When the Soviet rival to Concorde made its first overseas look on the Paris Air Present in 1971, everybody was impressed. Within the heated race to develop a supersonic passenger jet, it was the us who acquired off to a head begin.
The Tupolev Tu-144 regarded similar to its Anglo-French competitor — which inevitably earned it the nickname “Concordski” — however it was considerably extra unique and mysterious. And the Soviets’ monitor report in aerospace demanded respect: that very same 12 months, that they had achieved the primary probe-landing on Mars and launched the primary house station. They appeared completely positioned to beat the West on supersonic passenger journey.
As a substitute, via a mixture of shortcomings and unhealthy luck, the Concordski would quickly flip into one in all civil aviation’s greatest failures.
The race for supersonic flight
Though it is Concorde that earned a spot in historical past, the lesser identified Tu-144 beat it to the skies twice: it had its maiden flight on Dec. 31, 1968 — two months earlier than Concorde — after which achieved its first supersonic flight in June 1969, beating the competitors by 4 months.

A Tu-144 on show at Moscow’s worldwide airport in 1968. Credit score: Bettmann/Bettmann/Bettmann Archive
Each effort was made to outshine Concorde: “Improvement began within the midst of a rivalry between two political methods,” Ilya Grinberg, a Soviet aviation skilled and engineering professor at Buffalo State College, stated in an e mail. “Expectations have been excessive. The whole USSR was extraordinarily happy with the Tu-144, and the Soviet individuals had little question that it was higher than Concorde. And it was so fairly!”
Each planes have been clearly forward of their time, as civil aviation had barely simply transitioned from props to jets. However their putting similarities have lengthy fueled spy tales: “The design of the Tupolev was not a results of espionage. Though they appear alike, they’re quite totally different planes with many various elements. Exterior similarities are primarily based on purposeful standards and required parameters. However it’s actually doable that familiarity with the outlines of Concorde may have influenced some conceptual choices,” stated Grinberg.
The Tupolev was barely larger and sooner than Concorde, however its most distinctive function was a pair of “canards” or winglets proper behind the cockpit, which supplied further carry and improved dealing with at low speeds.
A crash over Paris
After stealing the present on the greatest occasion within the aviation trade in 1971, the Tu-144 did it once more in 1973, however as a consequence of tragedy quite than triumph.

The ill-fated TU-144 shortly earlier than it exploded and crashed. Credit score: Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Photos
“The pilots tried to impress the general public and the world’s press, to indicate that the Soviet airplane may very well be ‘sexier’ than the extra conservative show of Concorde. That is fairly clear from the footage.”
55 flights
That was the beginning of a downward spiral from which the Tu-144 by no means recovered. The Paris crash delayed the Soviet program by 4 years, permitting Concorde to enter service first. However it did not solely persuade the Soviets that the airplane wanted extra testing.
“Political priorities to beat the West, it doesn’t matter what, clearly performed a damaging position, as they favored dashing over correct scheduling in a extremely difficult and complex subject,” stated Grinberg.

The cabin of a Tu-144. Credit score: Miroslav Zaj/CORBIS/Corbis through Getty Photos
“The nation as an entire was not able to deploy planes like this. It had teething issues, it was not economical, and in the end there was no actual want for high-speed passenger transportation,” stated Grinberg.
The tip of an period
“It was lack of curiosity in this system by the Soviet management in addition to Aeroflot high brass. They’ve had sufficient of the complications related to this extremely advanced program. There have been no actual financial incentives to make use of it within the Soviet home markets,” stated Grinberg.

The Tu-144LL supersonic flying laboratory on the Zhukovsky Air Improvement Heart close to Moscow in 1997. Credit score: NASA
Many different supersonic planes have been proposed since, however none have made it to manufacturing. “I don’t foresee one anytime quickly. Within the age of Web and real-time video conferences there is no such thing as a want for high-speed transportation for enterprise functions,” stated Grinberg.
“It’s a pity that the Tu-144 and Concorde have left the skies. Regardless of financial constraints and however fundamental requirements, individuals want a dream, resembling touring at supersonic velocity in consolation. Not the worst dream to have, I suppose.”
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