Tupolev Tu-154

Like many other Soviet-built airliners, the Tu-154 has an oversized [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] enabling it to land on unpaved runways, once common in rural areas of the Soviet Union.

The aircraft has two six-wheel main [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] fitted with large low-pressure tires that retract into pods extending from the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] of the wings (a common Tupolev feature), plus a two-wheel nose gear unit.

Soft oleo struts ([Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]) provide a much smoother ride on bumpy airfields than most airliners, which only very rarely operate on such poor surfaces.

The original requirement was to have a three-person [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] – [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] – as opposed to 4/5-person crew on other Soviet airliners.

A fourth crew member, a [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], is usually also present in the former [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], due to union rules.

Navigators are no longer trained and this profession will become obsolete with the retirement of older Soviet era
planes.

The plane's [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] suite, for the first time in the Soviet Union, is built to [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] airworthiness standards.

The latest variant (Tu-154M-100, introduced 1998) includes an NVU-B3 [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] navigation system, a triple [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], which provides an automatic ILS approach according to [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] category II weather minima, an [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], a Doppler drift and speed measure system (DISS), "Kurs-MP" radio navigation suite and others.

Modern upgrades normally include a [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and other modern systems, mostly American or EU-made.

Early versions of the Tu-154 cannot be modified to meet the current Stage III [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and are banned from flying where those regulations are in force, such as Europe.

The Tu-154M may use [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] to meet Stage III and theoretically Stage IV. However current [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]
regulations forbid the use of hush kits to meet Stage IV.

The Tu-154M would need to be re-engined to meet Stage IV within the EU, an extensive and potentially expensive upgrade.

Variants


Many variants of this airliner have been built. Like its western counterpart, the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], many of the Tu-154s in service have been hush-kitted, and some converted to freighters.

Tu-154

Tu-154 production started in 1970, while first passenger flight was performed at 9 February 1972.

Powered by [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] NK-8-2 turbofans, it carried 164 passengers. About 42 were built. Tail numbers from 85006 to 85055.

Tu-154A

The first upgraded version of the original Tu-154, the A model, in production since 1974, added center-section fuel tanks and more emergency exits, while engines were upgraded to higher-thrust Kuznetsov NK-8-2U.

Other upgrades include automatic flaps/slats and stabilizer controls and modified avionics. Max. take-off weight – 94,000 kg (207,235 lb).

There were 15 different interior layouts for the different domestic and international customers of the airplane, seating between 144 and 152 passengers.

The easiest way to tell the A model from the base model is by looking at the spike at the junction of the fin and tail; this is a fat bullet on the A model rather than a slender spike on the base model.

Tail numbers from 85056 to 85119.