Tupolev Tu-154
Tu-154 | |
---|---|
An Iran Airtour Tu-154 | |
Role | Narrow-body jet airliner |
National origin | Soviet Union and Russian Federation |
Manufacturer | Aviakor |
Designer | Tupolev Design Bureau |
First flight | 4 October 1968 |
Introduction | 7 February 1972 with Aeroflot |
Status | In limited service |
Primary users | Russian Aerospace Forces People's Liberation Army Air Force Air Koryo |
Produced | 1968–2013[1] |
Number built | 1,026 |
Variants | Tupolev Tu-155 |
The Tupolev Tu-154 (Russian: Tyполев Ту-154; NATO reporting name: "Careless") is a three-engined, medium-range, narrow-body airliner designed in the mid-1960s and manufactured by Tupolev. A workhorse of Soviet and (subsequently) Russian airlines for several decades, it carried half of all passengers flown by Aeroflot and its subsidiaries (137.5 million/year or 243.8 billion passenger-km in 1990), remaining the standard domestic-route airliner of Russia and former Soviet states until the mid-2000s. It was exported to 17 non-Russian airlines and used as a head-of-state transport by the air forces of several countries.
The aircraft has a cruising speed of 850 km/h (460 kn; 530 mph)
Development
The Tu-154 was developed to meet Aeroflot's requirement to replace the
The first project chief was
The Tu-154
Design
The Tu-154 is powered by three rear-mounted,
The
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 Boeing and Airbus airliners. The passenger cabin accommodates 128 passengers in a two-class layout and 164 passengers in single-class layout, and up to 180 passengers in high-density layout. The layout can be modified to a winter version where some seats are taken out and a wardrobe is installed for passenger coats. The passenger doors are smaller than on its Boeing and Airbus counterparts. Luggage space in the overhead compartments is very limited.
Like the
Considerably heavier than its predecessor Soviet-built airliner, the
The original requirement was to have a three-person
The latest variant (Tu-154M-100, introduced 1998) includes an NVU-B3
Early versions of the Tu-154 cannot be modified to meet the current Stage III noise regulations, so are no longer allowed to fly into airspace where such regulations are enforced, such as the European Union, but the Tu-154M's D-30 engines can be fitted with hush kits, allowing them to meet noise regulations.
Variants
Many variants of this airliner have been built. Like its Western counterpart, the Boeing 727, many of the Tu-154s in service have been hush-kitted, and some converted to freighters.
- Tu-154
- Tu-154 production started in 1970, and the first passenger flight was performed on 9 February 1972. Powered by Kuznetsov NK-8-2 turbofans, it carried 164 passengers. About 42 were built.
- Tu-154A
- The first upgraded version of the original Tu-154, the A model, in production since 1974, added center-section fuel tanks and more emergency exits, while engines were upgraded to higher-thrust Kuznetsov NK-8-2U. Other upgrades include automatic flaps/slats and stabilizer controls and modified avionics. Max. takeoff weight – 94,000 kg (207,000 lb). There were 15 different interior layouts for the different domestic and international customers, seating between 144 and 152 passengers. To discern the A model from the base model note the spike at the junction of the fin and tail. This is a fat bullet on the A model, and a slender spike on the base model.[9]
- Tu-154B
- As the original Tu-154 and Tu-154A suffered wing cracks after a few years in service, a version with a new, stronger wing, designated Tu-154B, went into production in 1975. It also had an additional fuselage fuel tank, additional emergency exits in the tail. Also, the maximum takeoff weight increased to 98,000 kg (216,000 lb). Important to Aeroflot was the increased passenger capacity, hence lower operating costs. With the NK-8-2U engines the only way to improve the economics of the airplane was to spread costs across more seats.[10] The autopilot was certified for ICAO Category II automatic approaches. Most previously built Tu-154 and Tu-154A were also modified into this variant, with the replacement of the wing. Maximum takeoff weight increased to 96,000 kg (212,000 lb). 111 were built.
- Tu-154B-1
- Aeroflot wanted this version for increased revenue on domestic routes. It carried 160 passengers. This version also had some minor modifications to the fuel system, avionics, air conditioning, and landing gear. 64 were built from 1977 to 1978.
- Tu-154B-2
- A minor modernization of Tu-154B-1. The airplane was designed to be converted from the 160 passenger version to a 180 passenger version by removing the galley.[11] The procedure took about 2+1⁄2 hours. Some of the earlier Tu-154Bs were modified to that standard. Maximum takeoff weight increased to 98,000 kg (216,000 lb), later to 100,000 kg (220,000 lb). Some 311 aircraft were built, including VIP versions. A few remain in service.
- Tu-154S
- The Tu-154S is an all-cargo or freighter version of the Tu-154B, using a strengthened floor, and adding a forward cargo door on the port side of the fuselage. The aircraft could carry nine Soviet PAV-3 pallets. Maximum payload – 20,000 kg (44,000 lb). There were plans for 20 aircraft, but only nine were converted, two from Tu-154 models and seven from Tu-154B models. Trials were held in the early 1980s and the aircraft was authorized regular operations in 1984. By 1997 all had been retired.[12]
- Tu-154M
- The Tu-154M and Tu-154M Lux are the most highly upgraded versions, which first flew in 1982 and entered mass production in 1984. It uses more fuel-efficient Soloviev D-30KU-154 turbofans. Together with significant aerodynamic refinement, this led to much lower fuel consumption hence longer range, as well as lower operating costs. The aircraft has new double-slotted (instead of triple-slotted) flaps, with an extra 36-degree position (in addition to existing 15, 28 and 45-degree positions on older versions), which allows reduction of noise on approach. It also has a relocated auxiliary power unit and numerous other improvements. Maximum takeoff weight increased first to 100,000 kg (220,000 lb), then to 102,000 kg (225,000 lb). Some aircraft are certified to 104,000 kg (229,000 lb). About 320 were manufactured. Mass production ended in 2006, though limited manufacturing continued as of January 2009. No new airframes have been built since the early 1990s, and production since then involved assembling aircraft from components on hand.[13] Chinese Tu-154MD electronic intelligence aircraft carry a large-size synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) under their mainframe.[14][15]
- Tu-154M-LK-1
- Cosmonaut trainer. This was a salon VIP aircraft modified to train cosmonauts to fly the Buran reusable spacecraft, the Soviet equivalent of the US Space Shuttle. The Tu-154 was used because the Buran required a steep descent, which the Tu-154 was capable of replicating. The cabin featured trainee workstations, one of which was identical to the Buran's flightdeck. The forward baggage compartment was converted into a camera bay, as the aircraft was used to train cosmonauts in observation and photographic techniques.[16]
- Tu-154M-ON monitoring aircraft
- Germany modified one of the Tu-154s it inherited from the former Elbe Aircraft Plant (Elbe Flugzeugwerke) in Dresden, and flew in 1996. After 24 monitoring missions, it was lost in a mid-air collision in 1997.[17]
- The Russians also converted a Tu-154M to serve as an electronic countermeasures aircraft.[18]
- Tu-154M-100
- Design of this variant started in 1994, but the first aircraft were not delivered until 1998. It is an upgraded version with Western avionics, including the TCAS, and other modern systems. The airplane could carry up to 157 passengers. The cabin featured an automatic oxygen system and larger overhead bins. Three were produced, as payment of debts owed by Russia to Slovakia. Three aircraft were delivered in 1998 to Slovak Airlines, and sold back to Russia in 2003.[19]
- Tu-155
- A Tu-154 converted into a testbed for alternative fuels. It first flew in 1988 and was used until the fall of the Soviet Union, when it was placed in storage.
- Tu-164
- Initial designation of the Tu-154M.
- Tu-174
- Proposed stretched version of Tu-154.
- Tu-194
- Proposed shortened version of Tu-154.
Operators
Current operators
As of August 2017, there were 44 Tupolev Tu-154 aircraft of all variants still in civil, governmental or military service.[20][needs update]
A 45th aircraft has been sighted flying with Air Kyrgyzstan in 2017,[21] but is not listed by the airline as part of its fleet.[citation needed]
A 46th aircraft, a Polish Tu-154 with operational number 102, is currently in storage at the military airport in
As of June 2015, the remaining operators are:[22][needs update]
Airline | In service | Notes |
---|---|---|
Air Koryo | 4 | Last passenger operator worldwide.[20] |
Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan | 1 | |
Federal Security Service | 2 | |
Government of Kyrgyzstan
|
1 | |
Gromov Flight Research Institute | 1 | |
People's Liberation Army Air Force | 12[23] | 6 of them are ELINT versions with synthetic-aperture radar.[citation needed ]
|
Russian Aerospace Forces | 16 | |
Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs |
4 | operated for the Government of Russia |
Russian Navy | 2 | |
Chaplygin Siberian Scientific Research Institute Of Aviation | 1 | |
Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center | 1 | |
Total: | 45 |
Operational history
In January 2010 Russian flag carrier Aeroflot announced the retirement of its Tu-154 fleet after 40 years, with the last scheduled flight being Aeroflot Flight 736 from Yekaterinburg to Moscow on 31 December 2009.[24] In December 2010, Uzbekistan Airways also declared that it was retiring its Tu-154s.[25] In February 2011, all remaining Iranian Tu-154s were grounded after two incidents.[26][27]
On 27 December 2016, the
In October 2020 ALROSA, the last Russian passenger airline to operate this aircraft, retired its last remaining Tu-154.[31]
Former operators
Former civil operators
- Air Via
- Balkan Bulgarian Airlines
- BH Air
- Bulgarian Air Charter
- Government of Bulgaria
- Hemus Air
- CAAC Airlines
- China Northwest Airlines
- China Southwest Airlines
- China United Airlines
- China Xinjiang Airlines
- Sichuan Airlines
- CSA Czech Airlines
- Government of Czech Republic
- Smartwings
- CSA Czechoslovak Airlines
- Government of Czechoslovakia
- EgyptAir
- Malev Hungarian Airlines
- Pannon Airlines
- Bon Air
- Caspian Airlines
- HESA (Operating Armita Labs that are Tu-154 converted to flying laboratories)[33]
- Iran Air Tours
- Kish Air
- Mahan Air
- Taban Air
- Libyan Arab Airlines
- Avioimpex
- Macedonian Air Service
- MAT Macedonian Airlines
- Palair Macedonian
- Government of Romania
- TAROM
- Abakan-Avia
- Aeroflot
- Aero Rent
- Airlines 400
- ALAK (airline)
- ALROSA (airline)
- Aviaenergo
- Avial (airline)
- Aviaprad
- Baikal Airlines
- BAL Bashkirian Airlines
- Bural
- Chernomor Avia
- Continental Airways
- Dalavia
- Donavia
- Enkor
- Gazpromavia
- Jet-2000
- KD Avia
- Kogalymavia (Metrojet)
- KrasAir
- Kuban Airlines
- Mavial Magadan Airlines
- Nordavia
- Omskavia
- Orenair
- Perm Airlines
- Polet Airlines
- Pulkovo Aviation Enterprise
- Rossiya
- Russian Sky Airlines
- Sayany Airlines
- S7 Airlines
- Sakha Avia
- Samara Airlines
- Sibaviatrans
- Tatarstan Airlines
- Ural Airlines
- UTair Aviation
- VIM Airlines
- Vladivostok Air
- Vnukovo Airlines
- Yakutia Airlines
- Yamal Airlines
- Syrianair
- Active Air
- Greenair
- Holiday Airlines
Former military operators
- Armenia
- Armenian Air Force
- Bulgaria
- Bulgarian Air Force One 154B retired 1988; one 154M retired April 2010, replaced by A319 CFM
- Cuba
- Cuban Air Force
- Czechoslovakia
- Czechoslovak Air Force (passed on to successor states)
- Czech Republic
- Czech Air Force (replaced by Airbus A319CJ)
- East Germany
- East German Air Force (passed on to FRG)
- Germany
- German Air Force (taken over from East Germany; one lost in mid-air collision, the other one sold)
- Mongolia
- Mongolian Air Force
- Poland
- crashed in 2010.
- Slovakia
- Slovak Government Flying Service (replaced by Airbus A319CJ)
- Soviet Union
- Soviet Air Force(passed on to successor states)
- Turkmenistan
- Turkmen Air Force – two Tu-154B-2 retired
- Ukraine
- Ukrainian Air Force
- Uzbekistan
- Military of Uzbekistan
Incidents and accidents
Between 1970 and December 2016 there were 110 serious incidents involving the Tu-154,
On 2 January 2011, Russia's Federal Transport Oversight Agency advised airlines to stop using remaining examples of the Tu-154 (B variant) until the
On 27 December 2016, the
List
Aircraft on display
- СССР-85020 at the Ukraine State Aviation Museum.[40][failed verification]
- EW-85581 in the grounds of Minsk National Airport in Belarus.[citation needed]
- HA-LCG at the Aeropark museum in Budapest.[41]
- HA-LCA at Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport
- LZ-BTU at the Aviomuseum Burgas museum in Burgas, Bulgaria.[42]
- OK-BYZ at the Aviation Museum Kunovice, Czech Republic[43]
- OM-BYO at the Museum of Aviation in Košice, Slovakia[44]
Specifications]
Measurement | Tu-154B-2 | Tu-154M |
---|---|---|
Cockpit crew | 5(Tu-154B)-3(Tu-154M)[45] | |
Seating capacity | 114–180 | |
Length | 48.0 m (157 ft 6 in) | |
Wingspan | 37.55 m (123 ft 2 in) | |
Wing area | 201.45 m2 (2,168.4 sq ft) | 202 m2 (2,170 sq ft) |
Height | 11.4 m (37 ft 5 in) | |
Cabin width | 3.58 m (11 ft 9 in)[46] | |
MTOW |
98,000–100,000 kg 216,000–220,000 lb |
102,000–104,000 kg 225,000–229,000 lb |
Empty weight | 50,700 kg (111,800 lb) | 55,300 kg (121,900 lb) |
Maximum speed | 913 km/h (493 kn) (Mach 0.86)[47] | |
Range fully loaded | 2,500 km (1,300 nmi) | 5,280 km (2,850 nmi) |
Range with max fuel | 3,900 km (2,100 nmi) | 6,600 km (3,600 nmi) |
Service ceiling | 12,100 m (39,700 ft) | |
Engine (x 3) | Kuznetsov NK-8-2U | Soloviev D-30KU-154
|
Max. thrust (x 3) | 90 kN (20,000 lbf) each[48] | 103 kN (23,000 lbf) each[48] |
Max. fuel capacity | 47,000 L (12,000 US gal) | 49,700 L (13,100 US gal) |
In popular culture
- Air Crew is the 1979 action film revolving around the exploits of a Soviet Tu-154 crew on an international flight, the first Soviet film in the disastergenre.
See also
Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
Related lists
- List of civil aircraft
- List of jet airliners
References
Citations
- ^ Rabinowitz, Jason (26 February 2013). "Last Tupolev TU-154 Delivered – 16 Years After Production Ceases". Airline Reporter. Archived from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 12 December 2013.
- ^ "Tu-154 – Туполев". www.tupolev.ru. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
- ^ Komissarov, p. 8
- ^ Komissarov, pp. 5, 18
- ^ "News Channel | Homepage". Flightglobal.com. Archived from the original on 21 May 2011. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
- ^ "AeroTransport Data Bank". Archived from the original on 21 November 2002. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
- ^ "The Last Serial Tu-154 Was Delivered to the Representatives of Russian Defense Ministry". Vzglyad.Ru. 19 February 2013. Archived from the original on 22 February 2013. Retrieved 19 February 2013.
- ^ "Наука и техника: Оружие: Шойгу получит последний самолет Ту-154М". Lenta.ru. Archived from the original on 15 May 2013. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
- ^ Komissarov, p. 21
- ISBN 1-85780-214-4p. 257.
- ^ Komissarov, p. 27
- ^ Komissarov, pp. 29–31
- ^ Komissarov, p. 34
- ^ "AirForceWorld.com Tu154md Electronic Intelligence Aircraft". AirForceWorld.com. Archived from the original on 5 March 2011. Retrieved 30 April 2011.
- ^ "How an ageing Russian passenger jet became a key part of China's military intelligence gathering". SCMP. 24 December 2017. Archived from the original on 8 January 2020. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
- ^ Komissarov, pp. 36–37
- ^ Komissarov, pp. 38–39
- ^ Komissarov, p. 40
- ^ Komissarov, pp. 36, 144–145
- ^ a b "✈ russianplanes.net ✈ наша авиация". russianplanes.net. Archived from the original on 13 March 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
- ^ "✈ russianplanes.net ✈ наша авиация". russianplanes.net. Archived from the original on 15 August 2017. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
- ^ ch-aviation.com – Aircraft Quick Search: Tu-154 Archived 11 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine retrieved 10 June 2015
- ^ "✈ russianplanes.net ✈ наша авиация". russianplanes.net. Archived from the original on 11 December 2016. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
- ^ "Aeroflot retires the legendary TU-154s". Flight Global. 18 January 2010. Archived from the original on 27 January 2010. Retrieved 17 December 2010.
- ^ "Uzbekistan Airways renews aircraft fleet". Archived from the original on 17 July 2011.
- ^ "Iranian airlines fleet". Archived from the original on 6 September 2010.
- ^ Kramer, Andrew E. (21 June 2011). "It Danced Once, but More Often It Crashes". New York Times. Archived from the original on 26 December 2016. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
- ^ a b "Russia grounds all its TU-154 planes after crash". RTE.ie. 27 December 2016. Archived from the original on 28 December 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
- ^ AFP. 3 January 2021. Archivedfrom the original on 25 June 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
- ^ a b Chan, Minnie (24 December 2017). "How an ageing Russian passenger jet became a key part of China's military intelligence gathering". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 8 January 2020. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
- ^ "Ту-154 совершил последний в России гражданский перелет" (in Russian). RIA Novosti. 28 October 2020. Archived from the original on 14 December 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
- ^ BH Airlines Archived 17 October 2015 at the Wayback Machine at rzjets.net, Retrieved 13 December 2014
- ^ "Iran unveils upgraded missile, five pieces of military hardware". Tehran Times. Archived from the original on 25 August 2012. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
- ^ Harro Ranter. "Aviation Safety Network – ASN Aviation Safety Database results". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
- ^ Harro Ranter. "Aviation Safety Network – ASN Aviation Safety Database results". Archived from the original on 24 April 2015. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
- ^ "Tupolev Tu-154 Accident Statistics". Aviation Safety Network. Archived from the original on 8 February 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
- ^ "Russian airlines should ground Tu-154s, watchdog says". BBC News. 2 January 2011. Archived from the original on 3 January 2011. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
- ^ "از اول اسفند ارابههاي مرگ در آسمانها زمينگير ميشود".[dead link]
- ^ "Rosja. Tu-154M mogą wyjść z eksploatacji od 1 lipca". Rzeczpospolita. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
- ^ "Tu-154". Oleg Antonov State Aviation Museum. Archived from the original on 22 February 2020. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
- ^ "TU-154B-2". Aeropark Budapest (in Hungarian). Archived from the original on 9 August 2020. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
- ^ "Tupolev, Tu-154". Aviomuseum Burgas (in Bulgarian). Archived from the original on 28 September 2023. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
- ^ "Tupolev Tu-154 M "Naganský expres"". Letecké muzem v Kunovicích (in Czech). 9 July 2019. Archived from the original on 25 October 2020. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
- ^ Pucher, Filip (31 December 2017). "VIDEO - Posledný prelet TU-154 do Košíc". airliners.sk (in Slovak). Archived from the original on 18 May 2021. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
- ^ "Tu-154 – Туполев". www.tupolev.ru. Archived from the original on 9 December 2018. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
- ^ "Tu-154 Careless". www.globalsecurity.org. Archived from the original on 15 January 2019. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
- ^ "Tu-154B Flight Crew Operations Manual". Archived from the original on 22 September 2018. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
- ^ a b Originally measured as 10,500 kgf.
Bibliography
- Dmitriy Komissarov, Tupolev Tu-154, The USSR's Medium-Range Jet Airliner, (Hinckley, UK, 2007) ISBN 1857802411
- Yefin Gordon and Vladimir Rigmant, OKB Tupolev, A History of the Design Bureau and its Aircraft, translated by Alexander Boyd, edited by Dmitriy Komissarov (Hinckley, UK, 2005) ISBN 1-85780-214-4