Tupolev Tu-144
The Tupolev Tu-144 of 1975 was the world's first supersonic airliner to fly, narrowly beating Concorde into the air in 1968, a Cold War prestige triumph for the Soviet Union. Seating around 120 at twice the speed of sound, it featured distinctive retractable canards behind the cockpit. Plagued by reliability problems and a fatal Paris air-show crash, its passenger service lasted barely a year, making it a bold but short-lived marvel.
Specifications
- Seats
- 120–140
- Range
- 6,500 km
- Type
- narrowbody
- Built
- 1968–1982
- Runway
- 3,000 m