The Soviet medium-range narrow-body passenger aircraft Tu-204 is still being produced and operated in Russia. This is an excellent car, albeit not devoid of a number of "childhood diseases" of the Soviet passenger aircraft industry. In recent years, in the vastness of the fatherland, they are increasingly talking about the launch of the Tu-204SM aircraft, an upgraded version, which still will not go into mass production. Why is that?
In one discussion of the Tu-204SM, we managed to stumble upon a very emotional response from a person to the situation around this vehicle. Apparently, it was written by a person close to the question (most likely a Tu-204 pilot). It will not work to quote the words of a citizen here, they were too unrestrained and emotional. However, the main thing is that everything written is not devoid of a grain of truth. Briefly, the whole situation can be summarized as follows: the plane is there, but there is no production.
But it's worth starting with the fact that the Tu-204 was born in a difficult time for the Soviet Union. The liner made its first flight in 1989, when the country was already cracking at the seams and, first of all, its economy was cracking. There was no effort, no money, no time with a desire to quickly improve the aircraft and eliminate "chronic diseases" then. As a result, the project fell into the box and the new product was launched only in 1996. In total, 89 such aircraft were made in Russia for the needs of the civil and military air fleet.
In the early 2000s, work began to eliminate the shortcomings of the Soviet aircraft and its modernization. This is how the Tu-204SM project was born. In 2011, the updated car successfully passed all the tests and showed itself excellently. The aircraft received upgraded engines of increased power turbojet engine PS-90A2, new chassis, additional power plant TA-18-200M. The passenger compartment has been noticeably redesigned. It was replaced by a more advanced significant part of the avionics, thanks to which the crew of the Tu-204SM was reduced to two people without compromising safety.
The aircraft has a fuselage length of 42 meters and a wingspan of 46.2 meters. The maximum take-off weight is 108 tons. The maximum commercial flight range is 4,200 km. The optimum travel speed is 830-850 km / h. The liner can take up to 215 passengers on board. As a result, a modern aircraft with an increased take-off weight was released, which is in no way inferior to the products of prominent European and American brands. The aircraft was highly appreciated by domestic pilots, who were already lucky enough to fly on test samples.
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However, it is one thing to create something and quite another - to establish its production. The problem of the updated Tupolev is that the series launch is constantly postponed due to the impossibility of producing a number of important components for the aircraft in Russia. Further, the West's sanctions, which have not disappeared over all these years, and the need to throw huge amounts of money into import substitution, come into play. The bottom line is that the project is worth it. And all because a significant part of the production chains and capacities of the domestic aircraft industry was successfully destroyed in the unforgettable "dashing 90s", during the years of privatization.
If you want to know even more interesting things, then you should read about flying in style: what luxury conditions look like in the most comfortable airliner.
A source: https://novate.ru/blogs/280821/60329/
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