https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupolev_Tu-114
The Tupolev Tu-114 Rossiya (Russian: Ty????? ?y-114 Pocc??) (NATO reporting name
Cleat) was a turboprop-powered long-range airliner designed by the Tupolev
design bureau and built in the USSR from May 1955. The aircraft was the largest
and fastest passenger plane at that time and also had the longest range (10,900
km (6,800 mi)). It has held the official title of fastest propeller-driven
aircraft since 1960.
Due to its swept wing and powerplant design, the Tu-114 was able to travel at
speeds typical of modern jetliners (880 km/h (550 mph)). Although it was able to
accommodate 224 passengers, when operated by Aeroflot, it was more common to
provide 170 sleeping berths and a dining lounge.
In 14 years of civilian service, the Tu-114 was reported to have a high level of
safety and reliability. The Tu-114 carried over six million passengers before
being replaced by the jet-powered Ilyushin Il-62. 32 aircraft were built at the
Kuibyshev aviation plant (?18) in the early 1960s.
The Tu-114 used the basic wing, empennage, landing gear, and powerplants of the
Tu-95 bomber, mated to a totally new pressurized fuselage of much larger
diameter. To cope with the increased weight, increased landing flap surface area
was required, and the flap chord was increased compared to the bomber's flaps.
The wing was mounted low on the fuselage, giving the Tu-114 a much higher stance
on its landing gear than the bomber. As a result, a new nose landing gear strut
was required, although the main landing gear remained unchanged.
The Tu-114 was able to reach speeds typical of modern jetliners (880 km/h), but
its cruising speed equivalent to Mach 0.71 was markedly lower than equivalent
jet airliners such as the Boeing 707, Douglas DC-8, and Vickers VC10, which
usually cruised at Mach 0.83. It carried up to 224 passengers in maximum
carriage configuration, although a more usual number for long-distance
transcontinental flights was 170 passengers, which enabled the planes to be
fitted with such luxuries as sleeping berths and even a dining lounge for the
upper-class cabin.
Role
Airliner and strategic airlifter
Manufacturer
Tupolev OKB
First flight
November 15, 1957; 59 years ago
Introduction
24 April 1961
Retired
1991
Status
Retired
Primary users
Aeroflot
Japan Airlines (in association with Aeroflot)
Soviet Air Force
Produced
Number built
32
Developed from
Tupolev Tu-95
Variants
Tupolev Tu-126
The Tu-114 had several unique technological features for its time such as:
several other pure turbojet-powered airliners
* Powerful Kuznetsov NK-12MV turboprops, the most powerful turboprop engines
ever produced, each driving two AV-60H contra-rotating four-bladed
reversible-pitch propellers.
* Lower deck galleys. A lift for meal transport connected the galley to the
upper deck; originally a member of the crew was a chef.
* Lower deck aircrew rest area.
* Long landing gear (the nose gear was three m high) due to its large propeller
diameter. Many destination airports did not have steps tall enough to reach the
Tu-114's cabin door because of this.
The first Tu-114, registration CCCP-?5611, was first shown to the West in 1958
at the Brussels World Exhibition. It later carried Nikita Khrushchev on his
first trip to the US, the first such visit by any Soviet leader. When it arrived
at Andrews Air Force Base, the ground crew found that the aircraft was so large
and its landing gear so tall that they had no passenger steps high enough to
reach the forward hatch. Khrushchev and his party were obliged to use the
aircraft's own emergency escape ladder. The last flight of this particular plane
was in 1968, and it is now on display at the Central Air Force Museum at Monino,
outside of Moscow. Similar issues were experienced when the plane first landed
at London and Paris airports, neither of which had hosted a plane of this size.
With the increasing use of the Il-62, the Tu-114s were shifted to long domestic
flights from Domodedovo to Alma-Ata, Tashkent, Novosibirsk and Khabarovsk.
Tu-114s were also used for charter operations for senior officials of the USSR
and various official delegations.
The Tu-114 had a short commercial service life compared to other Soviet
airliners, being operated on regular flights from 1962 to 1976 (in comparison,
the Il-62 is still in civilian service 47 years after its introduction, as of
2014). The fatigue life of the airframe was set at 14,000 flying hours. Most of
the aircraft passed this point in 1976. By the summer of 1977, Aeroflot decided
to scrap 21 aircraft at the same time. A few continued in use by the Soviet Air
Force until 1991.
The Tu-114 was known for reliability, speed and fuel economy. Tu-114 burned
5,000-5,500 kg/hour of fuel at cruise flight. Its safety record was rarely
matched (there was only one accident involving fatalities but the plane was not
airborne at the time) and was only withdrawn from service after the introduction
of the Il-62 and after carrying over six million passengers with Aeroflot and
Japan Airlines.
Specifications (Tu-114)
Crew: five
Payload:
Normal: 15,000 kg (30,070 lb)
Maximum: 30,000 kg (66,140 lb)
Length: 54.10 m (177 ft 4 in)
Wingspan: 51.1 m (167 ft 7.75 in)
Height: 15.44 m (50 ft 8 in)
Loaded weight: 131,000 kg (289,000 lb)
Max. takeoff weight: 175,000 kg (385,809 lb)
11,000 kW (14,800 hp) each
Performance
Maximum speed: 870 km/h (470 kn, 541 mph) at 8,000 m (26,250 ft)
Cruise speed: 770 km/h (415 kn, 478 mph)
Range: 9,720 km (5,244 nmi)
Service ceiling: 12,000 m (39,000 ft)
Power/mass: 168 W/kg (0.102 hp/lb)
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