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Tupolev Tu-114 (Cleat)

1961 COLD WAR

History of Tupolev Tu-114 (splint)

The Tu-114 originated from an initiative of the Soviet government in the mid-1950s that called for the use of long-range airliners. The design of the Tupolev OKB is based on the existing (and proven) frame of its famous Tupolev Tu-95 "Bear" (detailed elsewhere on this page), a specialized maritime patrol and bomber , served in the Soviet Army.

It was an incredibly fast and powerful airliner for its time, with around 32 aircraft produced from 1958 to 1963. In the sky, the Tu-114 was considered a reliable, safe and economical product, which entered service in 1961 and ended in 1991.

Major operators include Aeroflot and Japan Airlines (via Aeroflot) as well as the Soviet Air Force. key variant.

After the Tu-114's flight era ended, it was succeeded by the jet-powered Ilyushin Il-62. The first flight as a prototype was recorded on November 15, 1957, and it entered official service on April 24, 1961.

The Tu-114 had a conventional layout with the cockpit mounted above the short nose cone assembly. The main-wing aircraft is mounted under the fuselage and near the midship, with two engines. The rear wing has a vertical plane and a low-mounted horizontal plane. The nose is glass, and the passenger area is dotted with porthole-style windows that run almost the entire length of the fuselage. The wings and engines were borrowed from the Tu 95 aircraft, which included the main aircraft's 35-degree return, which aided in high-speed flight.

The landing gear is in a tricycle arrangement and is deliberately set high to allow for proper clearance for the large propellers - another key feature that comes directly from the Tu-95's design. Inside, the crew has access to lounge areas and a full meal facility for passengers, while the cabin can accommodate 120 to 220 seats depending on the configuration, as well as long-haul berths.

The aircraft is powered by 4 Kuznetsov NK-12MV turboprop engines that drive four-bladed propeller units in counter-rotation, enabling the fastest passenger tug ever built (main rear swept-wing aircraft support this). It also made the Tu-114 the fastest propeller-driven aircraft ever built, with a top speed of 540 mph, rivaling jet-powered competing designs of the time (although cruising was usually done at a much lower 480 mph). envelope).

The range was 5,245 nautical miles, which was excellent for an airliner at the time, which had a service ceiling of 39,000 feet that required pressurization of the passenger and crew cabins.

The initial production form was simply referred to as the "Tu-114", with the subsequent Tu-114-200 as an improved standard, increasing the seating capacity to 200 passengers. The Tu-114D was a long-range transport developed to serve communist ally Cuba, although only three examples were built for this route (from the Tu-114-200 inventory).

The Tu-114A is another proposed improved model, but this one is flat.

Several variants for military service were also developed from the Tu-114 frame. These include the proposed Tu-114B, which is based on the obsolete Tu-114A and features a large radome above the dorsal vertebra and a facility for carrying cruise missiles.

The Tu-114C was similar in the installation of the radome, but added side airbags to the fuselage. Both the Tu-114E and TU-114F were dedicated reconnaissance models based on the Tu-114A, although the F model was a further development of the Tu-114E itself, with additional equipment.

The Tu-114T and Tu-114TS served as medical evacuation platforms, and the Tu-115 became an abandoned military transport.

The Tu-114PLO is a proposed maritime attack aircraft designed to carry search radar and anti-ship missile support. Additionally, the aircraft was originally intended to be powered by nuclear power, but its complexity meant that the design did not go beyond the scope of the conceptual work.

The Tupolev Tu-116 is a related branch of the Tu-114 series. It is essentially a Tu-95 "Bear" platform with a pressurized cabin and serves as a government VIP carrier. Cabin space was replaced with the internal bomb bay present in the original Tu-95 design. The Tupolev Tu-126, another related development of the Tu-114, served in about a dozen examples with the Soviet Air Force as an airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) platform.

Officially recognized by NATO as "Moss", the model's distinctive feature is the radome placed over the fuselage's dorsal spine. These aircraft were in service from 1965 to 1984.