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Aviation History
1989
1989 - 1168.PDF
Tupolev unveils propfan airliner by Alan Postlethwaite in Moscow The Tupolev design bureau in Moscow has unveiled plans for a high-technology propfan- powered airliner of up to 137 seats, which could be in service with Aerofiot by 1995. Designated the Tu-334, the aircraft would carry a 13-5- tonne payload over 2,000km or around 8-5 tonnes over 5,600km, powered by a pair of fuel-efficient geared, contra- rotating propfans being devel oped by the Lotarev engine design bureau. Only the gas generator of the propfan engine has been run, but the multi-blade propfan units themselves will be built in 1991 or 1992, and the complete engine should be running in 1994, says Lev Lanovski, deputy chief commercial air craft designer at Tupolev. A baseline version of the aircraft, also designated the Tu-334, and from which the propfan aircraft will be derived, is expected to be built this year. The turbofan-powered air craft, in a similar category to the Fokker 100, is expected to fly in about two years' time, and would replace Tu-134s in Aero- flot service. The aircraft would inherit design features, including wing- lets and much of the systems and equipment, from Tupolev's new Tu-204 airliner, which has a television cockpit and a fly-by- wire flight control system (see page 25). Data released Data released by Aviaexport, Tupolev's export agent in Moscow, indicate a maximum take-off weight of 45 • 3 tonnes, a cruising speed of 830km/hr, and a range of 2,900km with a typical payload of 10-9 tonnes. The propfan engines have a predicted specific fuel-burn some 20 per cent better than the Soviet Union's latest and prob ably most advanced turbofan engine, the Soloviev PS-90A, at 0-46kg/kg thrust/hour, giving a fuel-burn of 13 grammes per seat-kilometre. Cruise thrust is given as 1 • 6 tonnes, and static thrust between 8 tonnes and 9 tonnes. Four single-aisle seating lay outs are envisaged, with seats three-abreast and four-abreast: a 104-seat layout with eight first- class seats, 12 business-class seats, and 84 tourist-class seats; a 116-seat layout with eight Tupolev's Tu-334, like McDonnell Douglas' MD-90, prefers propfans, but will entertain turbofans first-class seats and 108 tourist- class seats; a 126-seat tourist layout; and a 137-seat economy- class cabin layout. Seat pitch ranges from 0 • 75m to 1 • 02m, depending on class. All layouts include provi sion for two galleys, two toilets, and a service compartment. The projected aircraft has a wing span of 29-lm and a length of 36-9m. The turbofan-powered Tu- 334 aircraft would have 86-102 seats and be capable of carrying an 11-tonne payload around 1,200km or around 5-5 tonnes more than 4,000km. The 39-5- tonne aircraft would be driven by a pair of Lotarev D436T turbofans of 6-5:1 bypass ratio, delivering 1 • 36 tonnes thrust to give a cruising speed of 820km/hr, a specific fuel-burn of 0-62kg/kg thrust /hr, and a 20 grammes fuel-burn per seat- kilometre, the latter some 50 per cent higher than the propfan follow-on aircraft. Three mixes of tourist, first- class, and business seating would be offered, and there would be again two galleys, two toilets, and a service compart ment. The cabin cross-section for both variants of the Tu-334 would be identical, with a ceiling height of 2-155m and an aisle width of 0-47m or 0-73m, depending on cabin seating class. Tupolev Tu-334 Payloa d (tonnes ) 1,000 2,000 Turbofan ^^*\ 3,000 4,000 Range (km) Propfan 5,000 6,000 7,000 <c Tupolev Tu-334 Propfan 0 5 10^^ 15 20m 0 15 30 45 60ft :*^a?Q' w FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL, 29 April 1989
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