by "facw" (facw)
Published 05/18/2017 at 23:14
by "facw" (facw)
Published 05/18/2017 at 23:14
Tags: Planelopnik
; Tu-144
; Russia
; Soviet Union
; Planes Ranked
; i get bored
STARS: 7
I am no longer under deadline pressure, which means it’s time for more arbitrary jetliner rankings ( Boeing , Airbus , Other Western European )! Today’s journey takes us to the former Soviet Bloc for all of your unsafe, unreliable, and/or inefficient favorites. This is the largest set in my series, so please enjoy (or not, based on last week’s comments, I’m going to guess people will want the Il-62 higher).
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The Concordski! It actually flew before the Concorde but budget limitations and a high profile crash at the Paris Airshow delayed its entry into service until over a year after the Concorde. A second crash after only a few months of service ended its time as a passenger aircraft with just 55 commercial flights. Still, it was an amazing technical achievement (and looks damn cool).
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Developed from the Il-86, The Il-96 was an advanced and modern widebody when it first flew in late 1980s. Unfortunately for Iluishin, the increased cost and maintenance requirements of a quad-jet (especially one running less efficient Russian engines) made it economically uncompetitive with the 767, 777, and A330, to say nothing of the 787 or A350.
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The Il-96's older brother, the Il-86 was a significantly more primitive aircraft. Never competitive with the 747 or A300, production was abruptly halted following to collapse of the Soviet Union.
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Russia’s premier fighter manufacturer teamed with Boeing to produce a modern regional jet to compete with the best from Embraer and Bombardier.
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For a time, during the Comet’s grounding, the twin-engine Tu-104 was the world’s only operational jetliner. High landing speeds combined with pre-jet-age runways necessitated the use of drag chute for landings, not a common feature on passenger airliners. An unsuccessful quad engine version, the Tu-110 flew, but does not appear to ever have been used in commercial service, while a shrunk down version, the Tu-124 will be discussed later.
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One of the more successful Soviet airliners, the Il-62 shared the British VC10's unusual design, fueling unsubstantiated, but entirely plausible reports of industrial espionage.
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A modern regional jet entering service at the end of the last decade, this Ukrainian jet has failed to obtain much interest outside of Ukraine, Russia, and Cuba.
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This small Soviet trijet is notable for its straight wing, allowing it to operate from shorter runways.
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Extremely successful with over 1000 aircraft produced, and a small number still in service nearly half a century after it first flew (it was produced until 2013).
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Conceived as a replacement for the Tu-154, the Tu-204 has struggled to compete against Western competitors, despite the fact it is available with quiet and efficient Rolls-Royce engines.
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Intended to compete with the 737 and A320 families the MC-21 is a new airliner preparing it’s first test flight. It currently has nearly 200 firm orders.
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Developed from the Yak-40, the Yak-42 ditches the straight wing for a more conventional sweep, while increasing cabin size.
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Over 850 of the short-haul jets were built from the mid ‘60s to the later ‘80s. A small number remain in service. Early models featured a glass nose. The cancelled Tu-334 was intended as possible replacement.
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Recognizing the need for a smaller jet, the Tu-124 was a shrunk down version of the Tu-104 with other minor changes. It was quickly replaced by the Tu-134.
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The amphibious Be-200 is available in a passenger configuration, but as of yet has only been sold for firefighting purposes. If it were operated by any passenger airlines, it would rank very high on this list because flying boat. While the FAA would obviously not be keen on the idea, imagine how useful it would be to be able to fly commuter flights directly to and from the city center in cities on large bodies of water.
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While not actually available in a (non-military) passenger configuration, North Korea’s Air Koryo does use the Il-76 cargo aircraft to transport passengers to and from the country.
"Sir Halffast" (Sir_Halffast)
05/18/2017 at 23:42, STARS: 2
This is a pretty solid list. IL 86's were underrated. TU 154s were awful, and Yak 42s were somehow worse. I’ve flown on all of them, and that’s pretty much how they’d go.
"not for canada - australian in disguise" (for-canada)
05/18/2017 at 23:43, STARS: 1
The AN-148/158 made me realise that high-wing jetliners look weird.
"facw" (facw)
05/18/2017 at 23:51, STARS: 1
I think the those in particular look like they should have a longer cabin in front of the wing. They look unbalanced.
"Highlander-Datsuns are Forever" (jamesbowland)
05/18/2017 at 23:52, STARS: 0
So how many different manufacturers are there in Russia? Seems a bit crowded.
"facw" (facw)
05/18/2017 at 23:59, STARS: 1
These days there’s actually basically only one, the United Aircraft Corporation . The names associated with the planes are the design bureaus, which were of course once semi-independent state-owned operations, but are now just components of UAC. Designs may be done by one of the design bureaus (or a collaboration), and production might be handled by another entity within UAC. Kind of a messy situation.
"Sir Halffast" (Sir_Halffast)
05/18/2017 at 23:59, STARS: 3
Ilyushin and Tupelov made bombers, Yakovlev and Sukhoi made fighters, and they all needed something to do in peacetime...
"Flavien Vidal" (flyingfrenchy)
05/19/2017 at 00:03, STARS: 2
My mother saw the crash of the Tu-144 at Le Bourget in person...
"V12 Jake- Hittin' Switches" (jbv12)
05/19/2017 at 00:25, STARS: 0
I was going to complain about your lack of TU-114 but then I remembered that this is a jet list.
"facw" (facw)
05/19/2017 at 00:30, STARS: 2
Yep, no turboprops here. Though the Tu-114 is a bit of an odd-ball in the sense that it could basically fly at jet speeds by beating the air into submission with those eight giant props.
"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
05/19/2017 at 00:56, STARS: 3
The Tu-104 was a sexy beast, and looked fast just sitting on the ground. I think you could also make an argument that the 104 was the world’s first successful jetliner, as it went into service while the Comet was grounded, and the Comet had not yet become a safe and reliable aircraft.
And let’s not forget the mustache canards on the 144.
The Yak 40 was also the world’s first commuter trijet, and I’ve never heard of the Irkut. Looks like the love child of a 787 and an E-jet.
This is a fun project. I’m enjoying these.
"Viggen" (viggen37)
05/19/2017 at 01:24, STARS: 2
Making my ranking by classifying RED AIR by their NATO designations (if had)
1: Careless
2. Classic
3. Tu-204/214
4. Crusty
5. Charger
6. Camel
7. Cookpot
8. Codling
9. Clobber
10. Sukhoi airliner that solely exists because of Su-27 sales success
11. Camber
12. Il-96
13. An-148
14. MC-21
58,000. Candid, for waking me up at 3AM on my scheduled day off in Afghanistan
"Amoore100" (amoore100)
05/19/2017 at 01:52, STARS: 2
Every time I learn more about the 144 it just seems sketchier and sketchier. A Concord (which was already risky based on poor operating procedures) with 100x more Russian-ness? A recipe for disaster.
"facw" (facw)
05/19/2017 at 02:20, STARS: 1
With the Tu-144, it’s amazing to think that we went espionage and counter espionage in the 1970s (indeed some people think the Paris crash was due to the pilots being startled by a French chase plane trying photograph that fancy mustache), to a 144 flying for NASA with an American flag on the tail by the mid-’90s:
"facw" (facw)
05/19/2017 at 02:27, STARS: 0
NATO is clearly getting lazy with those reporting names. Plenty of two syllable C words left.
"WilliamsSW" (williamssw)
05/19/2017 at 07:38, STARS: 0
If it was in this list it would have to be first just for the noise factor
"Roundbadge" (Roundbadge)
05/19/2017 at 08:51, STARS: 0
to a 144 flying for NASA with an American flag on the tail by the mid-’90s:
Holy smokes....TIL...
"V12 Jake- Hittin' Switches" (jbv12)
05/19/2017 at 09:05, STARS: 1
If I ever have fuck you money I will have a private Tu-114. It will be glorious.
"vp917" (vp917)
05/19/2017 at 09:36, STARS: 1
IMO, the 144's canards look more like droopy ears.
"X37.9XXS" (x379xxs)
05/19/2017 at 11:22, STARS: 0
the Comet had not yet become a safe and reliable aircraft.
And the Tu-104 was?
Isn’t it interesting that only one of these aircraft is being operated by a non-Russian/non-Russian client state?
"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
05/19/2017 at 11:31, STARS: 0
Well, as safe and reliable as any 1950s jetliner could be, I suppose. But I don’t think the entire fleet was ever grounded for structural deficiencies.
"Viggen" (viggen37)
05/19/2017 at 14:10, STARS: 1
I think the last aircraft they gave a designation was the J-10.