In 1955, a record breaking aircraft took to the skies. This is the Tupolev TU-114, a turboprop is as fast as a jet. It can also fly as high as a jet. Normally when we think of turboprop, we think of a short range and slow speed aircraft. However, the TU-114 was different. It was fast and can even fly longer than an Airbus A300 and Boeing 757. The TU-114 can also cross the Atlantic non-stop against headwinds.
We now look at the story of the Tupolev TU-114, the fastest propeller powered passenger aircraft built.
The beginning of a unique turboprop based on a bomber
In 1955, the Soviet needed a passenger aircraft that can fly longer range. All the Soviets had were short range prop-driven aircraft like the Ilyushin IL-14. The United States at that time had the Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation, a turboprop airliner with a range of 8,288km.
However, the Soviets had to start sooner and creating a whole aircraft from scratch will take time. They then realized that they had one aircraft that can do the job. This was the Tupolev Tu-95 Bear. However, the Bear was not a commercial aircraft, it was a long-range high altitude bomber.
Since the Soviets needed a long-range airliner soon, the best was to convert a Tu-95 Bear into a commercial aircraft. The initial proposal was to transform the bomber into a VIP transporter. Tupolev’s plan was to convert the bomb and armaments bay into a passenger cabin. They will shoe-horn a passenger compartment into the fuselage. However, this would be too narrow and the high wing profile would not be suitable for a passenger aircraft. This would have been renamed as the Tu-116 VIP transporter.
However, another plan was being worked on side-by-side. This was to convert the Bear into a fully operational airliner. To achieve this, Tupolev will create a newer and wider pressurized fuselage. They will use the same Kuznetsov NK-12 engines driving contra-rotating propellers and wing of the Tu-95 and mount them lower on the new fuselage. The aircraft will also make use of larger flaps, a new nose gear, new vertical and horizontal stabilizers. In November 15, 1957, the very first Tu-114 took its first flight. It was introduced later on in 1961.
The Tu-114 was a turboprop almost as fast as a jet
The Tu-114 was a technical marvel during the 1950s. It had a wing sweep of 35 degrees, the same as the jet-powered Boeing 707. The DC-8 has a sweep of 30 degrees. It was powered by four Kuznetsov NK-12MV engines with contra rotating propellers. These had a horsepower rating of 14,795 each. The aircraft had a range of 9,720km and a maximum speed of 870kph, almost the speed of a passenger jet liner. The Tu-114 can also fly as high as 39,000ft. It can carry 224 passengers.
On the inside, the aircraft featured a lower deck which was usually a full kitchen. A dumbwaiter connected both the lower deck and main cabin. The airline also had its own chef. Since the Tu-114 flew longer range, a crew rest was installed at the lower deck area. It had four sleeping compartments with three berths in each. It also had a “restaurant” cabin in the midsection of the aircraft, the noisiest part.
The Tu-114 also had a higher nose gear of 3 meters due to the lower wing and large propellers.
Tu-114 turboprop and fast jet like commercial service
While on a test phase, the Tu-114 flew non-stop to the United States in 1959 carrying then-Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. Since the aircraft was still on a test phase, a group of engineers were aboard the plane, operating diagnostic equipment to monitor the engines and verify that they were functioning correctly. Boats were also lined along its path for a quick rescue incase the aircraft would be forced to do a water landing due to trouble. Upon arriving at Andrews Air Base, Khrushchev had to use the emergency ladder since the aircraft was too high for the conventional air stairs to reach the forward hatch.
The Tu-114 entered commercial air services in 1961 for Aeroflot. It was deployed for international flights to Copenhagen, Havana, Montreal, New Delhi, Paris, Belgrade and Tokyo (in partnership with Japan Airlines).
One huge downside of the Tu-114 was the vibration in the cabin and the noise. In fact, it made jet engines sound like a cat “purring” when both switched on. However, the Tu-114 was a very reliable aircraft. It was also fuel efficient during that time, burning 5,000-5,500 kg/hour of fuel at cruise flight. The Tu-114 also had a good safety record. In fact, it carried 6 million passengers without a single design related incident.
End of commercial services
In the 1960s, most western airlines were already using jet aircraft. The Tu-114 was totally outdated by that time when placed beside a newer jet aircraft. In 1962, Ilyushin introduced a new Soviet passenger aircraft, the jet-powered IL-62. The Tu-114 was then withdrawn from international routes and was kept mainly for domestic services within the USSR. It then ended commercial services in 1976.
A total of 35 Tu-114s were built. They served Aeroflot for 16 years.
To this date, no commercial passenger turboprop was able to surpass the performance of the Tu-114 in terms of speed, range, and service ceiling.
