Published: 6/19/1998

The joint US/Russian supersonic research effort on working out technologies for the Second-generation Supersonic Transport (SST-2) is to be continued. The first signs of this came from Leonid Pukhov, the chief designer at Tupolev for the Tu-144LL flying laboratory, who said in late-spring that the aircraft were being prepared for the next series of flight tests, in addition to the 19 missions flown up to March 1998. Then, at a press-briefing in Moscow on 9 June, Robert Spitzer, vice-president for engineering at Boeing Commercial Airplanes Group, clarified the situation, saying: "At the joint discussions with NASA, Boeing and Tupolev we decided to pursue eight more flights on the airplane. We agreed that we would make moves to expand our relationship, to achieve more involvement of TsAGI and their experts." According to Spitzer, the aim of the next series of flights is to get more experimental data for a better understanding of supersonic regimes, which necessitated the use of the rich experience of the Central Aerohydrodynamics Institute. Although there has been no certain date set for the resumption of Tu-144LL flying, Spitzer believes it will happen in the first months of next year. (IN698.1)(VK)  

Article ID: 187