Russian Civil Aviation: News

TheArmenian wrote:I have already flown twice with Armavia's Sukhoi SSJ-100. Nice plane, it is now just a year old.

On June 3, 1973, more than 200,000 spectators at the Paris Air Show were witness to one of the most awesome spectacles in aviation history – a supersonic faceoff between the French-British Concorde and the Russian built Tupolev-144, dubbed the Konkordski by the Western media.

After the Concorde wowed the crowds, it was the Tu-144’s turn. In some respects it was a better aircraft than its rival, and its intriguing canards, a product of Russian ingenuity, made a striking impression on everyone.

It was a battle for a supersonic supremacy and the Europeans, who hoped to corner the market for faster than sound travel, were now worried the Russians would get there first.

Alexander Poukhov, one of the Tu-144 design engineers, explained the challenges faced, in a documentary produced by the Public Broadcasting Service of the US: “For the Soviet Union to allow the West to get ahead and leave it behind at that time was quite unthinkable. We not only had to prevent the West from getting ahead, but had to compete and leapfrog them, if necessary. This was the task Khruschev set us.”

The Tupolev Bureau was up to the task. The Russians had come up with a design feature called canards, two little insect wings behind the cockpit. Extended, the canards improved low-speed flying by adding 20 percent more lift, allowing the jet to make softer, slower landings. During supersonic flight, they were retracted. The Russians claimed their plane was faster, cleaner and quieter.

Predictably, there was panic in the West. “Are the Russians going to run away with the supersonic transport market?” was the question being asked in Washington.

As the TU-144 taxied for takeoff, the Russian pilot, Koslov, was told by the French air traffic controllers that his display time had been cut in half.

PBS comments: “The French intervened into a scientific, technical spectacle for political reasons. This was a major piece of French prestige and honour. I think they simply wanted to showcase their bird. They wanted to show it off to the world and to push the Russians in the background.”
Even in the limited time he was given the Russian pilot performed brilliantly. French and British pilots who were watching were impressed by the sheer rate of the plane’s climb as well as its 360-degree turns.

But then suddenly the TU-144 pitched violently, stalled at 4000 ft, and then began to dive. It then started to break up and caught fire before plunging into the crowd below. Six Russian crew members and eight French viewers died. One little boy playing in front of his home was decapitated by a piece of flying debris. Two other children were also killed. Sixty people were seriously injured and 15 houses totally destroyed.

Both Russian and French authorities blamed pilot error for the crash. But in reality something really devious was to blame for the crash.

Minutes before the Concorde and the TU-144 were scheduled to fly, a French Army Mirage jet took off. “It was a surprising departure, since at international air shows, competing pilots expect to have the skies to themselves,” says PBS. “Regulations state that a five-mile column of airspace must be kept free for their display. The Concorde was warned the Mirage would be flying, but Koslov’s crew was not informed.”

There is speculation that the French neglected to admit this breach of regulations because the Mirage was on a clandestine mission to photograph the TU-144 in flight. In particular, the French wanted detailed pictures and films of the canards.

To avoid colliding with the Mirage, Koslov was forced to pitch the plane violently downwards, thus setting in a chain of mechanical failures that culminated in a fiery crash.

The crash ended whatever hopes Tupolev had of selling the supersonic TU-144 in Western markets. The Concorde didn’t have much luck either and failed to land a single buyer except for Britain and France, who to save face forced British Airways and Air France to buy the expensive aircraft.

It was a classic case of industrial rivalry. British pilot John Farley told PBS: “Competition between the two airplanes was very well-founded. They were both hoping to go into service, both hoping to carry passengers in large numbers. The TU-144 was a larger airplane, carried more. And the world at that time didn't know which was going to be the better one.”

Capacity of the new aircraft, which plans to create UAC technology-based MS-21 and Sukhoi Superjet 100, the amount of 130-140 passengers. On this, as reported by "Interfax", said the head of the United Aircraft Corporation Mikhail Pogosyan.

According to him, the new airliner could be on the market in 2016-2020. Pogosyan said that the project cost will be significantly lower than the SSJ-100, as will be used for the construction of the existing solutions. To develop an aircraft will be attracted foreign partners, the market demand for new aircraft Poghosyan estimated at 300-400 units.

The fact that the MS-21 project (which produces "daughter" KLA "Irkut") and SuperJet (they produce another "daughter" of the KLA - "Sukhoi Civil Aircraft") are combined, Pogosyan said in August last year. At that time, the corporation has already started to create a single management for the development of new aircraft.

Developers need to create an airliner to be designed using the technologies used in the MS-21 and SSJ-100. This will buy the components from the same suppliers, and thus reduce costs. Aircraft will vary with capacity and range, and the airline will be able to choose the most appropriate for their route networks airliners.

Pogosyan said that in the end of the line aircraft KLA in the segment with 90-130 seats will be models of SSJ 100, SSJ 100 LR (Long Range) and SSJ 130 (NG). Capacity of the MS-21-200 and MS-21-300 will be 150-200 passengers, and in the segment 200-300 seats UAC introduces the "2020" design which has not yet begun.

TR1 wrote:Journalists messed up Polet with Aeroflot, what careless morons.

TR1 wrote:Interesting, since Aeroflot never bought An-148

Journalists messed up Polet with Aeroflot, what careless morons.