Concorski??

I heard something on Nat Geo channel the other day saying that VS had proposed to buy the remaining Russion Tu-144D airliners (basically concord!). What ever happened to that idea?

I think all the remaining TU-144s are sitting around rusting, so it would cost way too much money to bring them back to life.

[Scrooge]

Pretty much correct, there is as far as I know only 1 example left flying, I don't see VS buying anything right now let alone a fuel guzzling super sonic airliner.

I don't see VS buying anything right now let alone a fuel guzzling super sonic airliner.

That had a habit of snapping in half.

Got to agree with JP and despite my loyalties to the motherland[:D] and staunch supporter of Russian avaition that it one aircraft I would not like to fly on.

Just on another issue about old aircraft Aviogenex (some may remember they were a large Charter company)have refurbished their only existing old 732[:0] and are leasing to JAT for some flights out of BEG.

Iain

Originally posted by jaguarpig

I don't see VS buying anything right now let alone a fuel guzzling super sonic airliner.

That had a habit of snapping in half.

I guess that's what happens when you don't read the stolen schematics correctly [}:)]

I thought it was shot down or flew into another small plane or something?

Originally posted by musicmanbrain
I thought it was shot down or flew into another small plane or something?

No, a european fighter jet was secretly spying on it from close by, the concordski pilot caught sight of it and thought he was going to have a mid air collision so dived his plane. Upon pulling out of the dive the back broke due to structural deficiencies in the design (Concorde would not have broken up). The Soviet Union and Europe colluded not to disclose what happened due to embarrasement - on the European side, the fact that they were secretly spying on it, on the Soviet Union side, the fact that the plane had a significant design flaw.

Originally posted by McMaddog
on the Soviet Union side, the fact that the plane had a significant design flaw.

Comrade, this again is just Western capatilistic nonsense.The drawings we aquired were delibratley changed so that such a design flaw would happen and the West could mock at our great failure. Come the rising of the revolution we will again strike fear into the very bellies of the western imbosiles. Failing that we will just open another bottle of Vodka and head off to the banja[:p]

Ivan

[Darren Wheeler]

There are a lot of the usual conspiracy theories about what cause the crash. One theory is that a French jet taking photos got too close. Brian Trubshaw, first British pilot of Concorde put it down to trying to pull up out of a dive too hard, over stressing the airframe.

Seeing as the TU-144 uses military engines, there is no way the Russians will ever sell it to a commercial concern. As for fuel, just imagine the surcharge on that, the engines run on afterburn all the time.

Originally posted by iforres1

Originally posted by McMaddog
on the Soviet Union side, the fact that the plane had a significant design flaw.

Comrade, this again is just Western capatilistic nonsense.The drawings we aquired were delibratley changed so that such a design flaw would happen and the West could mock at our great failure. Come the rising of the revolution we will again strike fear into the very bellies of the western imbosiles. Failing that we will just open another bottle of Vodka and head off to the banja[:p]

Ivan

Love it!!!

IIRC the photos being taking were of the 'insect antenae' that the Soviets had retrofitted after stability problems in low speed flight. These were a genuine world first and there was much interest to see how effective they could be.

I thought NASA aquired one to use as a supersonic test bed.

Originally posted by PVGSLF
I thought NASA aquired one to use as a supersonic test bed.

It was in 96/97 after a very expensive refit - check out the wikipedia entry.

FM