-abreast accommodation for 120 at 32in, 71cm pitch.
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