RUSSIA- Tupolev Tu-124 (known as “Cookpot” in NATO reporting) made its first flight on 29 March 1960. It is a twinjet airliner designed in the Soviet Union, capable of accommodating 56 passengers for short-range flights.
This aircraft marks a significant milestone as the inaugural Soviet airliner equipped with turbofan engines. This is a short-range airliner built by Kharkiv State Aircraft Manufacturing Company.
Tupolev Tu-124 Design and Development
The Tu-124 was designed to fulfill Aeroflot’s (SU) need for a regional airliner, aiming to replace the Ilyushin Il-14 on domestic routes.
Resembling a scaled-down version of the Tu-104 by 75%, the similarities between the two were striking from a distance, although the Tu-124 wasn’t an exact replica. Boasting various enhancements such as double-slotted flaps, a sizable center-section airbrake, and automatic spoilers, the Tu-124 differentiated itself.
Equipped with a drogue parachute for emergency landings or slippery surfaces and low-pressure tires for unpaved airfields, the Tu-124 was well-prepared for diverse operational environments.
While both models shared the wing root engine placement, the Tu-124’s turbofan engines offered improved fuel efficiency. However, this placement also led to increased cabin vibrations, compromising passenger comfort and reducing the wing assembly’s fatigue life.
The standard seating capacity of the basic Tu-124 version was 44 seats. The maiden flight of the first prototype, SSSR-45000 (C/N 0350101), took place on March 24, 1960, at Zhukovsky airfield, followed by the second prototype, SSSR-45001 (C/N 0350102), in June 1960.
Two additional airframes were designated for static testing purposes. Following successful testing, production commenced at Factory 135 in Kharkiv, Ukraine, supplanting the Tu-104 in production.
Deliveries to Aeroflot commenced in August 1962, with the Tu-124 initiating its first scheduled passenger service between Moscow (SVO) and Tallinn (TLL), Estonia, on October 2, 1962.
Aeroflot Deploys Tu-124 on Domestic Routes
The enhanced Tu-124V, with a seating capacity of 56 passengers compared to the original model’s 44, alongside increased range and maximum takeoff weight, commenced operations in 1964.
An Aeroflot Tu-124V was showcased at the 1965 Paris Air Show. Despite its economical purchase price (reported as $1.45 million in 1965) and low operational expenses, it saw limited exportation, with only Československé Státní Aerolinie (ČSA) and East German airline Interflug (IF), apart from Aeroflot, procuring the Tu-124 new.
However, ČSA sold its remaining Tu-124s to Iraqi Airways (IA) for VIP flights in 1973. Due to mechanical issues, Interflug utilized its three Tu-124s as a substitute for the grounded Ilyushin Il-62, but all were repurchased by the Soviet Union in 1975.
Three units were constructed in 1966 for VIP purposes, designated as Tu-124K, but Aeroflot never utilized them, leading to their acquisition by the Indian Air Force.
Several units were also sold to military entities, including the Soviet Air Force, employing them as navigational trainers, and the Chinese Air Force.
In total, 164 Tu-124s were manufactured. Concerns regarding the safety of the Tu-104 impacted the fate of the Tu-124 despite its slightly superior reliability.
Production ceased in 1965, and Aeroflot retired its final twelve Tu-124s on January 21, 1980. Although the Tu-124 continued operating for some time with the Soviet Air Force and in Iraq, all aircraft were decommissioned by 1990.
Those in the Iraqi military and Iraqi Airways were destroyed during the early 1990s Gulf War.
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