Mastering the sky for many centuries was an unattainable dream for mankind. After the vastness was still conquered, aircrafts became more perfect and more enduring. A significant achievement in this field was the invention of supersonic military and passenger aircraft. One of such airliners was the Tu-244, the features and characteristics of which will be discussed further. Unfortunately, this project did not develop to mass production, like most similar developments. Funds are currently being sought to resume the development of this project or similar aircraft.
How did it all begin?
Aviation began to develop with rapid strides after the Second World War. Various projects of aircraft with jet engines were developed, which were to replace conventional power units. An important point in the creation of supersonic airliners, it was not the achievement of the speed of sound, but the overcoming of this barrier, since the aerodynamic laws change at such speeds.
Massively similar technologies have been used since the fifties of the last century. Among the serial modifications can be noted domestic "MiGs", American fighters North American, Delta Dagger, French "Concordes" and many others. V passenger aviation the introduction of supersonic speeds was much slower. Tu-244 is an aircraft that could not only compete in this industry, but become a world leader in it.
Development and creation
The first experimental civil aircraft capable of breaking the sound barrier appeared in the second half of the sixties of the 20th century. From then until now in mass production only two models were launched: the Tu-144 and the French Concorde. The liners were typical ultra-long-range aircraft. The operation of these machines ceased to be relevant in two thousand and three. Now supersonic airliners are not used to transport passengers.
There were attempts to create new modifications of civilian jet airliners, but most of them remained under development or were closed altogether. Such long-term projects include the Tu-244 supersonic passenger aircraft.
He had to replace his predecessor, have improved characteristics borrowed from prototypes - "Concorde" and some American aircraft... The project was completely taken into development by the Tupolev design bureau, in 1973 the liner under development was named Tu-244.
The purpose
The main task of the project being developed was the creation of a supersonic jet aircraft capable of transporting passengers safely, quickly and over long distances. At the same time, the device had to significantly surpass the usual jet aircraft in all respects. The designers placed a special emphasis on speed.
In other aspects, supersonic aircraft were inferior to their counterparts. First, the transportation did not pay off economically. Secondly, flight safety was lower. By the way, serial production and use in civil aviation the predecessor Tu-244 was discontinued for the second reason. During the first year of operation, the Tu-144 suffered several accidents that led to the death of the crew. The new project was supposed to eliminate the deficiencies.
Tu-244 (aircraft): characteristics of the technical plan
The final model of the liner in question was supposed to have the following tactical and technical indicators:
- The crew, piloting the liner, includes three pilots.
- The passenger capacity varied from 250 to 300 people.
- The estimated cruising speed is 2,175 kilometers per hour, which is double the sound barrier.
- Power plants - four motors with turbine fans.
- The flight range is from seven to nine and a half thousand kilometers.
- The lifting capacity is three hundred tons.
- Length / height - 88/15 meters.
- Working surface area - 965 sq. m.
- The wingspan is forty-five meters.
If we compare the speed indicator, then the projected Tu-244 passenger aircraft, the history of the creation of which is quite interesting, has become a little slower than its direct competitors. However, due to this, the designers wanted to increase the capacity and increase the economic benefit from the operation of the machine.
Further perspectives
The development of a new project, the result of which was to become a supersonic passenger aircraft Tu-244, dragged on for many years. A lot of changes and improvements were made to the design. However, even after the collapse of the USSR, the Tupolev Design Bureau continued to work in a given direction. In 1993, details of the project were even provided.
Nevertheless, the economic crisis of the nineties had a negative impact on this area as well. There was no official announcement of the closure of the development, nor was there any active action. The project was on the verge of freezing. Specialists from the United States are involved in the work, negotiations with whom have been conducted for a long time. To continue the research, two one hundred and forty-fourth series liners were converted into flying laboratories.
What's next?
The supersonic Tu-244 (the plane, the photo of which is presented below) unexpectedly disappeared from the design documentation as an object of research. It was adopted in two thousand and twelve and assumed that the first one hundred units of passenger airliners would enter service no later than 2025. This leapfrog with the documentation caused a number of questions and misinterpretations. In addition, several interesting and promising developments have disappeared from this program.
This prospect was seen in a negative way. The facts indicated that the project was frozen or completely closed. However, there was no official confirmation or denial on this matter. Given the instability of the economy, you can make a lot of assumptions in a subjective configuration, but the facts speak for themselves.
The realities of today: Tu-244 (airplane)
History of creation this aircraft was voiced above. How are things now? Considering all of the above, it can be assumed that the project in question is currently at least suspended in the air, if not completely covered. There is no official filing of an application about the fate of the development, as well as the reasons for the reduction and suspension of the project. Quite possibly, the main problem is insufficient funding, its economic inadequacy or obsolescence... Alternatively, all three of these factors may take place in combination.
Not so long ago (2014), information about the possible resumption of the Tu-244 project slipped through the media. However, the official version on this issue again did not come. For the sake of objectivity, it is worth noting that foreign developments of passenger supersonic airliners are also far from complete, many of them are closed or are in question. I would like to believe that this grandiose machine will be built according to all modern standards in the near future.
A little about the predecessor
The development of TU-144 by decision of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union began in one thousand nine hundred and sixty-ninth year. Supersonic construction civil aircraft started at MMZ "Experience". The estimated flight range of the liner should be three and a half thousand kilometers. To improve aerodynamics, the aircraft received a modified shape of the wings in plan and their increased area.
The length of the fuselage is designed to accommodate one hundred and fifty passengers. Two pairs of engines were placed under each wing. The jet aircraft made its first flight in 1971. The factory test program provided for about two hundred and thirty sorties.
Comparative characteristics
The supersonic Tu-244 is an aircraft whose dimensions are somewhat heavier than those of its predecessor. It has distinctive parameters in other tactical and technical meanings. For comparison, consider the performance of the Tu-144:
- the composition of the crew - four people;
- capacity - one and a half hundred passengers;
- length / height - 67 / 12.5 meters;
- thrust with afterburner - 17,500 kg / s;
- maximum weight - one hundred and eighty tons;
- cruising speed is 2,200 kilometers per hour;
- practical ceiling - eighteen thousand meters;
- the maximum range is six and a half thousand kilometers.
The main external difference of the new aircraft (Tu-244) from its predecessor was to be a change in the design of the curved nose.
The cardinal feature of the two hundred and forty-fourth project from its prototype under the index "144" is the absence of a downward deflecting nose. The glazing of the cab is made with minimum equipment. Such a solution is focused on the fact that during the flight the necessary visibility will be provided, and the takeoff and landing, regardless of weather conditions, is controlled by the optics unit of the electronic review.
It should be noted that the current environmental requirements for civil aircraft significantly hinder the creation of a supersonic aircraft of the class in question, since its operation a priori becomes economically disadvantageous. Developments were undertaken to create a supersonic business-class aircraft capable of breaking the supersonic barrier. However, the Tu-444 project was also suspended. Its advantages over competitors are its relative cheapness compared to the Tu-244 airliner, as well as the solution of technical issues related to environmental requirements for modern aircraft... For reference: the considered supersonic airliner was presented to the general public in France (1993, the Le Bourget air show).
Finally
If all Soviet aviation endeavors had been finalized and implemented, it is quite possible that this industry would have made a huge leap forward. However, economic, political and other problems significantly hamper this process. One of the brightest representatives in the world of supersonic civil aviation was to become the Tu-244 airliner. Unfortunately, for a number of reasons, the project is still in development or "suspended". I would like to hope that there will be people who will finance the project, and this will ultimately lead to the creation of not only the fastest passenger aircraft but also the transport of the future, characterized by efficiency, capacity and safety.
The idea of Russian President Vladimir Putin, inspired by the flight of the new "White Swan", to create a supersonic aircraft made not only employees of the Kazan aircraft building plant think about it, but also many other observers. Can a missile carrier inspire designers to create new types of supersonic aircraft?
The largest and most powerful in history military aviation supersonic aircraft Tu-160, known to many by the nickname "White Swan", recently received new life... For the first time in many years, the Kazan Aircraft Building Plant presented to the public the updated Tu-160M bomber, named after the first Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Air Force, Pyotr Deinekin.
The first flight of the missile carrier was personally observed by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the RF Armed Forces and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The head of state was deeply impressed by the flight of the new "White Swan" and praised the professionalism of the pilots performing the maneuver, asking them to thank the pilots even before the aircraft landed. There was nothing surprising in the president's emotions, since Putin himself piloted the Tu-160 missile carrier back in 2005.
Upon completion of the flight, the President made a proposal to the Kazan aircraft designers to create on the basis of the new Tu-160M a version of the passenger supersonic "Swan" for civil aviation.
But in order to understand how realistic it is to realize the idea of Vladimir Putin, one should turn to history Russian aviation and remember what steps have already been taken by aircraft designers in this direction.
Tu-144
One of the greatest industrial successes in Russian history was the creation of the Tu-144 aircraft. It was manufactured long before the Tu-160 and became the first supersonic passenger airliner in the history of mankind. In addition, the Tu-144 is still one of two famous stories types of supersonic passenger aircraft.
The airliner was created on the instructions of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, released on July 19, 1963. Serious demands were made on the first supersonic passenger aircraft. The aircraft was supposed to be able to fly at a cruising speed of 2300 to 2700 km / h for a distance of up to 4500 kilometers, while carrying up to 100 passengers on board.
The first prototype of the aircraft was created by the Tupolev Design Bureau in 1965. Three years later, the plane took to the skies for the first time, two months ahead of the main and only competitor - the famous British-French Concorde.
The Tu-144 had a number of design features that even outwardly markedly distinguished it from other aircraft. There were no flaps or slats on its wings: the aircraft reduced speed due to the deflecting nose of the fuselage. In addition, the ancestor of modern GPS navigators was installed on the airliner - the PINO (Projection Navigation Situation Indicator) system, which projected the necessary coordinates onto the screen from a filmstrip.
However, due to the too high costs of operating and maintaining the airliner, the Soviet Union abandoned further production of the Tu-144. By the time the production was abandoned, only 16 aircraft remained, two of which were later destroyed in the infamous disaster at the international air show at Le Bourget in 1973 and in the crash over Yegoryevsk in 1978. On this moment there are only eight aircraft left in the world assembled, three of which can be fully restored and ready for further use.
SPS-2 and Tu-244
Photo: Stahlkocher / wikimedia.org
Another project that had serious expectations was the SPS-2, which was later given the promising name of Tu-244 by the Tupolev Design Bureau.
The first information about work on the second generation supersonic passenger airliner dates back to about 1971 - 1973 of the last century.
When developing the Tu-224, the designers took into account both the experience of the creation and operation of its predecessors - Tu-144 and Concorde, and the Tu-160, as well as American projects of supersonic aircraft.
As conceived by the developers of the SPS-2, the new airliner was to lose the main " business card»Of its predecessor - the forward deflecting fuselage. In addition, the glazing area of the cockpit had to be reduced to a minimum sufficient for visibility. For takeoff and landing of the aircraft, it was planned to use an optoelectronic review system.
Also, the projected aircraft was supposed to rise to an altitude of 20 kilometers and accommodate about 300 passengers on board. To achieve such parameters, it was necessary to dramatically increase its size in all respects, which was planned to be done: with a fuselage length of almost 90 meters and a wingspan of about 50 meters, the Tu-244 would look like a giant against the background of any existing analogues.
But the maximum speed of the airliner, in comparison with its predecessors, practically remained the same: the speed limit of the SPS-2 did not exceed 2500 km / h. In contrast, it was planned to increase the maximum flight distance to about 9000 kilometers by reducing the volume of fuel consumption.
However, the production of such a supersonic heavyweight in reality modern world turned out to be economically impractical. In view of the increased requirements for environmental standards, the cost of operating such a Tu-244 aircraft is currently unaffordable both for the aircraft manufacturer itself and for the country's economy as a whole.
Tu-344 and Tu-444
These aircraft were developed by the Tupolev Design Bureau (later Tupolev OJSC, now Tupolev PJSC) as a response to the growing worldwide demand for fast and small business-class aircraft. This is how various projects of SBS - supersonic business aircraft appeared.
Similar aircraft were supposed to be small and able to carry about 10 passengers. The first SBS project from Tupolev - Tu-344 - was planned to be manufactured back in the 90s of the last century on the basis of the Tu-22M3 military supersonic bomber. But its development turned out to be a failure in the initial stages, since for international flights the aircraft also had to meet high requirements in the area, which it did not meet already at the first stages of the project development. Therefore, the designer refused further work on the creation of the Tu-344.
Work on the project of its successor, the Tu-444, began in the early 2000s, and its development reached the stage of the first sketches. Despite the fact that environmental problems were resolved, the project required the attraction of large financial investments, but Tupolev was unable to find investors interested in this.
S-21 (SSBJ)
Photo: Slangcamm / wikimedia.org
The only domestic project to create a supersonic aircraft for civil aviation, which was not developed by the Tupolev Design Bureau, was the C-21 aircraft project, also known as the Sukhoi Supersonic Business Jet (SSBJ).
Work on this project of the Sukhoi Design Bureau began in the 80s. The design bureau understood that the demand for large supersonic airliners had dropped since the Concorde and Tu-144 times and would only decline in the future for reasons of economy. Therefore, the designers of Sukhoi were among the first to come up with the idea of creating a supersonic business aircraft designed for non-stop flights between world capitals.
But the development of the S-21 was prevented by the collapse of the USSR, along with which state funding for the project ceased.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Sukhoi tried for many years to attract private investors in Russia and abroad to the project. The volume of incoming investments made it possible to carry out the first tests of engines for the C-21 in 1993.
But to complete the creation and start of serial production of the aircraft, according to Mikhail Simonov, who at that time was the head of "Sukhoi", required another $ 1 billion, but the company could not find new investors.
TASS-DOSSIER. On January 25, 2018, Russian President Vladimir Putin during a visit to the Kazan Aviation Plant named after I. S. P. Gorbunova (branch of PJSC "Tupolev") was present at the demonstration flight of the new supersonic strategic missile carrier Tu-160 "Pyotr Deinekin" and proposed to create a civilian version of this aircraft.
The editorial staff of TASS-DOSSIER has prepared a certificate on domestic and foreign programs for the creation of supersonic passenger airliners.
Development start
Supersonic civil aviation research began in the United Kingdom, France and the United States in the late 1950s. The first draft designs of the corresponding passenger airliners appeared in the West in the early 1960s. At the same time, the Soviet Union began to develop its own supersonic aircraft.
Tu-144
On July 16, 1963, the Central Committee of the CPSU and the USSR Council of Ministers issued a decree "On the creation of the A. N. Tupolev Design Bureau of a supersonic passenger aircraft Tu-144 with four jet engines and on the construction of a batch of such aircraft." The general management of the project was carried out by the general designer of the OKB Andrey Tupolev, and after his death in 1972 - the son of the designer, Alexei Tupolev.
Prototype Tu-144 ( tail number USSR-68001) made its first flight on December 31, 1968.
The production of serial copies of the Tu-144 was deployed at the Voronezh Aviation Plant (now - PJSC "VASO" as part of the UAC). In total, from 1972 to 1984, 17 serial cars were produced, of which three passed static tests, 14 were operated (including two with passengers), two crashed in plane crashes, one was never completed. In the period from November 1977 to May 1978, two Tu-144s performed 55 flights between Moscow and Alma-Ata, carrying a total of 3 thousand 284 passengers.
In 1978, after the second disaster, the operation of the Tu-144 was discontinued, and the program itself was curtailed. Work on the creation of a modification of the Tu-144DA (with an increased flight range) was not developed.
Concorde
Aerospatiale / BAC Concorde ("Concorde", from French "consent") since 1962 was created by the French company Aerospatiale in conjunction with the British Aircraft Corporation. The prototype (registration number - F-WTSS) took off two months after the first flight of the Tu-144 - on March 2, 1969.
In total, 20 aircraft were built in 1965-1979. 14 of them were operated in 1976-2003 by Air France and British Airways on scheduled passenger services: mainly for transatlantic flights on routes to New York from Paris and London. On average, the plane covered the distance between Paris and New York in 3.5 hours.
During the entire operation of the Concorde, one disaster has occurred with aircraft of this type. July 25, 2000, when taking off from Paris, an Air France car with registration number F-BTSC crashed due to presence on the runway foreign object... Then 109 people on board and four people on the ground were killed.
In just 27 years of operation, Concorde has carried over 2.5 million passengers. Finally, Air France and British Airways abandoned the operation of aircraft of this type due to the decline in passenger traffic caused by the terrorist attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001, the increased costs of maintaining aircraft in flight readiness and the lack of prospects for their modernization.
1960s American program
On June 5, 1963, US President John F. Kennedy announced the launch of a national program to create a supersonic passenger airliner, offering to compensate the state for 75% of the developer's costs. The goal of the program was to compete with the Concorde project. The Boeing, Lockheed and North American corporations expressed their intention to create a new aircraft, proposing, respectively, the Boeing 2707, Lockheed L-2000 projects and the civilian version of the XB-70 Valkyrie strategic bomber.
The most promising was the Boeing 2707 project - a wide-body airliner designed to carry 277 passengers over a distance of up to 7,800 km at a speed of 2,900 km / h. A full-scale model of the aircraft was built, Boeing received 120 orders from US airlines.
However, in 1971, it became obvious that the American program lagged behind the European Concorde and the Soviet Tu-144. As a result, the US Congress stopped funding it. Boeing and other companies refused to continue it at their own expense.
Other projects
The experience of the Tu-144 and Concorde programs has shown that the operation of aircraft of this type has a number of disadvantages compared to conventional subsonic airliners. In particular, because of the high fuel consumption and the high cost of servicing supersonic passenger airliners, it is very difficult to make profitable. Also, it was not possible to solve the problems with the noise of aircraft engines, as well as sound booms similar to an explosion at the time of transition to supersonic.
Nevertheless, research in this area continues at the present time. So, in 2016, the American Boom Technology announced the development of a 40-seat aircraft capable of covering the distance between Los Angeles and Sydney in six hours. US companies Aerion and Lockheed Martin are working on a 12-passenger Aerion AS2 three-engine supersonic business jet, with first deliveries scheduled for 2023. Another American company, Spike Aerospace, plans to certify its Spike S-512 business jet, designed to carry 18 passengers, in the same 2023.
The Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute (TsAGI, Zhukovsky, Moscow region) presented at the MAKS-2017 international aerospace salon a model of a supersonic business jet, which can be created within the next ten years. Among the canceled projects of this kind are the Sukhoi Supersonic Business Jet, Tu-344 (a business jet based on the Tu-22M3 missile carrier), Tu-444, etc., the NASA High Speed Civil Transport program (1990-1999).
One example of existing projects of supersonic aircraft.
Today I'll start with a short introduction 🙂.
On this site I already have flying aircraft. That is, the time has come long ago to write something and about supersonic, especially since I promised to do it :-). The other day I took up work with considerable zeal, but realized that the topic was as interesting as it was voluminous.
Recently my articles do not shine with brevity, I do not know whether this is an advantage or a disadvantage :-). And the issue on the topic “ supersonic"Threatened to become even more and it is not known how long I would have had to" create "it :-).
So I decided to try and make a few articles. A kind of small series (about three or four), in which each component will be devoted to one or two concepts on the topic supersonic speeds... And it will be easier for me, and I will bother the readers less :-), and Yandex and Google will be more supportive (which is important, you yourself understand :-)). Well, what will come of it to judge, of course, you ..
********************
So, let's talk today about supersonic and supersonic aircraft... The very concept of “ supersonic"In our language (all the more in a superlative degree) flashes much more often than the term" subsonic ".
On the one hand, this is, in general, understandable. Subsonic aircraft have long become something completely commonplace in our life. A supersonic aircraft, although they fly to airspace for 65 years now, but still seem to be something special, interesting and worthy of increased attention.
On the other hand, this is quite fair. After all, flights to supersonic- this is, one might say, a separate area of movement closed by a certain barrier. However, inexperienced people may well have a question: “And what, in fact, is so outstanding in this supersound? What difference does it make when an airplane flies at a speed of 400 km / h or 1400 km / h? Give him a more powerful engine and everything will be fine! " At the dawn of its development, aviation was in approximately this semantic position.
Speed has always been the ultimate dream, and initially these aspirations were quite successfully implemented. Already in 1945, the test pilot of the firm Messerschmitt L. Hoffmann in horizontal flight on one of the world's first aircraft with jet engines, ME-262, reached a speed of 980 km / h in horizontal flight at an altitude of 7200 m.
However, in reality, everything is far from so simple. After all, the flight to supersonic differs from subsonic not only in the magnitude of the velocity and not so much in it. The difference here is qualitative.
Already at speeds of the order of 400 km / h, such a property of air as compressibility begins to gradually manifest itself. And, in principle, there is nothing unexpected here. Is gas. And all gases, as you know, unlike liquids, are compressible. Compression changes gas parameters, such as density, pressure, temperature. Because of this, different physical processes can proceed in a compressed gas in a different way than in a rarefied one.
The faster the plane flies, the more it, together with its aerodynamic surfaces, becomes like a kind of piston, in a sense, compressing the air in front of it. Exaggerated, of course, but in general it is like that :-).
With an increase in speed, the aerodynamic picture of the flow around the aircraft changes and the faster, the more :-). And on supersonic it is already qualitatively different. At the same time, new concepts of aerodynamics come to the fore, which often simply do not make any sense for low-speed aircraft.
To characterize the flight speed, it now becomes convenient and necessary to use such a parameter as the M number (Mach number, the ratio of the aircraft speed relative to the air at a given point to the speed of sound in the air flow at this point). Another type of aerodynamic drag appears and becomes perceptible (very perceptible!) wave impedance(along with the already increased conventional drag).
Phenomena such as a wave crisis (with a critical number M) become significant supersonic barrier, shock waves and shock waves.
In addition, the controllability and stability characteristics of the aircraft deteriorate due to the rearward displacement of the point of application of aerodynamic forces.
When approaching the region of transonic speeds, the aircraft can experience strong shaking (this was more typical for the first aircraft that stormed the then mysterious boundary of the speed of sound), similar in its manifestations to another very unpleasant phenomenon that aviators had to face in their professional development. This phenomenon is called flutter (topic for another article :-)).
There is such an unpleasant moment as the heating of the air as a result of its sharp deceleration in front of the aircraft (the so-called kinetic heating), as well as heating as a result of viscous air friction. At the same time, the temperatures are quite high, about 300 ° C. The skin of an aircraft is heated to such temperatures during a long supersonic flight.
We will definitely talk about all the concepts and phenomena mentioned above, as well as the reasons for their occurrence, in other articles in more detail. But now so, I think it is quite clear that supersonic- this is something completely different than flying at subsonic (all the more low) speed.
In order to get along with all the newly emerging effects and phenomena at high speeds and fully correspond to its purpose, the aircraft must also change qualitatively. Now it should be supersonic aircraft, that is, an aircraft capable of flying at a speed exceeding the speed of sound in a given section of airspace.
And for him it is not enough just to increase the engine power (although this is also a very important and obligatory detail). These planes usually change their appearance. In their appearance appear sharp corners and edges, straight lines, in contrast to the "smooth" outlines of subsonic aircraft.
Supersonic aircraft have a swept or triangular wing. A typical and one of the most famous delta wing aircraft is the remarkable MiG-21 fighter (maximum speed at an altitude of 2230 km / h, at sea level 1300 km / h).
Supersonic aircraft with a triangular wing MIG-21.
One of the swept-like options is an ogival wing with an increased lift coefficient. It has a special inflow near the fuselage, designed to form artificial spiral vortices.
MIG-21I with an ogival wing.
MIG-21I - ogival wing.
Live wing TU-144.
It is interesting that a wing of this type, later installed on the TU-144, was tested in a flying laboratory based on the same MIG-21 (MIG-21I).
The second option is supercritical wing... It has a flattened profile with a curved rear end in a certain way, which makes it possible to postpone the onset of a wave crisis at high speeds and can be advantageous in terms of economy for high-speed subsonic aircraft. Such a wing is used, in particular, on the SuperJet 100 aircraft.
SuperJet 100. An example of a supercritical wing. The bend of the profile is clearly visible (back)
Photos are clickable.
Supersonic aircraft are aircraft capable of flying at speeds exceeding the speed of sound (Mach number M = 1.2-5).
History
The advent of jet fighters in the 1940s presented designers with the task of further increasing their speed. The increased speed improved the performance of both bombers and fighters.
The pioneer in the supersonic era was American test pilot Chuck Yeager. On 10/14/1947, flying an experimental Bell X-1 aircraft with an XLR-11 rocket powerplant, he overcame the speed of sound in a controlled flight.
Development
The rapid development of supersonic aviation began in the 60-70s. XX century. Then the problems of aerodynamic efficiency, controllability and stability of aircraft were solved. The high flight speed also made it possible to increase the service ceiling by more than 20,000 m, which was a comfortable height for bombers and reconnaissance aircraft.
Before the appearance of anti-aircraft missile systems and complexes that could hit targets on high altitudes, the main principle of conducting bombing operations was to keep bombers at maximum altitude and speed. Then supersonic aircraft for various purposes were built and launched into serial production - reconnaissance bombers, interceptors, fighters, interceptor bombers. The Convair F-102 Delta Dagger was the first supersonic reconnaissance aircraft, and the Convair B-58 Hustler was the first supersonic long-range bomber.
At present, the design, development and production of new aircraft is being carried out, some of which are produced using a special technology that reduces their radar and visual signature - "Stealth".
Passenger supersonic aircraft
In the history of aviation, only 2 passenger supersonic aircraft were created, which carried out regular flights... The first flight of the Soviet Tu-144 aircraft took place on December 31, 1968, the time of its operation was 1975-1978. Anglo-French aircraft "Concorde" made its first flight on 03/02/1969 and was operated on transatlantic direction in 1976-2003
The use of such aircraft made it possible not only to reduce the flight time for long distances, but also to use unoccupied air lines at high altitudes (about 18 km) at a time when the heights of 9-12 km, which were used by the liners, were heavily loaded. Also, supersonic aircraft flew off-air routes (on straightened routes).
Despite the failure of several transonic and supersonic aircraft projects (SSBJ, Tu-444, Tu-344, Tu-244, Lockheed L-2000, Boeing Sonic Cruiser, Boeing 2707) and the decommissioning of two completed projects, development continues. modern projects hypersonic airliners (eg SpaceLiner, ZEHST) and landing (military transport) rapid response aircraft. The Aerion AS2 supersonic business jet has been launched.
Theoretical questions
Compared with subsonic flight at supersonic speed, it is performed according to a different law, because when the aircraft reaches the speed of sound, changes occur in the flow pattern, as a result, the kinetic heating of the vehicle increases, the aerodynamic drag increases, and a change in the aerodynamic focus is observed. All this together affects the deterioration of the controllability and stability of the aircraft. Also, a hitherto unknown phenomenon of wave resistance appeared.
Therefore, effective flight upon reaching the speed of sound requires not only an increase in engine power, but also the introduction of new design solutions.
Therefore, such aircraft received a change in their appearance - sharp corners and characteristic straight lines appeared in comparison with the "smooth" form of subsonic aircraft.
To date, the task of creating a truly effective supersonic aircraft has not been solved. The creators are obliged to find a compromise between maintaining normal takeoff and landing characteristics and the requirement for an increase in speed.
Therefore, the conquest of new frontiers in altitude and speed by modern aviation is associated not only with the introduction of new propulsion systems and layout schemes, but also with changes in flight geometry. These changes should improve the quality of the aircraft when flying at high speeds, without degrading their performance at low speeds, and vice versa. Designers have recently given up on reducing the area of the wings and the thickness of their profiles, increasing the sweep angle, returning to the wings of a large relative thickness and low sweep, if the requirements for a practical ceiling and speed have been achieved.
It is important that a supersonic aircraft has good flight performance at low speeds and is resistant to drag at high speeds, especially at surface altitudes.
Aircraft classification:
| A |
| B |
| V |
| G |
| D |
| AND |
| TO |
| L |
| O |
| NS |
| R |
