Airliner World — September 2017

http://www.airlinerworld.com 29

sortie on February 28, 1998, gathering
important data about high-speed, high-
altitude flight by large aircraft.
RA-77114 flew the final flight of a
Tupolev Tu-144 anywhere: a last waltz
from its home base of Zhukovsky, on
April 14, 1999.
The story of the Tu-144 bears much
similarity to that of the Concorde –
conceived in an era when the promise
of technology was limitless, yet sunk by

the cost of energy and the competing

appeal of capacity over speed. The

Tu-144 was undone by the economics

of the widebody Ilyushin Il-86 just

as surely as Concorde was by the

Boeing 747.

The Tu-144’s 55 passenger flights were

a bone-shaking, white-knuckle shriek

to the edge of space and back.

Uncomfortable perhaps, but at speeds

more than double those of today’s

passenger aircraft. Despite the

marginal technology used, those

flights all made it to their destination

in Kazakhstan safely, and back. In

addition to this important standard,

there is no doubt that building and

flying a supersonic airliner constitutes

one of the most ambitious of all our

efforts to conquer the skies, and there

may never be another. This one is

certainly worth remembering.

Germany’s Technik

Museum Sinsheim has

a Tu-144 dramatically

displayed on a pole

alongside its great

rival, Concorde.

LEONID FAERBERG/

TRANSPORT-PHOTO IMAGES

ABOVE LEFT • Despite

wearing the colours

of Aeroflot, Tu-144D

CCCP-77115 never

carried passengers. A

fatal accident during the

test programme of the

variant meant it never

entered commercial

service.

FYODOR BORISOV/

TRANSPORT-PHOTO IMAGES