Tu-344

As part of the conversion program in the late 1990, the im.A.N.Tupoleva EDO led by Chief Designer A.L.Puhova prepared a proposal for alterations series of multi-distance missile-bomber Tu-22M3 to the Tu-344 administrative passenger aircraft. It was designed for the transportation of 10-12 passengers in the cabin behind the crew cabin.

There were several projects of adaptation and alteration of heavy combat vehicles for civilian purposes. From the very beginning of this process, two paths have emerged. The first way consisted in the creation of transport vehicles due to the minimal alterations of the basic combat vehicles-the dismantling of systems of bomber and defensive small arms from the airplane, the adaptation of the freed internal volumes of the fuselage to equipment for the transport of goods or people.

This way gave the maximum economy of means at alterations of base planes, But did not allow to get in operation quite economically viable transport aircraft because of the limited size, used volumes of the fuselage. The second way consisted in a radical alteration of the basic design of the aircraft-bomber due to the design of a new fuselage with increased dimensions and more adapted for the delivery of cargo and passengers. At the same time, the design of the wing, the power plant and the composition of the flight equipment remained practically unchanged.

In both cases, the great advantage was the possibility of using prepared combat aviation crews, practically without re-training, and using the aircraft industry's technical reserve for basic military aircraft to operate and improve aircraft, but in a new, civilian capacity.

The most pronounced trend is the "secondary" In the field of aircraft for GVF is traced in the activities of Andrei Nikolayevich Tupolev. The first type of military aircraft developed by its design bureau, adapted for civilian purposes, was the light reconnaissance bomber R-3 (ANT-3). The development of this modification, which later received the designation PS-3, began in early March 1928. It was then that TsAGI came up with a proposal to use serial P-3 to transport mail after the necessary structural alterations of the observer's cabin.

Using the experience of creating and constructive elements of the Tu-16, the Tupolevs in the short term created the first Soviet jet Tu-104, the introduction of which into operation caused a genuine revolution. Then, on the basis of the strategic bomber Tu-95, the Tu-114 was created - the first domestic intercontinental passenger aircraft.

During the consideration of the possibility of creating such a modification, several transformations of the basic design of the Tu-22MZ were considered. In the variant "A" it was proposed to place 10 passengers in the cabin at the site of the aircraft cargo compartment. In variant "B" it was a question of deeper processing of the basic design with the modification of the fuselage in the vicinity of the center wing, taking into account the placement of up to 24-30 passengers. In the variant "C" it is proposed to place up to 12 passengers behind the crew cabin. Compared with the basic model of the Tu-22MZ, the fuel supply increases and the design of the center-wing fuselage section is being finalized. The subsonic range of flight Tu-344 was planned to 7,700 km.

Tu-344 was a hopeless supersonic passenger plane, which belongs to the administrative class on the basis of the Tu-22M3 aircraft, designed for Tu-34. Developed in the design bureau Tupolev began in the conversion programs in the 1990's. This aircraft began to be developed in the 1990s, its appearance is connected with the growing demand for supersonic aircraft. In order not to build a plane from scratch, for economy, the Tu-22M3 was used as the basis for the Tu-344 aircraft. This significantly reduced the cost of designing the Tu-344. But unfortunately this aircraft turned out to be unpromising, it was due to the fact that it already at the time of construction did not meet a lot of world standards, especially international and environmental ones. This work on the transformation of military aircraft options in civilian vehicles in the Tupolev Design Bureau ended.