Tupolev Tu-144Article Free Pass Tupolev Tu-144, world’s first
supersonic transport aircraft, designed by the veteran Soviet
aircraft designer Andrey N. Tupolev and his son Alexey. It was
test-flown in December 1968, exceeded the speed of sound in June
1969, and was first publicly shown in Moscow in May 1970. In its
production model the Tu-144 was 65.7 metres (215.6 feet) in
length, with a wingspan of 28.8 metres (94.5 feet). Its normal
cruising speed was up to Mach 2.2, more than twice the speed of
sound. Among its notable features were the “double-delta” swept-
back wings, the “moustache” foreplanes that pivoted out from the
fuselage just aft of the flight deck to improve flight
characteristics during takeoff and landing, and the nose section
that could be “drooped” downward to improve the crew’s line of
vision during takeoff and landing. The aircraft had an
inauspicious start when the first production Tu-144 crashed at
the 1973 Paris Air Show. The aircraft was put into commercial
service on the Moscow–Alma A