| Tu-134 | |
|---|---|
 A Tretyakovo Air Transport Tu-134 atDomodedovo International Airport | |
| General information | |
| Type | Airliner |
| National origin | Soviet Union |
| Designer | Tupolev |
| Built by | Kharkiv State Aircraft Manufacturing Company |
| Status | In limited use |
| Primary users | Aeroflot (historical) |
| Number built | 854 (852 + 2 prototypes)[1] |
| History | |
| Manufactured | 1966–1989[1] |
| Introduction date | 9 September 1967[2] |
| First flight | 29 July 1963 |
| Developed from | Tupolev Tu-124 |
TheTupolev Tu-134 (NATO reporting name:Crusty) is atwin-engined,narrow-bodyjet airliner built in the Soviet Union for short and medium-haul routes from 1966 to 1989. The original version featured a glazed-nose design and, like certain other Russian airliners (including its sister model, theTu-154), it can operate from unpaved airfields.
One of the most widely used aircraft in formerComecon countries, the number in active service is decreasing because of operational safety concerns andnoise restrictions. The model has seen long-term service with some 42 countries, with some European airlines having scheduled as many as 12 daily takeoffs and landings per plane. In addition to regular passenger service, it has also been used in various air force, army and navy support roles; for pilot and navigator training; and for aviation research and test projects. In recent years, a number of Tu-134s have been converted for use as VIP transports and business jets. A total of 854 Tu-134s were built of all versions (including test bed examples) withAeroflot as the largest user by 1995, the Tu-134 had carried 360 million passengers for that airline.
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Following the introduction of engines mounted on pylons on the rear fuselage by the FrenchSud Aviation Caravelle, airliner manufacturers around the world rushed to adopt the new layout. Its advantages included clean wing airflow without disruption by nacelles or pylons and decreased cabin noise. At the same time, placing heavy engines that far back created challenges with the location of the centre of gravity in relation to the centre of lift, which was at the wings. To make room for the engines, the tailplanes had to be relocated to the tail fin, which had to be stronger and therefore heavier, further compounding the tail-heavy arrangement.[3]
During a 1960 visit to France, Soviet leaderNikita Khrushchev was so impressed by the quiet cabin of the Caravelle, that on 1 August 1960 the TupolevOKB received an official directive to design a new aircraft with a similar engine arrangement. The requirement was also driven by the need to replace slow, aging piston-enginedIl-14s on domestic routes. In 1961, the Soviet state airline,Aeroflot, updated its requirement specifications to include greater payload and passenger capacity, and since Aeroflot's requirements dictated a larger aircraft than initially planned, theSoloviev Design Bureau developed the more powerful D-30 low-bypassturbofan engines.
The Tu-134 prototype, CCCP-45075, first flew on 29 July 1963, initially retaining the designation Tu-124A despite radical differences in design from the previous model (new engines, new wings, totally re-designed tail, etc). On 20 November 1963, the new airliner was officially designated Tu-134. Meanwhile in October 1963, the prototype BritishBAC One-Eleven, which had a similar T-tail layout,crashed with the loss of all crew while testing its stalling properties. The results of an exhaustive investigation by the British Accident Investigation Board prompted Tupolev to enlarge the tailplane on Tu-134s by 30% for greater control authority.
The design of the Tu-134 included a sharp wing sweepback of 35 degrees, compared to 25–28 degrees in its counterparts. The engines on early production Tu-134s lacked thrust reversers, which made the aircraft one of a handful of types from that era that used abrake parachute for landing in adverse conditions. The majority of onboard electronics operated ondirect current. The lineage of early Soviet airliners could be traced directly to theTupolev Tu-16 strategic bomber, and the Tu-134 carried over the glass nose for the navigator and the landing gear fitted with low-pressure tires to permit operation from unpaved airfields.
Serial production began in 1966 at theKharkov Aviation Production Association, and production of theTu-124 was discontinued. The Tu-134 was designed for short-haul lines with low passenger traffic. Originally the aircraft had 56 seats in a single class configuration, or 50 seats in a two-class configuration.
In 1968, Tupolev began work on an improved Tu-134 variant with a 76-seat capacity. The fuselage received a 2.1-metre (6 ft 11 in) plug for greater passenger capacity and anauxiliary power unit in the tail. As a result, the maximum range was reduced from 3,100 kilometers to 2,770 kilometers. The upgraded D-30 engines now featured thrust reversers, replacing the parachute. The first Tu-134A, converted from a production Tu-134, flew on 22 April 1969. The first airline flight was on 9 November 1970. An upgraded version, the Tu-134B, was produced since 1980, with the navigator position abandoned, and seating capacity increased to 96 seats. A further version, the Tu-134D with increased engine thrust, was cancelled.
In September 1967, the Tu-134 made its first scheduled flight from Moscow toAdler. The Tu-134 was the first Soviet airliner to receive international certification from theInternational Civil Aviation Organization, which permitted it to be used on international routes. Due to this certification, Aeroflot used most of its Tu-134s on international routes. In 1968, the first export customers,Interflug ofEast Germany,LOT Polish Airlines andMalév Hungarian Airlines purchased the Tu-134. In 1969, the Tu-134 was displayed at theParis Air Show.
From 1972, Aeroflot began placing the Tu-134 in domestic service toBaku,Yerevan,Kyiv,Kishinev,Krasnodar,Leningrad,Omsk,Riga, andSochi fromSheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow.
In its early years, the Tu-134 developed a reputation for reliability and efficiency, especially when compared with previous Soviet designs. After the establishment of tougher noise standards in the ICAO regulations in 2002, the Tu-134 was banned from most western European airports for its high noise levels. In early 2006, 245 Tu-134s were still in operation, 162 of which were in Russia. After a fatal accident in March 2007, and at the instigation of Russian Minister of TransportationIgor Levitin, Aeroflot announced that it would be retiring its fleet, and the last Tu-134 was removed from service on 1 January 2008. Some were still in operations with Aeroflot subsidiaries on local routes within Russia. The Tu-134 also found a new life as abusiness jet with many having an expensive business interior installed. High fuel and maintenance costs are increasingly limiting the number used today.
In June 2011, as a response toRusAir Flight 9605 which resulted in 47 fatalities, Russian presidentDmitry Medvedev ordered preparations for taking the Tu-134 out of use by 2012.
On 22 May 2019, the final passenger flight of the Tu-134 in Russia took place.[4]
Many Tu-134s have been preserved as memorials at airports throughout the former Soviet Union. A former Malév Tu-134A (registration HA-LBE) is on display at the Aeropark atBudapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport[5] in Hungary.
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As of 2024, only a few Tupolev Tu-134s remain in civil passenger airline service worldwide:[8]
•Federal Space Agency of the Russian Federation[7]
•Air Koryo operates 2 aircraft. They are the last commercial airline to operate the Tupolev 134.
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The following airlines, states and other entities at one point operated at least one Tu-134 aircraft:
Angola
Armenia
Belarus
Bulgaria
Czech Republic Czechoslovakia
Germany
Georgia
East Germany
Moldova
North Korea
Poland
Soviet Union
Data from OKB Tupolev,[15] OAO Tupolev[16]
General characteristics
Performance
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
Related lists
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Media related toTupolev Tu-134 at Wikimedia Commons
