TUPOLEV TU-154 RUSSIAN AIRLINER

The Tupolev Tu-154 (Russian: Туполев Ту-154) is a Soviet medium-range trijet airliner, similar to the Boeing 727 and of particularly rugged design. It remains the standard airliner for domestic routes in Russia and other states of the former Soviet Union and to a lesser extent in eastern Europe and Iran. The mainstay of Russian airlines for several decades, the Tu-154 has carried about half of all passengers flown by Aeroflot and its subsidiaries, or approximately 137 million passengers per year, and has been exported and operated by at least 17 foreign airlines. Designed to cope with unpaved and gravel airfields, the plane often operates in extreme Arctic conditions and although production has ceased, there have been requests for resumption of assembly. The Tu-154 often approaches Mach 1 speed making it one of the fastest commercial jets in operation.

The Tu-154 was developed to meet the Aeroflot requirement for a new aircraft to replace the jet-powered Tu-104, plus the Antonov An-10 'Ukraine' and Ilyushin Il-18 turboprops. It competed against the Ilyushin Il-62. The Soviet Ministry of Aircraft Industry picked the Tu-154 because it incorporated the latest in Soviet aircraft design and best met Aeroflot's anticipated requirements of the 1970s and 1980s. The aircraft was to transport a payload of 16 to 18 tons (35,270 to 39,680 lb) over a distance of 2,850 - 4,000 km (1,770 - 2,480 mi) while cruising at a speed of 900 km/h, or a payload of 5.8 tons (12,790 lb) over a distance of 5,800 - 7,000 km (3,600 - 4,350 mi) while cruising at 850 km/h (528 mph). It also had to be able to operate from airfields as short as 2,600 m (8,530 ft) at maximum take-off weight.

The first project chief was Sergey M. Yerger. In 1964 Dimitriy S. Markov assumed that position. In 1975 he turned it over to Aleksandr S. Shengardt.

Major design features

3 engines

powerful high lift devices such as leading edge slats, triple-slotted flaps, and spoilers for the first time in Soviet aircraft design, a high level of reserve was built into all systems, thereby increasing its safety for the first time on any Soviet airliner, irreversible hydraulic actuators on all three control channels six wheel main landing gear, which assisted with braking and deceleration for the first time in the Tupolev Design Bureau's history, there was an auxiliary power unit for engine starting and to supply power to the aircraft while on the ground another first for the Tupolev Design Bureau was a primary electric system that used stable frequency AC power, with two generators connected in parallel for greater reliability. reverse thrusters that can safely be deployed in-flight. an automated flight control system that allowed automated piloting under all conditions, including automated landing.The Tu-154 first flew on October 4, 1968. Commercial service began in February 1972, and production ended in 2006.

In 1988 a modified Tu-154 (dubbed Tu-155 and Tu-156) successfully flew on liquid hydrogen and in 1989 on liquified natural gas used as a fuel in its engines.

Design features

Aeroflot Tu-154 at Moscow Sheremetyevo AirportThe Tu-154 is powered by three rear-mounted low-bypass turbofan engines arranged similarly to those of the Boeing 727, and is slightly larger than its American counterpart. The original model had Kuznetsov NK-8-2, while the Tu-154M has Soloviev D-30KU-154s. All Tu-154 aircraft models have a higher thrust-to-weight ratio than that of the 727 – this gives them superior performance, although at the expense of poorer fuel efficiency, which became an important factor in later decades as fuel costs grew.
The cabin of the Tu-154, although of the same six-abreast seating layout, gives the impression of an oval interior, with a lower ceiling than is common on western airliners (Boeing or Airbus). The passenger doors are also smaller than on the Tu-154's western counterparts. Furthermore, luggage space in the overhead compartments is very limited.