Russia Joint U.S.A Produce Tupolev TU-144 LL RA-77114 TU-144

The Tu-144LL supersonic research program was conducted as part of NASA's High Speed Research (HSR) program, managed by NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va. The Tu-144LL project established direct working relationships between American and Russian aircraft manufacturers and enhanced the relationship between U.S. and Russian aeronautical agencies.

The project was enabled by an agreement signed in June 1994 by U.S. Vice President Al Gore Jr. and Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin. The Langley Research Center subsequently contracted with the Boeing Commercial Airplane Group which in turn contracted with the Russian aerospace firm for use of the modified Tu-144D jetliner to conduct the flight experiments. In addition to Boeing, the American industry team for the Tu-144LL project included engine manufacturers Pratt & Whitney and General Electric. NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif., provided instrumentation and data processing support as well as management of the actual flight test project. IBP, Ltd., London, UK, assisted with contract management.

The aircraft flown in NASA's research program was a "D" model and was the last Tu-144 built. Bearing tail number 77114, it was constructed in 1981 and had logged a total flight time of only 82 hours and 40 minutes, most of that for research and test purposes, before being selected for the NASA-sponsored program. It was never used in commercial service.

The aircraft underwent many upgrades and modifications in its conversion to the "LL" Flying Laboratory, including the installation of more powerful NK-321 augmented-turbofan engines that were originally produced for the Tupolev Tu-160 Blackjack bomber. The modified Tu-144LL Flying Laboratory used for the NASA flight research program has essentially the same dimensions as the Tu-144D model, although the new engines installed for the program give it improved performance. The aircraft has a wingspan of 94 feet, 6 inches, an overall length of 215 feet, 6 inches, and a height of 42 feet 2 inches. Its nose droops up to 12 degrees for better pilot visibility on takeoff and landing, and retractable canards are extended to give the aircraft better pitch control at low airspeeds. Maximum takeoff weight of the Tu-144LL is about 410,000 pounds, including a full load of 224,000 pounds of fuel.

The second phase of research flights entailed further study of the six flight experiments conducted during the first series. Additional instrumentation was installed by Tupolev technicians to assist in acquisition and analysis of data. A new experiment aimed at measurement of in-flight deflections of the wing and fuselage was conducted, and American-supplied transducers and sensors were installed to measure nose boom pressures, angle-of-attack and sideslip angles with greater accuracy. In addition, two NASA research pilots—Robert Rivers of NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va., and Gordon Fullerton of NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif. Assessed the Tu-144LL's handling qualities at subsonic and supersonic speeds during the first three flights in September 1998.

Tupolev TU-144