Why wasn't Tu-114 more successful?

[Nodeo-Franvier]

Tu-114 was one of the biggest commercial airliner of it time

It speed is comparable to modern jetliner

It have good range and fuel economy thanks to the turbo prop too.

Why did the Soviet replace this promising plane just after 14 years of Service and only 32 build?

 

[bf109xxl]

According to some reports, for the Tu-114 lacked engines, priority was given to the Tu-95 and Tu-142 programs. Built on the bomber basis Tu-114 had initially shorter service life, by the end of his career fatigues began to appear in some elements of the structure. These elements could be replaced, but apparently the economic justification for these measures was debatable even in the USSR. The Tu-114 required very wide (80m) and long runways, its airfield maintenance and repair were complicated.
In addition, it was a very noisy airplane, both for passengers and residents of the airport areas.
It could have been used as a transport aircraft, but few were produced - it was a very expensive aircraft. I think Aeroflot considered the cost of their operation and repair too high - despite their high fuel efficiency and long range. Tu-114 was promising in 1960. In 1970 everyone realized that its time as an airliner was over.

 

[Jabberwocky]

Tu-114 was one of the biggest commercial airliner of it time

It speed is comparable to modern jetliner

It have good range and fuel economy thanks to the turbo prop too.

Why did the Soviet replace this promising plane just after 14 years of Service and only 32 build?

It was a notoriously noisy and prone to uncomfortable levels of vibrations in the passenger compartment at certain speed/altitude bands. Second generation passenger jets were whisper quiet in comparison.

To give the amount of prop clearance needed, it was very tall. Which meant it wasn't compatible with most airport gates (and even some airport boarding stairs were too short). This wasn't a problem in the Soviet Union, but it did fly internationally a lot which meant that airports needed to buy special equipment to handle it.

The engines, while very reliable and efficient, were also something of a maintenance nightmare.

 

[bf109xxl]

It was a notoriously noisy and prone to uncomfortable levels of vibrations in the passenger compartment at certain speed/altitude bands. Second generation passenger jets were whisper quiet in comparison.
To give the amount of prop clearance needed, it was very tall. Which meant it wasn't compatible with most airport gates (and even some airport boarding stairs were too short). This wasn't a problem in the Soviet Union, but it did fly internationally a lot which meant that airports needed to buy special equipment to handle it.

The experience of joint operation of Tu-114 by Aeroflot and JAL on flights Moscow-Tokyo, as well as regular flights Moscow-Montreal and irregular flights to Paris and London demonstrated that the problem of boarding stairs height was quite solvable. In my opinion, the main reasons for the discontinuation were cracks in structural elements and competition for engines - the Il-18, which was also very noisy, remained in service much longer.

The engines, while very reliable and efficient, were also something of a maintenance nightmare.

I've heard that replacing NK-12 engines was extremely difficult, but I never heard any complaints about the inter-flight maintenance. There was a problem with engine starting at very low temperatures - AFAIK the problem was solved by using a new lubricating oil, but it was developed only in the early 1980s.

 

[special ed]

The Soviets got very amused when Kruschev visited the USA and we had no air stair tall enogh to allow him to deplane. There should be news accounts of the day somewhere.

 

[bf109xxl]

The Soviets got very amused when Kruschev visited the USA and we had no air stair tall enogh to allow him to deplane. There should be news accounts of the day somewhere.

Actually Tu-114 already visited America before Khrushchev's visit - on June 28, 1959 the Tu-114 first landed at Idlewild Airport (now JFK). On board was a Soviet delegation headed by Prime Minister Kozlov, including Tupolev himself and his deputies.
By the way, it is less known that Khrushchev's relatives (but not Khrushchev himself and his wife!) and other members of the delegation were trained to use life jackets in a swimming pool in a mockup of a Tu-114 cabin compartment made exclusively for this purpose. And this was the only time when the first person of the state was on board an airplane that had not passed all state tests.

 

[bf109xxl]

I tried to find a very detailed book - 6oo(!) pages, unfortunately, only in Russian - "Tu-95/Tu-114/Tu-142/Tu-95MS Turboprops" by Zatuchny, Rigmant and Sineoky (the same ones who published the most comprehensive book about the Tu-144), 2017, but it turned out to be absolutely unrealistic - the book was printed in only 700 copies.

And I'm not ready to pay 200 euros for the book "Tupolev Tu-114: The First Soviet Intercontinental Airliner", "Red Star" Series, Vol. 31, Midland Publishing, 2007 by Gordon and Rigmant.