{"id":59910,"date":"2024-03-29T19:24:44","date_gmt":"2024-03-29T13:54:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/?p=59910"},"modified":"2024-03-29T19:24:48","modified_gmt":"2024-03-29T13:54:48","slug":"today-in-aviation-first-flight-of-tupolev-tu-124","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/2024\/03\/29\/today-in-aviation-first-flight-of-tupolev-tu-124\/","title":{"rendered":"Today in Aviation: First Flight of the Tupolev Tu-124"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

RUSSIA-<\/strong> Tupolev Tu-124 (known as “Cookpot” in NATO reporting) made its first flight on 29 March 1960<\/strong>. It is a twinjet airliner designed in the Soviet Union, capable of accommodating 56 passengers for short-range flights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo-https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Tupolev_Tu-124_-_Indian_Air_Force.jpg<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Tupolev Tu-124 Design and Development<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Tu-124 was designed to fulfill Aeroflot’s (SU)<\/a> need for a regional airliner, aiming to replace the Ilyushin Il-14 on domestic routes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deliveries to Aeroflot commenced in August 1962, with the Tu-124 initiating its first scheduled passenger service between Moscow (SVO)<\/a> and Tallinn (TLL), Estonia, on October 2, 1962.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo-https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:CSA_Tupolev_Tu-124_Soderstrom-2.jpg<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Aeroflot Deploys Tu-124 on Domestic Routes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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 \u010ceskoslovensk\u00e9 St\u00e1tn\u00ed Aerolinie (\u010cSA) and East German airline Interflug (IF), apart from Aeroflot, procuring the Tu-124 new. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, \u010cSA 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several units were also sold to military entities, including the Soviet Air Force, employing them as navigational trainers, and the Chinese Air Force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those in the Iraqi military and Iraqi Airways were destroyed during the early 1990s Gulf War.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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