Tu-130 / Tu-136

The second Tu-130 was a short-range civilian transport project terminated in development stage. Later developments included Tu-136 Project, another short-range civilian transport that was an advanced development of the Tu-130 with cryogenic liquid natural gas fuel engines. A Tu-136 model was successfully tested at TsAGI. This was the third time the Tu-136 designator had been used, which was previously applied to totally un-related [and un-built] VSTOL fighter project and a spaceplane project.

The Tu-136 regional turboprop utility transport aircraft developed by the Aviation Scientific-Technical Complex. AN Tupolev. The aircraft is designed to carry 53 passengers or 5 tons of cargo, equipped with two engines TV7-117SF (2800 hp). The aircraft is capable of using as a fuel liquefied natural gas. Currently approved the technical proposal for the project, and the Samara Scientific and Technical Complex. Kuznetsova being finalized TV7-117 engine to operate on gas fuel. Aircraft production is scheduled to begin in 2003. According to the deputy technical director of ASTC. Tupolev Andrei Pukhov, for the construction of the first demonstration 5 Tu-136 with engines TV7-117 operating on liquefied natural gas, will require at least 5 years, and for the construction of a series of 200 such aircraft - 9 years. Variants of accommodation of serial production of Tu-136 in Samara and Saratov.

The Tu-136 regional turboprop aircraft was developed at the Aviation Scientific and Technical Complex Tupolev. The plane is designed to carry 53 passengers or 5 tons, is equipped with two engines TV7-117SF (power of 2800 hp). The plane can use as fuel liquefied natural gas. The Samara Scientific-Technical Complex Kuznetsova has refined the TV7-117 engine. According to the Deputy Technical Director ANTK Andrei Tupolev Puhova, to build the first demonstration 5 Tu-136 with engines TV7-117, powered by liquefied natural gas would require at least 5 years and to build a series of 200 such planes - 9 years. Discussions have looked at options accommodate serial production of Tu-136 in Samara and Saratov.

Tupolev began work on the creation of new Tu-136 regional cargo-passenger aircraft with two TV7-117SF engines, which has the optimum layout considering the properties of liquefied natural gas [SPG]. This aircraft is intended for the passenger and cargo transportation. It can exploit airfields of any class, including un-paved - to be used on the network of the routes, which connect the provincial centers of Russia, and for cargo-passenger transportation with the maintenance of the centers of mining industry, and also as flying laboratory for the inspection of the main gas pipes of the regions of the north and Siberia. After certification the aircraft will be be able to used by foreign airlines in the countries which have the developed infrastructure of the users of natural gas.

This aircraft with a takeoff mass of 20 t will transport 53 passengers or to 5 t of load up to the distance to 2200 km at a speed of 550 km/h at the height of approximately 7,2 km the fuel efficiency of aircraft (about 20 g/passenger-km) corresponds to the best world aircraft of this class, and the use of SPG will make it possible to reduce straight operating costs approximately 30%. The aircraft is designed taking into account the special features of cryogenic fuel. It has an aerodynamic configuration, logically combined with the cryogenic fuel tanks, structural load-bearing airplane design is executed with the maximum unloading of wing and fuselage from the action of aerodynamic and mass forces.

Cryogenic fuel tanks with the capacity 3680 kgf SPG are arranged in two remote nacelles after the engine power plant. The combination of the midship section of tank with the midship section of pod, and also the combination of the supporting pylons with the general aerodynamic configuration of aircraft made it possible to arrange cryogenic fuel tanks out of the fuselage practically without an increase in aerodynamic drag and strengthening of wing. Short cryogenic routes have small mass and do not require super-heat insulation. The power plant remote from the passenger cabin considerably increases safety of passengers and crew and simplifies its experimental finalizing. Kerosene fills into the wing tanks as in the usual aircraft.

By the mid-1990s the Program "Cargo Aircraft of Russia" had been developed, which provided for the replacement of obsolete Russian cargo aircraft of different types by transport aircraft of new generation designed in view of the most advanced achievements of aircraft science and technology. Realization of the Program will result in following:

• more than twice fuel flow rate decrease
• cutting down of cargo transportation prime cost by 40 t 50 %
• general increase of technical level of the aircraft
• increase of flight safety
• increase of competitiveness within local and external market of aircraft services
• significant improvement of ecological indications
• wide use of aircraft means to solve special tasks (building a family of specialized aircraft of various purpose based on baseline version).

The prepared Program provided for the optimization of standard size of cargo transport aircraft at the expense of putting a new mid-class transport aircraft TU-204-330 (TU-330), regional transport TU-230 aircraft, convertible TU-130 aircraft when used on domestic routes (later it was replaced for TU-136 project) into operation. Such systems approach of "Tupolev" PSC provided for the development of technical basis for Russian cargo aircraft that whould make it possible to solve most effectively the whole package of tasks of aircraft transport system of Russia and also to solve many tasks of special purpose aviation including special purpose aircraft incorporated into the System of the Russian Ministry of Defense.

As of 2000 Russia's armed forces were looking at the MiG-110 as a light transport aircraft replacement for the An-26. There were four other aircraft of this type being designed in the CIS including the MiG-110, Tu-136, Sukhoi S-80 and An-142. Although the most advanced aircraft are the An-142 and S-80, they did not meet armed forces requirements for the type of cargo carried. For example, they cannot carry UAZ-452 trucks. The third design, the Tu-136, met these requirements, but is in a very early stage of development. CIS market demand for transports with a capacity of 5,000kg was estimated to be more than 1,000 aircraft for civil operators and over 300 for the armed forces.

Development of the dual-fuel Tu-136 turboprop twin was not among Tupolev's priorities for the near term as of 2001, although a model completed trials in the TsAGI wind tunnel in March 2000 and an updated version of the baseline Tu-130 remained under consideration in early 2000.