Tu-144: busting myths

[bf109xxl]

The discussion was started here, this is my reply on the cammerjeff's post.

Concordski.

With all due respect, it is a very arrogant and completely undeserved nickname.
Of course, it is foolish to deny the facts of espionage - moreover, may be not all of them are still connected with the Tu-144 development. For example, the information on the aerodynamics of the Mirage IV seems to have played a certain role for the optimizing of the aerodynamics of the Tu-144. Nevertheless, the huge amount of original research was incomparable to what was obtained by espionage.
The Tu-144 was larger than the Concorde, had similar (if not better!) aerodynamic performance, its main problem were engines (unreliable, with too high SFC) - indeed, there were many problems, but the others were not as crucial. Additionally, the reasonability of its exploitation in the conditions of the USSR was not obvious. Nevertheless, it was (and remains) an outstanding achievement of the Soviet aircraft industry.
Surprisingly enough, there was some cooperation besides espionage - for example, an official exchange of samples of alloys used in the design of Concorde (AU2GN) and Tu-144 (AK4-1) was mentioned, now I am trying to verify this information.
Here is a book (album) on the history of the Tu-144, 550 pages:

The book provides some ideas (but in my opinion, insufficient) on the amount of research carried out during the development of the Tu-144. It also contains some information about heat protection and the cabin air conditioning system.

Now I would like to see the Soviet cooling solution in diagram for the Concordski.

Other sources could be mentioned, but since they are in Russian, they are unlikely to be of interest to the audience.

I understand the noise it transmitted to the passenger cabin was most unpleasant!

According to feedback from Tu-144 passengers, the noise level was very high only in the rear compartment of the cabin, in the front compartment it was much lower.

 

[nuuumannn]

A few things, "Concordski" was a nickname by a member of the British press when the Tu-144 made its debut at the Paris Airshow and might just have been associated with its appearance rather than espionage attempts. The Tu-144 was a big achievement but to claim it had "had similar (if not better!) aerodynamic performance" doesn't quite make sense - what exactly do you mean by aerodynamic performance? To be clear, the Concorde was far more sophisticated aerodynamically, its wing was a carefully designed ogival shape with a constantly changing aerodynamic profile across its chord, whereas the Tu-144's wing was a simple double delta planform and was more crude than the Concorde's. Any examination of images of the two aircraft will affirm this.

Many of the criticisms of the Tu-144 and the elevated noise levels again come from British aviation journos' press reports who got to fly on board one and who had also flown aboard Concorde, so there might have been a bit of bias, but their expectations were shaped by their experiences with the Concorde.

For further information, have you read Gordon and Rigmant's book Tupolev Tu-144 Russia's Concorde? It is quite detailed and goes into the development of the aircraft in considerable detail. There is an assessment of the Tu-144LL that was evaluated for research by the US, and it mentions French engineers working with the Russians and trading information about Concorde operations for comparison. It is interesting to note that on the ground the Tu-144 did not leak as much fuel as the Concorde!

A photo I took of a Tu-144 at Monino many years ago. It is a rather beautiful aircraft with undeniable presense.

Tupolev Tu-144 Charger

 

[bf109xxl]

A few things, "Concordski" was a nickname by a member of the British press when the Tu-144 made its debut at the Paris Airshow and might just have been associated with its appearance rather than espionage attempts.

That's no reason to keep using that nickname.

The Tu-144 was a big achievement but to claim it had "had similar (if not better!) aerodynamic performance" doesn't quite make sense - what exactly do you mean by aerodynamic performance?

Lift-drag ratio (LDR) at cruising speed.

To be clear, the Concorde was far more sophisticated aerodynamically, its wing was a carefully designed ogival shape with a constantly changing aerodynamic profile across its chord, whereas the Tu-144's wing was a simple double delta planform and was more crude than the Concorde's. Any examination of images of the two aircraft will affirm this.

Both airplanes had about the same aerodynamic complexity, as they used similar principles to achieve high values of LDR at cruising speed. Wing shape (ogival or double delta) was not decisive. The prototype ("044", "CCCP-68001") had an ogival wing, this was abandoned in production aircraft, with the double delta wing an aerodynamic quality of 8 was achieved, which was higher than that of the Concorde.

Many of the criticisms of the Tu-144 and the elevated noise levels again come from British aviation journos' press reports who got to fly on board one and who had also flown aboard Concorde, so there might have been a bit of bias, but their expectations were shaped by their experiences with the Concorde.

The noise level in the front and rear cabins of the Tu-144 differed significantly - in the front cabin it was not so high. However, anyway, in the Concorde it should be lower due to a larger distance of the engines from the fuselage - it should be noted as an important advantage of the chosen scheme.

For further information, have you read Gordon and Rigmant's book Tupolev Tu-144 Russia's Concorde?

I've read even more informative sources in Russian - in particular, the memoirs of Georgy Cheryomukhin, who was the Tu-144's lead aerodynamicist. The excellent book by Gordon and Rigmant (the latter was an employee of the Tupolev design bureau), which I also read, is nothing new compared to the Russian-language sources.

A photo I took of a Tu-144 at Monino many years ago. It is a rather beautiful aircraft with undeniable presense.

Agree. Unfortunately, its development was rather a matter of Soviet prestige than an economic need. In addition, this airplane never received engines with the required characteristics.

 

[Capt. Vick]

If I may, a first class passenger aircraft in a supposed class-less society? Ideologically it makes no sense.

Not to mention mechanical unreliability, a backup aircraft was often available to keep any hope of regularly scheduled service.

A complete redesign of the prototypes.

Excessive fuel consumption, and the afore mentionion cabin noise and A/C issues.

I recommend the following book for anyone interested in the ill fated Tu 144.

Rushed into service to prove the superiority of the soviet system it was a case of can we do it, not should we do it. A second space race if you will.

Love the fact that members of the soviet delegation that visited the French factory wore gum shoes to pickup any metal alloy chips to analyze. Evidently the French were on to this and deposited some red hearings.

 

[bf109xxl]

If I may, a first class passenger aircraft in a supposed class-less society? Ideologically it makes no sense.

There were first class seats on some airliners in the USSR. This in no way contradicted the declared classlessness of Soviet society.

Not to mention mechanical unreliability, a backup aircraft was often available to keep any hope of regularly scheduled service.

The Tu-144 made one flight per week on the Moscow - Alma-Ata route. I have never seen any complaints about the reliability of the Tu-144. What sources confirm this negative assessment of reliability?

I recommend the following book for anyone interested in the ill fated Tu 144.

How is this book better than the book by Gordon and Rigmant published much later? And I'll note again that the Russian-language book I mentioned in my initial post is much more informative than Gordon and Rigmant's book.

Rushed into service to prove the superiority of the soviet system it was a case of can we do it, not should we do it. A second space race if you will.

Not really. There were those who considered the operation of the Tu-144 justified even under the existing economic constraints. But there was also an anti-Tu-144 lobby headed by the Minister of Civil Aviation, who tried their best to "bury" the project, as it required a new level of ground technical service.

Love the fact that members of the soviet delegation that visited the French factory wore gum shoes to pickup any metal alloy chips to analyze. Evidently the French were on to this and deposited some red hearings.

This "spy story" has been quite popular in different eras. The earliest version I heard was about Artem Mikoyan's visit to the UK.