One of the legendary Soviet Air Force planes took to the air in 1963.
Creating aircraft
early sixties was characterized by the change of generations of aircraft.The transition from piston to jet passenger planes required to create new machines that enhance air traffic.In addition, the increased mobility of the population and the economy created a high demand for air transport services.
most popular destinations were already mastered the piston aircraft, belonging to the modern classification of short-haul.It is this niche had to take a jet airliner TU-134.
overall layout
The project was developed in the design office Tupolev based on previously implemented models.Rich experience in the design of large military vehicles and civilian aircraft provided the successful application of design and engineering solutions.We used a backlog of previously designed machines.They brought the plane TU-134 specifications, which have provided many years of successful service.
At the same time the plane appeared groundbreaking in many ways.Capacity of machines ranged from sixty to eighty people, depending on the layout.Applied on international routes to the interior of the machine, is divided into classes, housed fewer passengers.
For domestic destinations salons projected without the passenger classes has a capacity of eighty people.Depending on the modifications of the weight of the plane TU-134 more varied in the range of forty-seven to forty-nine tons.
Engines
two turbojet engines of domestic development placed near the tail.This situation is perfectly in line with the needs of the gondolas start from the ground and poorly equipped airfields, preventing the penetration of foreign objects into the engines.Thrust of each engine reaches seven tons, which enables start with short runways.
In the future, improved engines and replaced during the overhaul.The cruising speed of the aircraft TU-134 reached eight hundred and fifty kilometers an hour on the engines of the first version.With the installation of the modified power units, it increased to forty kilometers per hour.
peculiar sound engine Tu-134, similar in sound to the rising whistle, contributed to the high recognition of the popular aircraft.The overall level of noise produced by the engine at the start and climb, was very high.This led to problems with the operation of aircraft in international airports after the tightening of the rules of acoustic pollution.
development model
car proved to be very successful.Tu-134 showed the highest modernization potential and reliability.Performance handling characteristics also made an impression.Imposes on the Tu-134 limit crosswinds and headwinds during takeoff and landing were among the smallest for this class of aircraft.This property of the machine has markedly improved the regularity of flights.
big disadvantage of the first models of the Tu-134 was the lack of engine thrust reverser, which significantly increases the braking distance of the machine.To compensate for the lack of applied brake parachute and an aerodynamic brake.The development of machines has removed features that have fallen from the initial stages of development of jet aircraft.
Leader aviation exports
TU-134 plane was very popular not only on the routes of the Soviet Union, but also in foreign countries.Almost from the start of production, he began to make flights in foreign airports.Expand awareness of the car and helped TU-134 participated in the international aviation exhibition 1969 in Le Bourget.The aircraft has demonstrated not only the level of development of the Soviet aircraft industry, but also the modern approach to the creation of the Civil Air Fleet.
addition of the Soviet bloc, the machine is operated in many countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.In many cases, the planes were part of the Air Force of the importers.After the collapse of the Soviet Union continued to serve the air machine of the CIS countries.
Liver Aviation
first machines arrived on the airline in 1966.Since the aircraft is in the air.Now this car was only from private carriers serving charter flights.But before 2007, it was part of the staff of the airlines of Russia and the CIS, making regular passenger flights.Thus, the machine has been used for its intended purpose for over forty years.
addition the carriage of passengers on regular services, issued modifications to maintain high-level government officials.These boards are equipped with additional elements added comfort and security.They established a special system of government communications.
There were military modification TU-134, intended to train pilots and navigators of military aviation.One of the versions equipped with the characteristic nose cone, was used for pilot training long-distance bombers.
Over the history of the production, which lasted more than twenty years, was released almost nine instances of machines of different modifications.For this indicator, the plane TU-134 belongs to the most widespread examples of Soviet passenger aircraft.
Decommissioning
addition to technical and technological obsolescence of the machine, a large role in the termination of its use has played an increased noise level of the power plant.The new standards of ICAO put an end to many international destinations that are served by the plane TU-134.The remaining areas were unable to provide a break-even operation model and competitive with more modern aircraft to foreign and domestic manufacturers.
Although the plane was produced until 1987, on regular flights stopped using it in 2008, replacing machines of other brands.Today continues the output of cars of this model from other structures of air transportation.But time takes its, and the youngest of the aircraft of this brand for more than twenty-five years.More than a hundred planes still remains a part of airlines, but the end of the glorious history of the first-born of Soviet passenger aircraft is not far off.
accidents and incidents
many years who had Tu-134 in the air, not without accidents.But the plane continued to be considered a reliable and safe machine.Accidents Tu-134 have rarely been associated with the design of the machine, its components and assemblies.
main part of the tragedy was the result of coincidence or the human factor.The aircraft was operated under conditions which do not always respect the required level of flight safety, not only in the USSR but also in developing countries.Instrumentation machines met the standards of the epoch in which it was created, and the required qualifications and responsibilities of crew and ground services.
During all the years of operation of the Tu-134, for reasons not related to the military operations, it was lost more than sixty-five aircraft, which killed one and a half thousand people.
