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HISTORY OF TECHNOLOGY, TECHNOLOGY, OBJECTS AROUND US
Supersonic passenger liner Concorde. History of invention and production
Directory / The history of technology, technology, objects around us The Soviet TU-144 became the world's first supersonic passenger aircraft. In its manufacture, the experience gained during the creation of the M-50 strategic bomber was used.A distinctive feature of the Tu-144 was a delta wing with a "broken" leading edge. As shown by studies conducted in the USSR, Sweden, the USA and England in the 1950s, a delta wing with a broken leading edge made it possible not only to reduce the drag coefficient in the zone of transonic speeds, to slightly improve the takeoff and landing characteristics of the aircraft, but also to reduce the displacement of the center aircraft pressure when reaching supersonic speeds.
The logical conclusion of this large complex of works was the transition to a delta wing with a sweep angle continuously changing in span: from a very large one at the root (75-85 degrees) to medium values at the end (50-65 degrees). Such wings were called "animal" and were used by a joint Anglo-French company in the creation of supersonic civil aviation aircraft "Concorde". Before using ogival wings on a real aircraft, it was decided, independently of each other, both in England and in the USSR, to conduct tests not only in wind tunnels, but also in flight on analogue aircraft. Such a flying model in the USSR was a single-seat experimental aircraft of OKB A.I. Mikoyan "MiG-Analogue 144", and in England - a single-seat experimental aircraft BAC221 from British Aircraft. Test pilot O.V. Gudkov, since 1967, made dozens of flights on the Analog 144, repeatedly checking all possible modes, including even those that were inaccessible to a passenger aircraft. The test results of this flying laboratory were used to finalize the Tu-144 project and made it possible to speed up its tests, which began in December 1968 by test pilot E.V. Yelyan. The first flight of the Tu-144 took place on December 31, 1968 and lasted 38 minutes. The next day, the French newspaper "Paris Press Entransijan" wrote: "The flight of the Tu-144 is a historical date in aviation, marking the Soviet Union's coming out on top in the construction of supersonic passenger aircraft." Another British analogue aircraft BAC221 began flying in May 1964. He had a narrower range of studied speeds - from landing to 1700 kilometers per hour. But, despite the easier task, the tests dragged on. Their results were used in the construction of the Concorde aircraft, which took off three months later than the Tu-144 - in March 1969. The achievements of science in the USSR and in the advanced countries of the West allowed Soviet scientists and designers, as well as designers of Anglo-French companies, to find the optimal solution for the aerodynamic and general layout of a supersonic civil aviation aircraft. In the experimental version of the Tu-144, with a takeoff weight of 195 tons and a payload of 15 tons at a cruising speed of 2200 kilometers per hour, it had an estimated range of 6500 kilometers. On a practical ceiling of 18000 meters, he could reach a maximum speed of 2500 kilometers per hour. The Tu-144 aircraft was equipped with more economical turbojet engines with an afterburner of the OKB N.D. than those of the Concorde. Kuznetsova - NK-144 with a thrust of 12750 kN each. After the first flight of the Tu-144 on December 31, 1968, the second flight lasting 50 minutes was made on January 8, 1969. In the course of further tests in May 1970, for the first time in the history of aviation, a civilian passenger aircraft reached an M number equal to two - a speed of 2150 kilometers per hour at an altitude of 16300 meters. In the autumn of the same year, at an altitude of 17000 meters, a speed of 2430 kilometers per hour was exceeded. This is still the speed record for passenger aircraft today. However, the fate of the liner was sad. First, there was a disaster at the exhibition in Le Bourget, which significantly slowed down the Tu-144's entry into regular airlines. The first commercial supersonic flight, but without passengers on board, was made by the Tu-144 on December 26, 1975 on the route Moscow - Alma-Ata, but only from November 1977 did flights with passengers begin along the same route. Soon the flights were stopped, due to economic inexpediency and for environmental reasons. The fate of the Concorde was also difficult, but still happier. On October 26, 1962, the French and British governments signed a financial and economic agreement on the joint creation of the Concorde supersonic passenger aircraft (SPS). The day before, an agreement was signed between the British company BAC and the French SNCASE, from which it followed that the British take on two-thirds of the work on propulsion systems, and the French about sixty percent of all work on the airframe and its systems. At the same time, the firms assumed obligations to organize and coordinate the work of dozens of French and British firms that will take part in the program. The agreed schedule of work provided for a flight of a prototype in 1966, the next year - a flight of a pre-production aircraft, a year later - a serial one, and the release of the first aircraft on the line in 1970. At the same time, it was assumed that the cost of the work would be 170 million pounds, and the price of the aircraft would not exceed $10 million. However, over time, technical problems began to arise that delayed the implementation of individual stages of the program. The construction of two prototypes began only in February 1965, and the test of the first of them, as already mentioned, took place in March 1969. The first pre-production Concorde aircraft was flown in December 1971, and the first production aircraft was flown in October 1973.
The increased mass and prolonged development period led to a multiple increase in program costs and the aircraft's sale price. After summing up, it turned out that for the period 1962-1976, France and Great Britain spent together 1200 million pounds. The price of the aircraft, which was $1970 million in the early 25s and $1974 million in 40,25, rose to $1976 million in 60. On January 21, 1976, two Concorde aircraft simultaneously began to operate regular passenger flights on the Paris-Rio de Janeiro and London-Bahrain routes. A total of 1978 aircraft were built until 18. Although pre-orders for the construction of 1972 aircraft were received in 74, the ban on flights of supersonic passenger aircraft over the territory of the United States (later such a ban was introduced by many countries, including Japan) led to the cancellation of most orders. As the aircraft developed from a prototype to a serial one, it underwent significant modifications, as a result of which not only the dimensions, weight and characteristics changed, but also the cost of the program and the price of the aircraft. In the Super-Caravel project, it was assumed that the take-off weight of the aircraft would be 92 tons, and in the preliminary Concorde project - 130 tons. In fact, the takeoff weight of the first prototype was 148 tons, and in the process of improvements it increased to 156 tons. The pre-production aircraft already had a mass of about 175 tons, and the serial one - over 180 tons. Accordingly, the dimensions also increased, primarily the length of the fuselage (from 56,24 meters for the prototype and 58,84 meters for the pre-production aircraft to 61,66 meters for the production aircraft). Initially, it was envisaged that the aircraft would carry 90-110 passengers over a distance of 4500 kilometers at a speed of the order of M = 2,2. During the work, the maximum range of the aircraft increased to 6580 kilometers, but the cruising speed had to be limited to M = 2,04. The Concorde is a tailless low-wing aircraft with an oval transversely curved wing. Course control is provided by a classic vertical tail with a two-section rudder. The fuselage of the liner is made in the form of a cylindrical structure with a relatively small cross section. Due to the considerable length of the fuselage and the relatively large angles of attack during takeoff and landing, the Concorde is equipped with a high undercarriage, as a result of which the axis of the aircraft is at a height of 5,4 meters above the ground. To increase visibility from the cockpit during takeoff and landing, the forward fuselage can be lowered. Chassis - three-post, with twin front wheels and four-wheeled bogies on the main racks. "Concorde" is equipped with three independent hydraulic systems - two main and one emergency. They ensure the operation of the hydraulic boosters of the control surfaces, the extension and retraction of the landing gear, the control of the front wheels during maneuvering on the ground, takeoff and landing, lowering and raising the front of the fuselage, the operation of the fuel pumps of the balancing system and the regulation of the input and output devices of the propulsion system. The aircraft is designed for small overloads, and therefore the speed of its descent and maneuver is limited. For the manufacture of the aircraft, mainly heat-resistant aluminum alloys were used. Elements of the propulsion system, rudder skin and some parts of the chassis are made of titanium and steel alloys. To ensure the minimum weight of the aircraft, the airframe design was chosen, which corresponds to the principle of equal strength of all its elements. In addition, most of the structure was made by milling entire panels, which made it possible to eliminate many joints, prevent deformation of the skin and change the shape of the profile in flight. The technological division also differs from the traditional one: the structure is divided into sections, each of which consists of a part of the fuselage and an adjacent part of the wing. This facilitates the connection of the wing spars with the power frames of the fuselage. The wing skin is made from monolithic, prestressed panels, resulting in a weight reduction of approximately 20 percent (compared to conventional designs). Four Olympus-593 turbojet engines, jointly developed by Rolls-Royce and SNECMA, are located in pairs in two underwing nacelles in such a way that the outlet nozzle exit is in the plane of the trailing edge of the wing. The engines are equipped with afterburners and thrust reversers. The main task of afterburners is to increase thrust during takeoff and when the aircraft passes through the speed of sound. The design of the thrust reversers provides, during landing, a braking force equal to 45 percent of the takeoff thrust. The Olympus-593 is an improved version of the Olympus-22R engine with an afterburner thrust of 146,80 kN (14970 kilograms) installed on the TSR-2 aircraft. Each engine has a separate adjustable rectangular air intake. By the mid-1980s, the propulsion systems had been improved, which made it possible to reduce the level of acoustic loading and increase their efficiency. To protect the environment from engine exhaust gases containing a large percentage of nitrogen oxides that destroy the ozone layer of the atmosphere, the operating ranges of flight altitudes were reduced and the requirements for exhaust gas purity were increased. This was achieved by reducing the compression ratio of the engine compressors. The fuel system includes 17 caisson fuel tanks located in the wing and fuselage. Their capacity is 119786 liters. The fuel is also used to change the position of the aircraft's center of gravity during the passage of the sound barrier and to cool the structure. This purpose is served by four balancing tanks (in the front near-fuselage parts of the wing with maximum sweep) and a tank in the rear fuselage (behind the trailing edge of the wing). During the operation of the Concordes, interesting statistics were obtained: the vast majority of passengers on supersonic liners - 82 percent - are men, their average age is 48 years. Of these, the majority - 44 percent - are represented by Americans, in second place - 28 percent - the French, followed by residents of Europe - 18 percent and representatives of other countries - 10 percent. Most of all, high-ranking politicians value their time - 44 percent of all passengers, followed by industrialists and businessmen, then - athletes and artists and just wealthy passengers. Flights on "Concordes" are carried out strictly according to the schedule: the flight delay did not exceed three minutes! But this ideal picture was completely destroyed by "Black Tuesday" - July 25, 2000. The announcement of the catastrophe shocked not only France, but the whole of Europe. Still, the supersonic Concorde, which until then was considered the safest and most reliable aircraft in the world, crashed. For twenty-five years of continuous operation, "Concorde" has never crashed! There were only two flight incidents. The death of the Concorde had irreversible consequences. The Paris, New York and Tokyo Stock Exchanges immediately reacted to the catastrophe with a noticeable drop in the rate of Air France and British Airways, and the American media launched an attack against European airlines. However, a report soon arrived from Paris that Air France, which owned the Concorde that crashed on July 25, was suing the American airline Continental Airlines. The commission investigating the causes of the Concorde crash finished its work and came to the conclusion that the cause of the tragedy was a part of the American Airbus Douglas DC-10 that had taken off from the same runway in front of the Concorde. Experts found that a sharp piece of metal, found during a thorough inspection of the runway, pierced the tire of a French aircraft, which led to its explosion and engine fire. According to the international code of laws, the air carrier is liable for damage caused by objects that have fallen from its aircraft. This law allowed Air France to sue the American airline for damages from the fall of the Concorde. Lawyers representing the interests of the relatives of those killed in the disaster filed similar lawsuits with the court. Author: Musskiy S.A.
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