Tu-154: business card of the Soviet "Aeroflot"
The first domestic passenger aircraft with turbojet engines (TRD), Tu-104 and Tu-114, were created on the basis of military vehicles Tu-16 and Tu-95. The second generation Tu-124 and Tu-134 were originally designed as reduced models of the Tu-104, with a number of changes. In contrast, the creation of a third-generation mid-range passenger aircraft, called Tu-154, was for designers of the OKB Design Bureau. Tupolev first passenger car that did not have a military prototype.
Soviet specialists were faced with the task of creating an aircraft that would not be inferior in design to the Boeing-727, the American aircraft of the same class. An experienced "Boeing 727-100" first flew into the air in February 1963-th and was certified in December. The B-727 (with a cargo door and manual loading system) took off in December of the 1964. Three years later, in July, B-727-200 appeared, which entered service five months later. Production of the B-727 was discontinued in the 1984 edition of the 1831 machine, including the 1249 B-727-200.
At the beginning of the sixties, Aeroflot lines with a length of up to 3500 km were actively exploited by the Tu-104, Il-18 and An-10. Thus, the domestic GVF had in its fleet three different passenger aircraft of the same class. This hampered the work of ensuring the regularity of traffic, led to unnecessary difficulties in the operation of aircraft of various designs.
It was at this time that the question was raised about replacing them with one machine. A condition was made: the new airliner had to take all the best from its predecessors, naturally, taking into account the new requirements for passenger aircraft. The work in the OKB to determine the most optimal appearance of the aircraft to be built, which took almost two years, was headed by the head of the technical projects department S. Eger. The medium-haul passenger aircraft was designed to transport the 16-18 tonnes of payload from the range 2850 to 4000 km at a cruising speed of at least 900 km / h and 5800 kg - at a range to 7000 km / h. There was also a requirement for the ability to be exploited from the strips of airfields of the II class.
It should be noted that a competition was announced for this project. In addition to the Tupolev Design Bureau, Ilyushin Design Bureau participated in the development of such a machine, proposing the development of the Il-72 with three D-30 turbojet engines with take-off thrust of 6800 kgf. The customer ultimately chose the Tu-154 as the machine that most fully took into account the latest achievements at that time aviation science and technology. It was planned to launch the aircraft in series at the Moscow plant number 30 ("Banner of Labor", now MAPO), but production was launched at plant number 18 in Kuibyshev. In November 1965, the flight specifications of the MGA were approved for the future Tu-154.
There is no doubt that from the point of view of profitability, a scheme with two turbojet engines was more profitable, and the safest was with four engines. For the Tu-154, an intermediate original three-engine scheme was chosen: two engine designers placed the pylons on the sides and one turbojet inside the rear fuselage (HCHF), with an air intake in the forquille with an S-shaped channel.
Tu-154 has a very high for its class thrust-to-weight ratio equal to 0,36. For most other machines, this figure ranges from 0,22 to 0,27. In Boeing B-727-200, for example, 0,2 — 0,26. Such a choice for the Tu-154 is not accidental; on the one hand, this may have a negative impact on efficiency, on the other hand, an excess of thrust ensures the operation of cars at airports with a length of 1500 m, from high-altitude airfields and in regions with hot climates.
If the overseas Boeing-727 was intended for flights at altitudes from 7600 to 9150 m, then Tu-154 was optimized for large cruising altitudes from 11000 to 12000 m. With this purpose, the wing area was adopted to 180 square. m (for B-727 - 145 sq. m). As a result, the specific load on the wing was reduced. With normal take-off weight, it turned out to be equal to 472 kg / sq. m (for В-727-200 - 602 kg / sq. m). The combination of these two parameters allowed us to minimize cruising fuel consumption.
In 1968, in the pilot production, two first machines were manufactured: one for flight tests, the second for static ones. The first aircraft transferred to the flight test and development base - ASTC them. A.N. Tupolev.
An experienced Tu-154 took to the air in October 1968. The car was driven by a crew consisting of the commander of the ship Y. Sukhov, the co-pilot N. Kharitonov, and the flight engineer V. Evdokimov. On board the aircraft were also a leading test engineer - L. Yumashev, the experimenter Yu. Efimov and the board electrician Y. Kuzmenko. After completing the development stage and the first flights, the car was sent to joint tests, which took place in two stages.
From December 1968-th to January 1971-th at the aerodrome of LII held the first factory stage, the second was completed in December of 1971-th. At the same time, they began preparations for serial production in Kuibyshev. The creation and fine-tuning of the machine on the first was under the direction of the chief designer D. Markov, and then it was headed by S. Eger. It was they who assumed the main problems that were associated with the testing and development of a new airliner in the series. Since May, 1975-nd appointed A. Shengardt, who later became the chief designer for this aircraft and its numerous modifications, as the head of the "one hundred and fifty-four". Prior to 2011, he supervised the entire range of work related to the improvement of the liner.
In 1969, the Soviet Union demonstrated an experienced Tu-154 at a salon in the French Le Bourget.
In May, 1971 began operational tests of pre-production machines on Aeroflot lines. They were used to deliver mail from the Soviet capital in Tbilisi, Sochi, Mineralnye Vody and Simferopol. The first regular passenger flight on the route Moscow - Mineralnye Vody Tu-154 performed on the day of the 49 anniversary of Aeroflot - 9 in February of 1972.
In the eighties, the Tu-154 of various variants became the most popular Aeroflot vehicles. They were operated from the airfields of almost all major cities of the USSR. In the summer, the airliner became the main carrier of numerous holidaymakers to the southern regions of the country. It flew almost a hundred cities in Europe, Asia and Africa. By the beginning of 1996, KuAZ produced an order of 950 machines. Tu-154 serially produced before 2013 year. To date, about 80 machines continue to be in operation.
Airliners of the first issues enjoyed good international demand. What is not surprising: having a profitability that was not inferior to Western counterparts, he markedly surpassed them in comfort. Under capitalism, the profitability of the car comes out on top, it should bring income to the operator. In the USSR, the approach was different, they were not thinking about making a profit, but about the safety of passengers (which, in particular, provided a three-engine scheme) and their convenience. Now this is rarely remembered, but in those years the Soviet Union was a trendsetter in the design of passenger aircraft, it was noted by world aviation publications and proved the relevant diplomas and other awards of international air shows. Starting in the 1972 year, the Tu-154 were sold and began to be used in Bulgaria and Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Cuba, and the DPRK. Total by the mid-eighties abroad sold about 60 machines. With the advent of the new modification of the Tu-154M, exports have expanded even more. At the end of the 20 century aircraft of this modification were operated in the PRC, Cuba, Iran, Poland, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Germany. Abroad put about 100 Tu-154M, of which almost half purchased the PRC. In those years, this aircraft in Russia and the CIS countries is the most used passenger airliner.
Before the collapse of the Soviet Union, KuAZ jointly with the ASTC them. A.N. Tupolev developed and introduced into the 22 series of different versions of the Tu-154. It also became the basis for the creation of the Tu-155 - the world's first aircraft using such an alternative type of fuel as liquefied gas, and its further development - the Tu-156 (with liquid hydrogen).
The first two years of operation of the Tu-154 showed that it has significant opportunities for its further improvement. As a result of the joint activities of the OKB and KuAZ, a modification of the Tu-154A arose.
The main structural difference between the Tu-154A and the previous version was the replacement of the NK-8-2 aircraft engines with the NK-8-2 aircraft engines with increased thrust, which made it possible to more effectively use the good strength capabilities of the glider to bring the take-off weight of the 150th to the 94 and the range flight to 3300 km at a speed of 900 km at 16 t payload. Since 1974, the 78 Tu-154A has been manufactured. The most massive modification was the Tu-154B, which until the end of mass production in the mid-eighties was released in the number of 486 machines. The Tu-154B strengthened the airframe design in order to increase its resource. At the same time, the take-off weight increased to 98 t. They also improved the wing's mechanization control system with changed deflection angles in take-off and landing modes.
The Tu-154B was produced in two main tourist options, on 152 (summer) and 144 seats (winter) with additional wardrobes. Layouts with 138 and 146 seats were developed.
Re-equipment of the machine from one option to another could be carried out under operating conditions. In addition to the deployment of mass production of Tu-154B, modernized the existing fleet of Tu-154 and Tu-154A under the standard "B". Thus, by the early eighties, almost all aircraft of the earliest modifications were modified.
To further improve the efficiency of air travel, Tu-154B-1, designed for 159-169 seats, was introduced into mass production. It was created and its convertible version of the economy class for 180 passengers, received the designation Tu-154-2. Re-equipment was carried out by eliminating the buffet-kitchen by aviation companies in just an hour 2-2,5. Subsequently, the Tu-154B-2 made up the bulk of the Tu-154B fleet. The project of the truck on the basis of the latter was originally designated Tu-154T, and then - Tu-154С. It was supposed to use it both in cargo and cargo-passenger versions.
At the beginning of the 1980s, at the KuAZ, the TU-9 and Tu-154А planes were converted into cargo 154 airplanes from the planned twenty, with simultaneous resource modifications to Tu-154B standards. The cargo door (2,9x1,8 m) was installed on the port side. The cargo with a total weight of up to 20 t was placed on nine pallets secured with mooring nets and moved manually across the cargo compartment and along the cargo compartment along the ball and roller tracks. They were fixed in the corresponding sections by nodes mounted on the floor rails. The cockpit was protected from the possible movement of goods using a barrier mesh.
The main objective of the modernization of the Tu-154M was to significantly reduce fuel consumption by installing more economical D-30KU engines. The tailless leaky part of the fuselage was replaced with the installation of engines in the new nacelles, and the auxiliary power unit was moved to the compartment under the channel of the middle engine. Underwent changes and internal wing flaps.
In 1978, the Kuybyshev branch of the OKB MMZ "Experience" began to develop documentation for the first modified Tu-154B aircraft with three D-30KU aircraft engines. They built a full-scale mock-up of the HCHF, which allowed them to work out the installations in all the “narrow” places and correct the design documentation. For Tu-154B it was supposed to prepare the following layouts of the passenger cabin; mixed version - 154 places, tourist - 164 places, economic - 180 places. A cargo version of the Tu-154С type and a mixed cargo-passenger version with 102 seats and two standard containers in the front passenger compartment were considered.
The D-30KU engine in the Solovyov Design Bureau was modernized, increasing the service life and reducing the take-off thrust by 500 kgf, which increased reliability and reduced specific fuel consumption. The new engine, which received the designation D-30KU-154, had a low specific fuel consumption in cruising mode, not exceeding 0,69 kg / kg.h, with a degree of bypass - 2,45. For reference: the American engine JT8D-15A, which in these years was installed on the Boeing-737, had a specific consumption 0,73-0,779 kg / kg.h.
At the same time, they improved the aerodynamics of the airliner, thanks to which it was possible, despite installing an engine with an increased degree of bypass, to even get some increase in aerodynamic quality in cruising flight mode. This was due to the installation of the internal flaps on the wing and its new fairing with the fuselage, changing the contours of the rear fuselage. As well as the elongation of the flaps of flap mechanisms, sealing and closing the gaps on the wing with removed mechanization and reduction of gaps. As a result, the maximum aerodynamic quality increased to 15 units, which corresponded to the best twin-engine airliners (as we remember, the Tu-154 had three engines).
The first flight of the upgraded Tu-154M made in 1980-m. Factory tests, basically, confirmed the expectations of the developers: according to its characteristics, the aircraft met the requirements of the MGA. In the summer of the 1981-year, the Tu-154M has undergone extensive testing. And three years later, in July, the crew of test pilot A. Talalakin raised the first production car into the air, and the large-scale production of the new version began.
Serial machines had improved engines D-30KU-154 2-series. Passenger salons were performed in various versions. Fuel efficiency compared with modification “B” improved by 10-20% when flying to 3000 km and 30% - at a distance of more than 3000 km. In an hour of flight, compared to the previous version, 1000 kg of fuel was saved.
From the end of the eighties on the Tu-154M a new flight-navigation complex "Jasmine" with the inertial system I-21 complete with ABSU-154-3, which made it possible to perform an automatic landing according to the requirements of 3А category ICAO.
To test the automatic landing of the Buran orbital vehicle, it was necessary to build a number of flying laboratories. Create a flying stand for the reproduction of the flight of the aerospace was not easy. After all, it was necessary to install automatic and manual landing systems on it, identical to those on the Buran. In proximity to the weight and geometric dimensions, the Tu-154 was chosen as the base machine. In order that he could maneuver “in a stormy manner”, flight dynamics specialists developed a system for changing stability and controllability and “entered” it between the standard systems of “Buran” and Tu-154. The new aircraft under the designation Tu-154LL has turned into a dynamically similar analogue of an orbital ship.
When landing the flying laboratory, two side engines were introduced into the reverse mode and, in contrast to the normally operating central engine, they pulled the plane back. Because of this, the fuselage tail section had to be strengthened. In addition, the Tu-154 spoilers, which are usually used to work in conjunction with the ailerons in roll and rejected after landing, were constantly exposed to the stream. The flight path turned out so steep that from the ground it seemed as if the car was falling.
Instead of a regular place of the right pilot on the Tu-154LL, a command post was set up with a control stick and digital system instruments identical to the one delivered on the Buran. This place during the flights was occupied by a test cosmonaut.
Under the program converted five aircraft of various modifications. Moreover, two cars could perform landing in a fully automatic mode. Externally, the flying laboratories from the serial Tu-154 were distinguished by the presence of additional system antennas and other minor features. At TU-154LL, more than 200 flights were performed, which made it possible to obtain the necessary data for testing the Buran spacecraft.
In the early nineties, the countries of NATO and Russia decided to deploy a system providing air surveillance of military activities in Europe. For this purpose, several types of reconnaissance aircraft were offered for this purpose and they provided for the re-equipment of the main passenger aircraft, in particular, the Tu-154.
In 1995, the Daimler Benz Aerobas plant in Dresden carried out a refurbishment of the Tu-154M aircraft under the Open Sky program. Previously, this car belonged to the GDR, and after the merger was operated in the "Luftwaffe". The aircraft is equipped with optical cameras and camcorders. The passenger compartment is completely remade for new tasks. However, the machine was not used for this program for long, hitting a disaster in 1997. Similar work on the refurbishment of the Tu-154M was carried out by the ASTC. Tupolev, preparing the draft Tu-154M-HE.
Total for the period from 1968 to 2013. 998 Tu-154 aircraft of various modifications were manufactured, the main of which were Tu-154B and Tu-154М. In conclusion, it should be noted that all modifications of the Tu-154 differed significantly in the composition of the equipment and its layout from the first copies of the aircraft. This is understandable: after all, a veteran aircraft during 45 years of operation experienced more than one technical revolution, while it continued to correspond to the time.
Sources:
A. Wolfov, Kolesnik D. “The workhorse” of the Tu-154: 30 years in the sky // Aviation and Cosmonautics. 1998. No.11-12. C.24-32.
Rigmant V. Tu-154 // Aviation and Cosmonautics. 2000. No.3. C. 35-43.
Rigmant W. Flight length of 30 years // Wings of the Motherland. 1998. No.1. C.4-8.
Huntsman V. Unknown Tupolev. M .: Yauza, 2008. C.211-223.
Shevchuk I. 80 years of design bureau of OJSC "Tupolev" // Wings. No.17. C.32-33.
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