1/144 Tupolev Tu-144

Zvezda 7045

Excludes allglues,paintsandtoolsnecessary to assemble.

The Tupolev Tu-144 was a four-engine, all-metal, Soviet-made supersonic airliner. The drive was provided by four NK-144-A or RD-36-51-A engines. The flight of the prototype took place in December 1968, and small serial production took place at the Voronezh Aviation Works in the period 1975-1984. In total, only 16 aircraft of this type were built.The Tupolev Tu-144 was similar in concept to the Concorde aircraft. Undoubtedly, the Tu-144 was a very unusual and breakthrough machine – it was the first passenger plane in history to reach a speed of Mach 2. However, the high stresses had an impact on the overall quality of the machine. Very often there was a loss of fuel in flight, engine failure or wing cracks. These lens-like failures and imperfections were concentrated in the Tu-144 crash at the Paris Air Show in 1973. In addition, the Tu-144 was characterized by enormous fuel consumption (especially in supersonic flight), medium range and was very labour-intensive for ground crews to maintain. The paradox was that the only route the Tupolev Tu-144 flew was the Moscow-Alma-Ata connection!

The official recall of these machines took place in 1978 – three years after their entry into service.