RuAviation

On November 29, 1996, the Tu-144LL flying laboratory, which was created within the framework of the Russian Second Generation Supersonic Passenger Aircraft (SPA-2) programme and the American High Speed Civil Transport, took off. The flight was performed by a crew of test pilots of the Tupolev Aviation Scientific and Technical Complex. The aircraft commander Sergey Borisov and co-pilot Boris Veremey demonstrated the technical capabilities of the created laboratory.

In 1980-1990s Tupolev Design Bureau actively worked on the SPA-2 programme, cooperating with leading industry research institutes. In the course of research and experimental work in 1993, two Tu-144D aircraft were converted into flying laboratories. The aim of this work was to create a Tu-244 aircraft capable of carrying 150-170 passengers over a distance of 7-10 thousand kilometres.

However, the high cost of the project and limited budget funding prevented Russia from completing the development of the SPA-2 on its own. In 1993, an intergovernmental agreement was signed with the United States, according to which one of the Tu-144D aircraft was to be used as a flying laboratory to study various aspects of aeroacoustics, aeroelasticity, stability and controllability, as well as to collect data on the thermal state of the power plant at high speeds and the influence of the earth’s surface on takeoff and landing modes.

The Tu-144D with flight number 77114, produced in 1981 and having less than 83 hours of flight time, was modernised for use as a flying laboratory. It was fitted with new NK-32-1 engines, nacelles and a reinforced wing. The aircraft was fitted with a new data logging system that recorded the readings of multiple sensors.

The flying laboratory project was funded by the Boeing Corporation, with NASA and a number of other American companies also participating. The aircraft was rolled out on 17 March 1996. A total of 27 flights were made as part of joint research programmes. The project was completed in the summer of 1999, after which the Tu-144LL flying laboratory ceased its activities. Now this aircraft is a memorial – it is installed in Zhukovsky near Moscow at the intersection of Tupolev Highway and Tupolev Street.