Tupolev Tu-114

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Tu-114 Rossiya
Type	Airliner
Manufacturer	Tupolev OKB
Maiden flight	1957-11-15
Retired	1975
Primary users	Aeroflot Japan Airlines(in association with Aeroflot)
Number built	31

The Tupolev Tu-114 Rossiya (NATO reporting name Cleat) is a turboprop powered medium-range airliner designed by the Tupolev design bureau.

The Tupolev design bureau was instructed by the government of the Soviet Union to develop an airliner with intercontinental range based on the Tupolev Tu-95 strategic bomber. The result was a large airliner powered by 4 powerful contra-rotating propellers just like the Antonov An-22. It came as a surprise to Western observers that a propeller-driven aircraft could operate at jet-like speeds. It was huge by 1950s standards, the largest airliner of its time, with accommodation for 120 to 220 passengers.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Development 1.2 In service 2 Incidents 3 Technological features 4 Variants 4.1 Tu-114A Prototype 4.2 Tu-114 Production Version 4.2.1 Aeroflot service 4.2.2 JAL service 4.2.3 Tu-114D variant 4.2.4 Military service 5 Related developments 5.1 Tu-116 5.2 Tu-126 (NATO reporting name Moss) 6 Operators 6.1 Civil 6.2 Military 7 Specifications (Tu-114) 8 Notes 9 External links 9.1 Photographs 10 Related content

[edit] History

[edit] Development

In response to a demand from the Soviet Civil Aviation Authority for a long range passenger aircraft the Tupolev Design Bureau was ordered in 1955 to create an aircraft that had a range of 8,000 kilometers. Given the technology available at that time, the best starting point was the existing Tu-95 bomber. Originally the aircraft had the designation Tu-95P (p for Passenger), but was later renamed to Tu-114.

To make the design usable as a passenger liner, the wing was increased in surface and lowered in relation to the fuselage. The fuselage was totally redesigned with a larger diameter. Part of the bomber heritage remained in the navigator's glass nose, and in the location of the doors for the luggage compartment (under the fuselage).

[edit] In service

The Tu-114 had a fairly short commercial service life, being operated from 1962 to 1976. While in service the plane was known for its reliability, speed and fuel economy (it used less fuel than the Il-62 that replaced it). In regular service with Aeroflot, the plane was first used for flights to international destinations like Copenhagen, Havana, Montréal, New Delhi, Paris, Belgrade and Tokyo (in co-operation with JAL). When it was replaced by the Ilyushin Il-62 on these routes, it was frequently used on long range domestic flights. After the end of commercial service, it was used by the army and airforce until the early 1980s.

[edit] Incidents

During its service only two planes were lost. One crashed at takeoff in bad weather, and the second one suffered a nosegear collapse while being serviced.

[edit] Technological features

This airliner has certain unique technological features of its time such as

• Wings swept back at 35 degrees – the same angle as for the Boeing 707 and several other jet airliners
• Powerful Kuznetsov NK-12MV turboprops, the most powerful turboprop engines ever produced, each driving two AV-60H counter-rotating four-bladed reversible-pitch propellers.
• Lower deck galleys.
• Lower deck crew rest area.
• Long landing gear (the nose gear is 3 meters high) due to its large propeller diameter (during a test flight to Washington prior to Nikita Khrushchev's first visit to the United States, the destination airport did not have steps tall enough to reach the Tu-114's cabin door because of this feature)

[edit] Variants

[edit] Tu-114A Prototype

The first produced Tu-114, registration CCCP-L5611. First shown to the west in 1958 at the Brussels World Exhibition, it later carried Nikita Khrushchev to Washington where the famous shoe incident happened. Last flight of this plane was in 1968, and it is now on display at the Monino muesum.

[edit] Tu-114 Production Version

[edit] Aeroflot service

The production version originally seated 170 passengers, with an additional restaurant (sometimes used as regular seating) and sleeping area. Later, the sleeping area was converted to normal seating, raising the capacity to 200 passengers. Initially it was used on the main international routes for Aeroflot, but when the Ilyushin Il-62 started to appear, it was relegated to domestic flights. The main problem for these domestic operations was the large amount of runway needed for takeoff and landing.

[edit] JAL service

For operating the Moscow - Tokyo route, Japan Air Lines made an agreement with Aeroflot to use the Tu-114 on that route. For these flights, the aircraft got a slightly revised paintscheme, and the seating arrangement was changed to a two class layout with 105 seats. In 1969 the Tu-114 flights were stopped, and the four involved planes converted back to the 200 seat domestic layout.

[edit] Tu-114D variant

Long range version of the Tu-114, specially adapted for non-stop flights to Cuba.. After US policy blocked intermediate stops in West Africa, the Cuba flights had to be operated non-stop. To make these flights possible, the seating of the plane was reduced from 170 to 60, and 15 extra fuel tanks were added. In most cases this fuel load was enough to make it to the intended destinations, but in case of strong headwinds, a refuelling stop in Nassau on the Bahamas was necessary. All planes operating this route were converted back to the normal specifications after the Moscow - Havana route was changed to the Ilyushin Il-62.

[edit] Military service

After the retirement from civil service in 1976, a part of the Tu-114 fleet was used by the airforce and army for various personnel transport operations. The last flight of a Tu-114 was in 1983, with the aircraft operated by the army.

[edit] Related developments

[edit] Tu-116

Designed as a stopgap in case the Tu-114A wasn't finished on time, two Tu-95 bombers were fitted with a passenger compartment. As the Tu-114A was ready in time, none of these planes were used for official duty outside the USSR. Both planes had the same layout: a 3 seat VIP section with office space, and the rest of the 70m3 cabin configured as a normal airliner. Both planes were eventually used as a crew ferry by the various Tu-95 squadrons. One of these machines is preserved at Ulyanovsk.

[edit] Tu-126 (NATO reporting name Moss)

In 1958 the Tupolev Design Bureau was ordered to design an AWACS aircraft. After trying to fit the projected radar instrumentation in a Tu-95 and a Tu-116, the decision was made to use the Tu-114 fuselage instead. This solved all the problems with cooling and operator space that existed with the narrower Tu-95 and Tu-116 fuselage. To adhere to the flight range requirements, the plane was fitted with an air-to-air refuelling receiver. The last Tu-126 was retired in 1984

The Tu-126 was used by the Soviet Navy, until being replaced by the Beriev A-50. The Tu-126 was also leased by India in conflicts with Pakistan, and the result was satisfactory by Indian standard.

[edit] Operators

[edit] Civil

• Aeroflot

[edit] Military

• Soviet Union
  • Soviet Navy (Tu-126)
  • Soviet Anti-Air Defense (Tu-126)
  • Soviet Air Force (Tu-114)
  • Soviet Army (Tu-114)

[edit] Specifications (Tu-114)

General characteristics

• Crew: 5
• Capacity: 120-220 passengers
• 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)
• Wing area: 311.1 m² (3,349 ft²)
• Empty weight: 91,000 - 93,000 kg (200,621 - 205,030 lb)
• Loaded weight: 131,000 kg (289,000 lb)
• Max takeoff weight: 175,000 kg (385,809 lb)
• Powerplant: 4× Kuznetsov NK-12MV turboprops driving contra-rotating props, 11,000 kW (14,800 hp)^[1] each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 870 km/h (kt, 541 mph)
• Cruise speed: 770 km/h (kt, 478 mph)
• Range: 6,200 km (3,300 nm, 3,900 mi)
• Service ceiling: 12,000 m (39,000 ft)
• Rate of climb: m/s (ft/min)
• Wing loading: 421 kg/m² (86.2 lb/ft²)
• Power/mass: 168 W/kg (0.102 hp/lb)

[edit] Notes

1. ^ Originally measured as 15,000 PS.

[edit] External links

[edit] Photographs

• Airliners.net

[edit] Related content

Related development

• Tupolev Tu-95
• Tupolev Tu-142

Comparable aircraft

• Boeing 707
• Douglas DC-8
• Ilyushin Il-62
• Vickers VC-10

 

Related lists

• List of airliners