Tu-114 Cleat - In Service
Back in 1959, at the experimental Tu-114 was flying NS Khrushchev in the USA. On 12 September 1959 Russia's LUNIK II launched with a total payload weight of 858.4 pounds, became the first manmade object to hit the moon on the following day. Its launching coincided with the departure of Premier Nikita Khrushchev for the United States in turboprop Tu-114. Soviet Premier Nikita Kruschev flew non-stop from Moscow to New York in the prototype Tu-114 (CCCP-L5611) for a United Nations session, and upon landing at Idlewild (now JFK), the stairways available for use with standard U.S. airliners were not high enough to reach the fuselage side doors on the Tu-114! Suitable stairs were eventually provided, but this was a bit embarrassing to the airport personnel and other U.S. officials. It was, however, a moment of pride for the Soviet crew, realizing they had the world’s largest passenger plane.
The outstanding achievements from Russia's aircraft manufacturers continued to flourish when, in 1961, Aeroflot introduced the world's largest airliner on the Moscow to Khaborovsk route. The Khaborovsk route was flown non-stop by the Tu-114 in 8 hours 20 minutes, compared with 36 hours by the II-14 only six years earlier. It was Aeroflot’s flagman – the largest passenger aircraft in the world -fitted with four turboprop engines, with the total power of 60 thousand h.p.
In the years 1961-1962 with a Tu-114 crew pilot test IM Suhomlina and pilot-test AP Yakimova set 32 world and national record distance, speed, altitude flight.
On 25 February 1961 the Ordinance came from the Council of Ministers or the USSR to start passenger traffic. Especially for the Tu-114 was formed 206 flying squad at Vnukovo, where take only Muscovites only fly in Tu-104 and only 1 class. April 24, Tu-114 to make the first flight with passengers on the route from Moscow to Khabarovsk (crews H.N. Tshovrebova and PV Soldatov).
In the 1960's it carried out up to 80% of flights to the Far East and abroad (in New Delhi, Tokyo, Havana, Accra, Montreal, occasionally in New York and Sao Paulo). For flights on the route Moscow-Tokyo several aircraft were leased airline JAL (crew Soviet, Japanese stewardess).
On 10 July 1962 was made a technical flight to Havana with an intermediate landing in Conakry. Later, regular flights to Cuba, passed through the North Atlantic with an intermediate landing at the airport Olenya of Murmansk. In August 1966, began flights to Tokyo, and two months in Montreal.
On 21 January 1966 an intergovernmental agreement was signed on direct air communication between the USSR and Japan. A new route opened the shortest way for air carriages from Europe to Asia by Trans-Siberian line. It was 2,5 thousand km shorter than the former way via the North Pole, and saved fuel and time. Moreover it was safer since it passed not over the ocean covered with ice but over the territory of Russia with a network of spare airports.
In April 1967 Tu-114 crew (K. N. Tskhovrebov as an aircraft commander) made the first regular passenger flight Moscow – Tokyo - Moscow. The first flight was implemented by TU-114 that suited this long route best. The liner covered intercontinental distances without any stops. The landing difficulty of a huge aircraft in the overcrowded airport of Heneda, located very close to the Japanese capital was overcome with mastership of the Soviet pilots during the technical flight in August 1966. The Japanese greeted landing of the first aircraft with applause.
Aeroflot and the Japanese company JAL exploited a new airline jointly: the Japanese rented aircrafts from the USSR, flight crews were Soviet and stewards – Soviet and Japanese, revenues were divided in equal parts. For the sixties it was an unprecedented successful experiment that turned into a tradition: Japanese assistants of the Russian stewards still have been working on the route between Moscow and Tokyo. Two years after the beginning of the flights TU-114 was substituted by jet and more comfortable IL-62, then IL-62M.
Since 1974, the TU-114 began phased out. TU-114 was successfully operated on domestic and international routes Aeroflot until 1976. According to Ministry of Aero Industry of the USSR Order # 100 dated May 11, 1976 every Tu-114 was to be taken off the operation. The last flight (Moscow DME – Khabarovsk – Moscow DME) of Tu-114 was performed on December 2, 1976.
Tu-114 is considered one of the safest aircraft in the world. For all of the operation was lost 2 aircraft (in both cases, the fault was "human factor"). The catastrophe that occurred in Sheremetyevo on February 17, 1966 - the only Tu-114 crash, was a typically Soviet catastrophe. The catastrophe was triggered by the intervention of higher management in the crew, as well as poor-quality preparation of the strip by ground services. However, for obvious reasons, the case was hushed up, and so far few people know about this tragic story. The command-administrative style of leadership of the industry, which often led to such incidents.
For 16 years the Tu-114 served as a flagship of Aeroflot, and then it handed the baton to IL-62. During this time he moved 6 million passengers. For 15 years, TU-114 carried nearly 50,000 flights and transported approximately 6000000 passengers. The aircraft has shown itself to be a very reliable machine. For all the years of operation there was only one accident on takeoff at Sheremetyevo in February 1966, and is the fault of operation. On the Tu-114 began active development of Soviet long-distance and international routes.
By the summer of 1977, almost all of them were written off (with a great balance of resources). Longest-operated aircraft with the manufacturer's number 64M471 belonging 1006 tbap in Uzine - until the first half of the 1980s. Currently, several aircraft are fitted as monuments in different cities. The first prototype (USSR-L5611) 16 March 1972 was transferred to the Air Force Museum in Monino. Another Tu-114 is an exhibit of the Museum of Civil Aviation in Ulyanovsk.
In 2006 the Tu-114 aircraft displayed at Moscow Domodedovo International airport Landside was dismantled. The jet was fixed up in Domodedovo Landside in 1977 to commemorate 20-year anniversary of accident free exploitation of this type aircraft. In accordance with the Landside reconstruction plan a rare jet located on the airport’s future parking area site was supposed to be removed after its renovation to another place in the area adjacent to the airport. The decision on dismantling was made after an expert panel had examined the aircraft’s condition. The panel acknowledged that the aircraft was extremely dilapidated, beyond repair and potentially dangerous for visitors. “Tu-114, fixed up in Domodedovo about 30 years ago, was one of the airport’s symbols, and certainly the decision on its dismantling was not an easy one to make for us, - says Anna Krasnova, Director for Government and Public Affairs, EAST LINE Group, - “The Airport’s Landside is a popular place, frequently visited by wedding guests, aviation fans, passengers and airport’s personnel. Unfortunately, this particular jet was beyond reconstruction and it was not safe to move it to another place”.
