Reactive plane. Modern jet aircraft
An aircraft that has been produced since 1967 to the present day! Every 5 seconds, one of the Boeing 737 aircraft takes off and lands in the world. It is the most mass-produced jet passenger aircraft in the entire history of the passenger aircraft industry (as of September 2012, 7320 aircraft were delivered and 2845 orders were not closed). In fact, the Boeing-737 is the common name for more than ten types of aircraft.
I am starting a series of reports about different types airplanes and helicopters of civil aviation, which I managed to visit and shoot in detail. I really love aviation and today, while preparing the material, I myself learn a lot of new facts and nuances, it's incredibly interesting! I invite you to plunge a little into the world of aviation, the one that we often use consumerly during our travels, we do not think about and are not interested in its technical and internal side.
The Boeing 737 was designed for the relatively small capacity, short range passenger aircraft market, where the BAC 1-11 and DC-9 played a major role. In this struggle, Boeing was initially far behind its competitors: in 1964, when the development of the aircraft began, its competitors were already undergoing flight certification. The seats in the cabin were placed 6 in a row, which provided more spaciousness than competitors who had five seats in each row. Already in February 1965, the completion of the stage of formation of the design of the new liner was announced. During the development process, the Boeing 737 "grew up" from the originally planned 60-seat airliner to an aircraft with a passenger capacity of up to 103 seats. In 1965, Lufthansa signed an order for 22 Boeing 737-100s.
The solemn ceremony to mark the completion of the assembly of the first aircraft took place on January 17, 1967. The Boeing 737-100 entered service with Lufthansa in February 1968.
Initially, the final assembly of the Boeing 737 was carried out at a new plant at Boeing Field, near Seattle. In 1970, after a major reorganization of the company due to financial problems, all the final assembly of the aircraft was transferred a little south - to the Boeing plant in Renton. By this time, 271 Boeing 737s had already been built.
The main modifications of the Boeing-737:
737 Original (-100,-200),
- 737 Classic (-300, -400, -500),
- 737 Next Generation (-600, -700, -800, -900),
- 737-MAX
Original family:
Modifications -100 and -200 are recognizable due to the cigar-shaped engine nacelle, almost completely integrated into the wing from its leading to trailing edge. Early Boeing 737 models used low bypass Pratt and Whitney JT8D engines. Also, these models are easily recognizable by the smooth bend of the upper edge of the keel.
Boeing 737-200. The age of this board currently- 30 years! And he is still in the ranks of StarParu!
Boeing and Airbus aircraft distribution diagram by flight range and passenger capacity:
Classic family:
In the early 1980s, the Boeing 737 underwent its first major facelift. The biggest change was the use of CFM International CFM56 engines instead of JT8Ds. The CFM56 is a high bypass turbofan engine. It is much larger in diameter, so it was suspended under the wing on pylons, and the principle of an integrated engine was abandoned. But the low clearance of the aircraft (a feature borrowed from the Boeing 707) in this case created a problem, so it was decided to place the units, usually located below the engine, on the sides of the compressor section. Associated with this is the unusual "flattening" of the gondola. At the same time, the cockpit of the 737 was upgraded to the level of the Boeing 757 and 767. The first aircraft model new series Classic - 737-300 entered service in 1984. In the future, this generation was replenished with aircraft 737-400 and 737-500.
I will show you the interiors and details of two UTair Boeing 737-500s at Surgut Airport.
The Boeing 737-500 is a 2m shorter version of the 737-300, to 29.79m, with extended range. With a passenger capacity similar to that of the 737-200, the Boeing 737-500 was an adequate replacement for it. I propose to take a walk on two UTair Boeing 737-500 aircraft.
Fuel system
Three fuel tanks are located in the wing and center section: wing and central. The central one is developed first, then the wing ones. Each tank has two fuel pumps. The total maximum capacity of the 737 Original family aircraft tanks is from 12,700 to 15,600 kg, depending on the modification.
On aircraft of the 737 Classic family, the capacity of the tanks has been increased to 16200 kg, it is also possible to install an additional fuel tank in the rear trunk.
In general, it is similar to the 737 NG, the tank capacity has been increased to 20800 kg, the fuel tanks have been changed: the central tank occupies not only the center section, but also part of the wing from the root to the engine pylon. The location of the pumps has also changed and a system for removing water from the tanks has been added.
These are winglets, initially the aircraft was produced without them, recently a modernization was carried out, due to which it is possible to reduce fuel consumption by up to 5% due to a change in aerodynamics through the use of winglets - wingtips at the end of the wings:
Power supply system
The primary power supply system is an alternating current system with a voltage of 115 V and a frequency of 400 Hz. On aircraft types 737 Original and 737 Classic, the power sources are two motor synchronous alternators with a constant speed drive and an APU generator. Power generators 40 KVA. Synchronous operation is not provided. On NG aircraft, the power supply system has been slightly changed compared to the 737 Classic: the power distribution system has been changed, a battery has been added to start the APU and new generators have been installed, combined with a constant speed drive.
Air conditioning system
Air is taken from the engines and auxiliary power plant(APU). The air is used for cabin air conditioning, equipment cooling, engine and wing anti-icing and engine starting. The air conditioning system (SCR) has two channels and can also use the air from the passenger compartment for recirculation.
On 737-300, -500, -600 and -700 aircraft, the SCR is the same as the 737 Original. On 737-400, -800 and -900 aircraft, the SCR is very different from the others, which is caused by the increased cabin volume. "Long" aircraft have two cabin temperature zones, a more advanced temperature control system.
The Boeing 737 aircraft uses the classic tricycle landing gear with a front steering rack. Each landing gear has two wheels. The main pillars are retracted into the landing gear niche, located in the center section and not having flaps, so the wheels become aerodynamic surfaces. This minimizes the number of hydraulic components of the chassis system, but worsens the aerodynamics.
In connection with the use of engines with a large radius on the 737 Classic, the struts are made higher than on the 737 Original, and also reinforced to varying degrees, depending on the takeoff weight of various types (-300, -400 or -500).
On the 737 NG aircraft, the landing gear has been redesigned, higher than on the 737 Classic and also reinforced depending on the takeoff weight. Since 2008, the 737 NG aircraft have been able to install new carbon brakes, which have a lower mass and a longer service life.
Hydraulic system:
There are three hydraulic systems on Boeing 737 aircraft: A, B (primary) and Standby (backup). On the 737-100 and -200 system A is powered by two motor pumps and system B is powered by two electric pumps. Backup system works from battery and supplies only the slats, rudder and reverse. Most of the hydraulic components are located in the chassis recess.
The hydraulic system of the 737 Classic and 737NG is very different from the 737 Original. Energy consumers are redistributed in it and each of the main systems is operated by one motor and one electric hydraulic pump. In normal flight, electric pumps are not used.
Bow to represent scale:
Engines in the Classic modification:
CFM56-3 series turbofan engines manufactured by CFM International were chosen as the power plant.
Let's get on board?
UTair has a standard cabin layout - 3-row business class and economy class. Let me remind you, this is the interior of the Boeing Classic:
Most modern interior that Boeing offers to its customers is Sky Interior. It uses dynamic interior lighting with different colors depending on the phase of the flight, as well as luggage racks that open down and retract up, rather than recline:
Instrument panels on 737 Classic aircraft equipped with EFIS include both electronic and dial gauges.
Additional windows above the windshield are borrowed from the Boeing 707. Their main task is to expand the viewing angle. With the improvement of avionics, windows have become redundant and are no longer installed. In this cabin there is a place for additional windows above my head from above and to the left (there are no windows themselves):
And the bow outside :) Thanks for the photo olga_fink :
For comparison - the interior of the cockpit on the Boeing 737-800 (belongs to the 737 Next Generation family).
The main difference is the use of the Common Display System (CDS) developed by Honeywell, similar to the Boeing 777 aircraft. The CDS includes two Display Electronic Unit computers, six Display Unit LCD indicators, two control panels and switching equipment. The indication can be transferred from one display to another.
Boeing 737-500 UTair. Serious Oleg Barmin freedom on right:
Boeing 737-800NG FlyDubai:
Above, I showed photos of two UTair aircraft, one of them is 15 years old, the second is 19. Age in this case suggests that this type of aircraft requires more frequent and more costly service cycles, which will certainly affect the cost of the flight. But age does not affect flight safety in any way! And the salon, by the way, is also periodically updated at the old sides.
737 Next Generation family
The Next Generation family was Boeing's answer to competition from the more high-tech Airbus A320. The NG aircraft have digital cockpits, completely new wings (lengthened by 5.5 meters) and tail, as well as improved engines. The passenger cabin of the aircraft of this series was developed on the basis of the 757 and 767 cabins. Even when developing the Boeing 777, the style of the 737NG cabin was used. In general, the aircraft of the 737 Next Generation family are a restyled version of the aircraft of the 737 Classic family. Most of the systems have remained almost unchanged schematically and functionally, however, the units have become one-third smaller, and most of them have been redesigned. Since the entire family was designed at the same time, the numbers in the names of the aircraft are ordered in order of increasing fuselage length (-600/-700/-800/-900).
737 MAX family
The Boeing 737 MAX is a new family of aircraft being developed by Boeing to replace the Boeing 737 Next Generation family.
Options
- 737 MAX 7 - replacement for 737-700
- 737 MAX 8 - replacement for 737-800
- 737 MAX 9 - replacement for 737-900
Boeing VS Airbus:
In general, both aircraft are very popular among customers. However, as of mid-2012, Boeing received 2,227 orders for the 737 plus 649 for the 737 MAX, while Airbus received 3,352 orders for the A320 series and 1,534 orders for the updated A320neo. Both companies abandoned plans to create new narrow-body aircraft due to the huge costs of launching new models. Airbus has incurred enormous costs to launch the A380 and is currently completing a nearly equally expensive A350 project. However, Boeing has incurred even more significant costs for the creation and launch of the 787 Dreamliner - by some estimates, the cost of the program has increased by almost five times. Moreover, both models continue to experience problems associated with novelty, and divert significant funds.
Happy flying! :)
I want to express my gratitude to the airline
The first Soviet jet passenger liners for a long time could not get rid of the "childhood illnesses" inherent in their type of aviation. Therefore, their accident rate turned out to be unprecedented in comparison with this indicator for other Soviet aircraft. In total, as a result of accidents, 18% of the total number of Tu-104s produced was lost.
Tu-104
The Tu-104 made its first flight in 1955, and since 1956 it has been on regular flights. Tu-104 became the pride of the USSR. His demonstration flights to London and New York made a splash. At that time, it was the only jet passenger aircraft in the world, since the British De Havilland Comet were taken off the lines after a series of disasters, and the American Boeing 707s were just about to go into operation.
Jet planes have made a breakthrough in aviation. So, the speed of their flight was twice that of piston passenger aircraft: (instead of 350-400 km / h - 750-800 km / h), and the range of non-stop flight increased from 1500-2000 km to 3000-3500 km. But, as you know, you have to pay for everything, sometimes too expensive.
The first mysterious crash of the Tu-104 occurred on August 15, 1958 near Khabarovsk. For some unknown reason, the plane left the train, went into a tailspin and crashed into the ground. The conclusion of the commission of inquiry stated that at high altitude the liner was picked up by an ascending air flow, lost speed and control and began to dive. There were no conclusions. Everything was repeated when, on October 17, 1958, another Tu-104 crashed in Chuvashia, flying from Beijing to Moscow.
After the last intermediate landing in Omsk, the Tu-104 flew almost to Moscow, but then the dispatchers refused to land due to difficult weather conditions. The same unfavorable conditions were at the alternate airfield in Gorky. The crew of the aircraft made a U-turn and headed to Sverdlovsk (the airport in Kazan at that time could not receive the Tu-104 due to the short runway). Over Chuvashia, the liner, flying at an altitude of 10 km, was picked up and thrown by a turbulent current to a height of 13 km, where the engine power dropped sharply, and the plane fell into a dive, from which it did not come out.
The causes of the crash this time would have remained hypothetical if the crew commander G.D. Kuznetsov, being calm in the face of imminent death, would not have reported on the radio all the circumstances of the accident (there were no black boxes at that time). This catastrophe was the impetus for making technical improvements to the design of the elevators, as well as restrictions for the Tu-104 in flight altitude.
In 1960, the production of the Tu-104 was discontinued due to the transition to the production of more advanced aircraft. However, they served in civil aviation until 1979, when, after the disaster at Vnukovo, caused by the human factor, they were finally withdrawn from the civil air fleet. Nevertheless, it continued to be used as a military service aircraft.
On February 7, 1981, a disaster occurred near Leningrad, which put an end to the operation of the Tu-104. After takeoff from Pulkovo, the plane crashed, on which, after staff exercises in Leningrad, the command of the Pacific Fleet was returning to Vladivostok. 50 people were killed, including the commander of the fleet, Admiral E.N. Spiridonov and 15 more admirals and generals. Pacific Fleet was completely decapitated. The commission found that the causes of the accident were incorrect cargo alignment and incorrect actions of the crew, that is, the human factor.
The crew was blamed for most of the tragedies that happened to the Tu-104 in the 1960s and 1970s. However, it was found that more than a third (35%) of them occurred due to equipment failure. The Tu-104 turned out to be the most dangerous Soviet civilian aircraft, claiming a total of 1140 lives (although more people, although it has been in use for much longer). However, the Tu-104 was still better than his English predecessor"De Haviland Comet", a total of 23% of the fleet of these vehicles was lost. Moreover, most of the crashes of the first English jet airliner occurred because the planes simply fell apart in the air to pieces.
Tu-124
Tu-124 became the modernization of the Tu-104. While retaining its layout while being smaller, it was for the first time powered by the economical bypass turbojet engines that have been placed on all jet aircraft since then.
The Tu-124 became famous at first for an emergency landing on the surface of the Neva on August 21, 1963. Luckily, everything went well that time. On September 2, 1970, a Tu-124 flying Rostov-Vilnius, for some unknown reason, left the train and crashed into the ground near Dnepropetrovsk. On December 16, 1973, a Tu-124 flying from Vilnius to Moscow went into a steep dive and crashed near Volokolamsk. On January 3, 1976, shortly after takeoff from Vnukovo, a Tu-124 crashed en route to Minsk. In all cases, the reason was the failure of the equipment.
The sad crowning achievement of the Tu-124 operation was the death of the aircraft on August 29, 1979 near Kirsanov, Tambov Region, when the liner went into a tailspin and fell apart in the air due to overload. After that, this model was finally banned. In total, 312 people died in Tu-124 accidents, and the total share of lost aircraft was 9%.
An-10
An-10 is the first passenger turboprop airliner of the Soviet civil air fleet. Its cargo analogue An-12 is still flying. The passenger plane suffered a less enviable fate.
An-10 has long been considered the most spacious aircraft of Aeroflot. Even after the appearance of the Tu-114, he remained so on medium-range lines. He needed a shorter runway than other Soviet aircraft. Hence its popularity and widespread use. Over time, naturally, the wear of these liners increased.
A feature of the disasters that led to the removal of the An-10 from the lines was that these aircraft began to fall apart in the air, and the wings were torn off first of all. As it turned out later, the wing mount was really the weak point of these aircraft. It was the nature of the disasters that occurred with the An-10 that gave rise to the opinion that this model is extremely dangerous. In fairness, it should be said that only five An-10s with passengers crashed during the entire period of operation of this liner.
The causes of the first two disasters that happened at the Lviv airport in the winter of 1959-1960 were identical: icing with fully extended flaps. This, most likely, testifies to the human factor, especially since such a situation has never happened anywhere else. In 1962, an An-10 crashed into a mountain in the air near Sochi due to a controller error. After that, there were no accidents for 10 years. But in 1972, two identical disasters - near Lugansk and near Kharkov (122 people died in the latter) - put an end to the flights of this liner.
On July 17, 1949, the British Comet aircraft made its first flight. It became the world's first passenger airliner equipped with turbojet engines. Soviet, American and French planes breathed into the back of his head, opening new era in civil aviation.
De Havilland Comet
The idea to build a jet passenger plane originated in the British Isles as early as 1942, when Germany intensively bombed London. This case was new, requiring a clear formulation of the concept of this type of aircraft. At first, the developer - the company Ronald Bishop - considered several options. One is weirder than the other.
Initially, it was supposed to carry 10 passengers over a distance of up to 1000 kilometers. Then the sketch was redesigned in such a way that the plane began to accommodate only two VIP passengers and a few postal parcels, but at the same time it had to cross Atlantic Ocean. That is, in fact, transported mainly fuel. Then they nevertheless reduced the range of flights and slightly increased the number of passengers.
After the war, it became clear that all these options could not have even a minimal commercial success. And the aerodynamic scheme - a flying wing without a tail - caused a protest among the specialists of De Havilland, which joined the development. As a result, they settled on the traditional scheme with a keel, with four turbojet engines and with a cabin for 32 passengers. At the stage of testing the first prototype, which first took to the air on July 27, 1949, it became clear that the plane would not fly across the ocean. And it was decided to use the Comet on European and African routes.
The prototype "Kometa-1" (subsequently, three more modifications appeared, which formed a family of passenger jet aircraft) was equipped with two hydrogen peroxide boosters. The boosters were supposed to be used in case of takeoff from short runways and in bad weather conditions. However, this decision did not go into the series.
"Kometa-1" began to operate on May 2, 1952 on the London-Johannesburg route with intermediate landings in Rome, Beirut, Khartoum, Entebbe and Maramba. British liners covered a distance of 10,820 km in 23.5 hours.
De Havilland rapidly developed new modifications, bringing the number of passengers in the Comet-3 to 80. In 1953, British jet liners were already flying to almost all “civilized countries”. The demand for them was approaching fifty, in connection with which the production capacities of other companies had to be loaded.
However, at the end of 1952, the first alarm bell sounded. An accident occurred at the Roman airport during takeoff of the Comet. Fortunately, no human casualties.
By April 1954, as a result of four crashes of British liners, the number of victims exceeded one hundred. All planes were removed from flights, and the manufacturing company was deprived of a license.
And for four years, De Havilland, having analyzed the reasons for the failures, worked to improve reliability. "Kometa-4" has become an excellent aircraft. She was released on passenger lines on April 27, 1958. By this time, jet Tu-104s, Boeing-707s and the French Sud Aviation Caravelle had already flown.
Tu-104
Soviet Union during cold war competed with the United States not only in the field of military technology. The desire to get ahead of the countries of "decaying capitalism" extended literally to all spheres of science and technology. Following this principle, the domestic aviation industry got involved in the mid-50s in the “race of jet liners”.
The fact that the British jet Comet was the first to take to the skies was not so scary. The main thing was to get ahead of the Americans. And the Tupolev Design Bureau did an excellent job with this task. True, the Pentagon contributed to this.
Tu-104 made its first flight on June 15, 1955. Boeing-707 almost a year earlier - July 17, 1954. Everything went to the fact that the Americans would be the first to bring their liner to passenger lines. However, the US Air Force needed a tanker, which could be one of the modifications of the future Boeing liner. And the Pentagon allocated very serious money for these purposes, which the company could not refuse. But I had to increase the dimensions of the first prototype by almost one and a half times. That is, in fact, to start a new development. Which, of course, took more than one year.
Tu-104 passenger plane, 1957 (Photo: TASS)
Andrey Nikolaevich Tupolev solved the problem "in reverse order". He took a Tu-16 long-range jet bomber in operation, increased the diameter of the fuselage, lowered the wing under the fuselage, and placed 100 passenger seats in the cabin. And in September 1956, the liner was released to regular passenger airlines. For two whole years, the Tu-104 was the only jet passenger aircraft in operation in the world.
And a little earlier, in the summer of 1956, a performance was held, which, as they wrote in the press, struck the Western world. During the visit Khrushchev three Tu-104s with diplomatic workers, journalists and servants flew to London in the British capital. It was a worldwide sensation.
Nikita Sergeevich himself flew the Il-18 turboprop. He did not approach the Tu-104 even within a cannon shot. And it was logical. Of the 200 aircraft built between 1956 and 1960, 37 had accidents. This is the highest accident rate among domestic passenger aircraft.
Looking ahead, we note that the Boeing-707 turned out to be even more emergency, despite twice large quantity engines.
The Tu-104 had two turbojet engines, developed a speed of up to 950 km/h, a range of 2,700 km, and a ceiling of 11,500 m.
For the first time in the USSR, modern standards of passenger service were introduced on it: meals on board, elegant, well-trained stewardesses, blue-shaven pilots, and so on.
Most of Aeroflot's Tu-104 fleet stopped flying and was transferred to various departments in the second half of the 60s. However, a number of machines continued to operate on domestic flights until 1979.
Boeing-707 and SE.210 Caravelle
The accident rate of the Boeing-707, as mentioned above, was even slightly higher than that of the Tu-104 - 19.8% versus 18.5%. This car entered passenger flights in 1958. In total, up to 1978, 1010 aircraft of twelve civil and six military modifications were built.
The civil family included both medium and long haul aircraft. The number of passengers varied from 80 to 190. Engines of various power and efficiency were installed.
Of course, the first jet Boeing surpassed the Soviet Tu-104 in terms of capacity and comfort. Since the main task that was assigned to Tupolev was to get ahead of the Americans in terms of the time the aircraft was introduced into civil aviation. Capacity was not so important, since in the 50s the passenger turnover was small in the USSR. As for comfort, the Soviet people in this respect turned out to be less whimsical than the Americans.
And, of course, the Tu-104 did not claim to enter the world market. The Boeing Company did not see the Tupolev Design Bureau as a competitor for its commercial success. There was intense competition with Douglas, which in 1959 began selling the jet DC-8 to American air carriers.
The reputation of Douglas in the mid-50s was higher than that of Boeing. And the start of sales of the four modifications developed by 1959 was successful. However, Boeing soon accelerated and began selling its aircraft twice as much as its main competitor. Although the planes of competitors did not differ much from each other. And at the end of the century, it became clear that the DC-8 is a much more reliable car, its accident rate is much lower, and the number of surviving Douglas exceeded the number of surviving 707s.
Boeing 707, 1979 (Photo: wikipedia)
The birth of the French jet liner SE.210 Caravelle 1 is somewhat similar to the appearance of the Boeing-707. The military department in the early 50s ordered a jet transport aircraft from Sud Aviation. The company, on the funds received, made a double, releasing also a passenger liner. It started operating in 1959. The liner was intended primarily for flights to its colonies located in northern Africa.
The French designers turned out to be more talented than the British, Soviet, and American. They made a very economical car, for the first time in history, placing two Rolls-Royce engines in the rear fuselage. Due to this, it was possible to solve several problems at once: improve aerodynamics, reduce noise in the cabin, increase the reliability of the air intake. The ladder was also made in an original way - the lowering lower part of the fuselage. At the same time, the gangway frame served as an additional support for the fuselage during loading, significantly increasing the autonomy of the liner at the airport.
Airliner Caravelle (Photo: wikipedia)
As for comfort, it was "French firm". Large portholes significantly improved the view. Spacious armchairs were installed in the cabin, passengers of solid dimensions freely dispersed in the aisles. Well, the French cannot do without increased comfort. Even on their first generation nuclear submarines, the crew was allowed to smoke.
It would seem that the French liner on medium-haul routes is guaranteed commercial success. However, Boeing trampled all competitors. 280 SE.210 Caravelles of twelve modifications were built. Things didn't go any further.
On June 20, 1939, the first experimental jet aircraft He.176, created by German aircraft designers, flew. With some lag, jet engines were released by the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition, as well as Japan.
1. First pancake
Work on the creation of the first jet aircraft began at Heinkel in 1937. And two years later He.176 made its first flight. After five flights, it became clear that he had no chance of going into the series.
The designers chose for it a liquid-jet engine with a thrust of 600 kgf, which uses methanol and hydrogen peroxide as a fuel and oxidizer. It was assumed that the car will develop a speed of 1000 km / h, but it was only possible to disperse it to 750 km / h. The enormous fuel consumption did not allow the aircraft to move more than 60 km from the airfield. The only advantage compared to conventional fighters was the enormous rate of climb, equal to 60 m / s, which was three times higher than that of machines with piston engines.
The fate of the He.176 was also affected by a subjective circumstance - Hitler did not like the aircraft during the show.
2. First serial
Germany was ahead of everyone in the creation of the first serial jet aircraft. They became Me.262. He made his first flight in July 1942, and was accepted into service in 1944. The aircraft was produced both as a fighter, and as a bomber, and as a reconnaissance aircraft, and as an attack aircraft. In total, almost one and a half thousand cars entered the army.
The Me.262 used two Jumo-004 turbojet engines with a thrust of 910 kgf, which had an 8-stage axial compressor, a single-stage axial turbine and 6 combustion chambers.
Unlike the He.176, which excelled at devouring fuel, the jet-powered Messerschmitt was a successful machine with excellent flight performance:
Maximum speed at altitude - 870 km / h
Flight range - up to 1050 km
Practical ceiling - 12200 m
Rate of climb - 50 m / s
Length - 10.9 m
Height - 3.8 m
Wingspan - 12.5 m
Wing area - 21.8 sq.m.
Empty weight - 3800 kg
Curb weight - 6000 kg
Armament - up to 4 30-mm guns, from 2 to 14 suspension points; mass of suspended rockets or bombs up to 1500 kg.
During the period of hostilities Me.262 shot down 150 aircraft. Losses amounted to 100 aircraft. Such an accident rate was largely associated with both insufficient training of pilots for flights on a fundamentally new aircraft, and engine flaws, which had a low resource and low reliability.
3. One way ticket
The liquid-propellant engine was used in only one production aircraft during the Second World War. In the Japanese manned projectile Yokosuka MXY7 Ohka, designed for kamikaze. From the end of 1944 until the end of the war, 825 of them were produced.
The aircraft was built on the principle of "cheap and cheerful". A wooden glider with 1.2 tons of ammonal in the bow was equipped with three rocket engines that worked for 10 seconds and accelerated the aircraft to a speed of 650 km / h. There were no landing gear or takeoff engines. The bomber delivered Ohka on the suspension to the distance of visual visibility to the target. Then the rocket engine was ignited.
However, the effectiveness of such a scheme was low. Because the bombers were detected by the locators of the American Navy ships before the kamikazes were aimed at the target. As a result, both bombers and bombers stuffed with ammonal were senselessly lost on the distant approaches.
4. British centenarian
The Gloster Meteor was the only Allied jet aircraft to see action in World War II. He made his first flight in March 1943, entered service with the Royal Air Force in July 1944, was produced until 1955 inclusive, was in service with the Air Force of a number of British military allies until the end of the 70s. A total of 3555 vehicles of various modifications were produced.
During the war period, two modifications of the fighter were produced - F. Mk I and F. Mk III. F. Mk I squadron shot down 10 German V-1s. F. Mk III, due to their special secrecy, were not released into enemy territory. And they had to repel the attacks of the Luftwaffe, based near Brussels. However, since February 1945, German aviation was engaged exclusively in defense. Of the 230 Gloster Meteors produced before mid-1945, only two were lost: they collided on approach in heavy cloud cover.
Flight characteristics Gloster Meteor F. Mk III:
Length - 12.6 m
Height - 3.96 m
Wingspan - 13.1 m
Wing area - 34.7 sq.m.
Takeoff weight - 6560 kg
Engines - 2TRD
Thrust - 2 × 908 kgf
Maximum speed - 837 km / h
Ceiling - 13400 m
Range - 2160 km
Armament - 4 guns 30-mm
5. Late to the call
The American Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star began to arrive at British airfields just before the end of hostilities in Europe - in April 1945. He did not have time to fight. The F-80 was widely used as a fighter-bomber a few years later during the Korean War.
The first ever battle between two jet fighters took place on the Korean Peninsula. F-80 and more modern transonic Soviet MiG-15. The victory was won by the Soviet pilot.
A total of 1,718 of these first American jet aircraft were produced.
LTH Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star:
Length - 10.5 m
Height - 3.45 m
Wingspan - 11.85 m
Wing area - 22.1 sq.m.
Takeoff weight - 5300 kg
Engines - 1TRD
Thrust - 1 × 1746 kgf
Maximum speed - 880 km / h
Rate of climb - 23 m / s
Ceiling - 13700 m
Range - 1255 km, with PTB - 2320 km
Armament - 6 machine guns 12.7 mm, 8 unguided rockets, 2 bombs 454 kg.
6. Soviet-style tender
The first Soviet experimental aircraft BI-1 was designed in the spring of 1941 for twenty days and made for a month. A wooden glider, to which a liquid-propellant rocket engine was attached - it was purely Stakhanovite. After the start of the war, the aircraft was evacuated to the Urals. And in July, they began testing. According to the plans of the designers, the BI-1 was supposed to reach a speed of 900 km / h. However, when the famous test pilot Grigory Yakovlevich Bakhchivandzhi approached the line of 800 km / h, the plane lost control and crashed to the ground.
In a normal way, the creation of a jet fighter was approached only in 1945. And not even one, but two. By the middle of the year, a twin-engine MiG-9 and a single-engine Yak-15 were designed. They took to the air on the same day - April 24, 1946.
Migu was more fortunate in relation to its use in the Air Force. As a result of comparing the characteristics of the two machines, in which Stalin also took part, the Yak-15 was ordered to be made a training aircraft for training jet pilots.
The MiG-9 has become a combat vehicle. And already in 1946 he began to enter the Air Force. For three years, 602 aircraft were produced. However, two circumstances strongly affected his fate, in connection with which the MiG-9 was discontinued.
First, its development was carried out at an accelerated pace. As a result, until 1948, changes were regularly made to the design of the aircraft.
Secondly, the pilots were very suspicious of the new machine, which required a lot of effort to master and did not forgive even minor piloting errors. They were much more familiar with the Yak-15, which was as close as possible to the Yak-3, well known to everyone. Actually, it was built on its basis with the necessary minimum deviations.
And in 1948, the first jet fighter, which turned out to be damp, was replaced by a more advanced MiG-15.
LTH MiG-9:
Length - 9.75 m
Wingspan - 10.0 m
Wing area - 18.2 sq.m.
Takeoff weight - 4990 kg
Engines - 2TRD
Thrust - 2 × 800 kgf
Maximum speed - 864 km / h
Rate of climb - 22 m / s
Ceiling - 13500 m
Flight duration at an altitude of 5000 m - 1 hour
Armament - 3 guns.
Jet aircraft are the most powerful and modern aircraft of the 20th century. Their fundamental difference from others is that they are driven by an air-jet or jet engine. Currently, they form the basis of modern aviation, both civil and military.
History of jet aircraft
For the first time in the history of aviation, jet aircraft were created by the Romanian designer Henri Coanda. It was at the very beginning of the 20th century, in 1910. He and his assistants tested the plane, named after him Coanda-1910, which was equipped with a piston engine instead of the familiar propeller. It was he who set in motion an elementary vane compressor.
However, many doubt that this was the first jet aircraft. After the end of World War II, Coanda said that the model he created was a motor-compressor air-jet engine, contradicting himself. In his original publications and patent applications, he made no such claims.
Photographs of the Romanian aircraft show that the engine is located near the wooden fuselage, so if the fuel was burned, the pilot and the aircraft would have been destroyed by the resulting fire.
Coanda himself claimed that the fire did indeed destroy the tail of the aircraft during the first flight, but no documentary evidence has been preserved.
It is worth noting that in jet aircraft produced in the 1940s, the skin was all-metal and had additional thermal protection.
Experiments with jet aircraft
Officially, the first jet aircraft took off on June 20, 1939. It was then that the first experimental flight of an aircraft created by German designers took place. A little later, Japan and the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition released their samples.
The German company Heinkel began experimenting with jet aircraft in 1937. Two years later, the He-176 made its first official flight. However, after the first five test flights, it became obvious that there was no chance of launching this sample into a series.
Problems of the first jet aircraft
There were several mistakes made by German designers. First, the engine was chosen liquid-jet. It used methanol and hydrogen peroxide. They acted as fuel and oxidizer.
The developers assumed that these jets would be able to reach speeds of up to one thousand kilometers per hour. However, in practice, it was possible to achieve a speed of only 750 kilometers per hour.
Secondly, the plane had exorbitant fuel consumption. He had to take so much with him that the aircraft could move a maximum of 60 kilometers from the airfield. Then he needed to refuel. The only plus, in comparison with other early models, was the fast rate of climb. It was 60 meters per second. At the same time, subjective factors played a certain role in the fate of this model. So, she simply did not like Adolf Hitler, who was present at one of the test launches.
First production sample
Despite the failure with the first sample, it was the German aircraft designers who were the first to launch jet aircraft into mass production.
The release of the Me-262 model was put on stream. This aircraft made its first test flight in 1942, at the height of World War II, when Germany had already invaded the territory of the Soviet Union. This novelty could significantly affect the final outcome of the war. This combat aircraft entered service with the German army already in 1944.
Moreover, the aircraft was produced in various modifications - both as a reconnaissance aircraft, and as an attack aircraft, and as a bomber, and as a fighter. In total, one and a half thousand such aircraft were produced before the end of the war.
These jet warplanes were distinguished by enviable technical characteristics, by the standards of that time. They were equipped with two turbojet engines, an 8-speed axial compressor was available. Unlike the previous model, this one, commonly known as the Messerschmitt, did not consume much fuel and had good flight performance.
The speed of a jet aircraft reached 870 kilometers per hour, the flight range was more than a thousand kilometers, the maximum altitude was over 12 thousand meters, and the rate of climb was 50 meters per second. The mass of an empty aircraft was less than 4 tons, fully equipped reached 6 thousand kilograms.
The Messerschmitts were armed with 30-millimeter cannons (there were at least four of them), the total mass of missiles and bombs that the aircraft could carry was about one and a half thousand kilograms.
During World War II, Messerschmitts destroyed 150 aircraft. German aviation losses amounted to about 100 aircraft. Experts note that the number of losses could be much less if the pilots were better prepared to work on a fundamentally new aircraft. In addition, there were problems with the engine, which wore out quickly and was unreliable.
Japanese pattern
During the Second World War, almost all the opposing countries sought to produce their first jet-powered aircraft. Japanese aircraft engineers distinguished themselves by being the first to use a liquid-propellant engine in mass production. It was used in a Japanese manned projectile, which flew kamikaze. From the end of 1944 to the end of World War II, more than 800 such aircraft entered service with the Japanese army.
Technical characteristics of the Japanese jet aircraft
Since this aircraft, in fact, was disposable - kamikazes crashed on it immediately, they built it according to the principle "cheap and cheerful". The bow was made up of a wooden glider; during takeoff, the aircraft developed speeds of up to 650 kilometers per hour. All due to three liquid-jet engines. The aircraft did not need any takeoff engines or landing gear. He managed without them.
The Japanese kamikaze aircraft was delivered to the target by an Ohka bomber, after which the liquid-propellant engines were turned on.
At the same time, Japanese engineers and the military themselves noted that the efficiency and productivity of such a scheme was extremely low. The bombers themselves were easily calculated using the radars installed on the ships that were part of the American navy. This happened even before the kamikaze had time to tune in to the target. In the final analysis, many planes perished on the distant approaches to the final goal of their destination. Moreover, they shot down both the planes in which the kamikaze were sitting, and the bombers that delivered them.
UK response
From the British side, only one jet aircraft took part in the Second World War - this is the Gloster Meteor. He made his first sortie in March 1943.
It entered service with the British Royal Air Force in mid-1944. Its mass production continued until 1955. And these aircraft were in service until the 70s. In total, about three and a half thousand of these aircraft left the assembly line. And a variety of modifications.
During the Second World War, only two modifications of fighters were produced, then their number increased. Moreover, one of the modifications was so secret that they did not fly into enemy territory, so that in the event of a crash, enemy aircraft engineers would not get it.
Basically, they were engaged in repelling air attacks of German aircraft. They were based near Brussels in Belgium. However, from February 1945, German aviation forgot about attacks, concentrating exclusively on defensive potential. Therefore, in Last year World War II, out of more than 200 Global Meteor aircraft, only two were lost. Moreover, this was not the result of the efforts of the German aviators. Both planes collided with each other while landing. The airport was overcast at the time.
Specifications of the British aircraft
The British aircraft Global Meteor had enviable technical characteristics. The speed of a jet aircraft reached almost 850 thousand kilometers per hour. The wingspan is more than 13 meters, the take-off weight is about 6 and a half thousand kilograms. The plane took off to a height of almost 13 and a half kilometers, while the flight range was more than two thousand kilometers.
The British aircraft were armed with four 30 mm cannons, which were highly effective.
Americans are among the last
Among all the main participants in World War II, one of the last jet aircraft released air Force USA. American model The Lockheed F-80 hit British airfields only in April 1945. A month before the surrender of German troops. Therefore, he practically did not have time to participate in hostilities.
The Americans actively used this aircraft a few years later during the Korean War. It was in this country that the first ever battle between two jet aircraft took place. On the one hand, there was the American F-80, and on the other, the Soviet MiG-15, which at that time was more modern, already transonic. The Soviet pilot won.
In total, more than one and a half thousand such aircraft entered service with the American army.
The first Soviet jet aircraft rolled off the assembly line in 1941. It was released in record time. It took 20 days to design and another month to produce. The nozzle of a jet aircraft performed the function of protecting its parts from excessive heating.
The first Soviet model was a wooden glider, to which liquid-propellant engines were attached. When the Great Patriotic War began, all developments were transferred to the Urals. Experimental sorties and tests began there. As conceived by the designers, the aircraft was supposed to reach speeds of up to 900 kilometers per hour. However, as soon as its first tester, Grigory Bakhchivandzhi, approached the mark of 800 kilometers per hour, the aircraft crashed. The test pilot died.
It was only in 1945 that the Soviet model of a jet aircraft was finally finalized. But mass production began immediately of two models - the Yak-15 and MiG-9.
Compared specifications two machines were attended by Joseph Stalin himself. As a result, it was decided to use the Yak-15 as a training aircraft, and the MiG-9 was placed at the disposal of the Air Force. For three years, more than 600 MiGs were produced. However, the aircraft was soon discontinued.
There were two main reasons. It was developed frankly in a hurry, constantly making changes. In addition, the pilots themselves were suspicious of him. It took a lot of effort to master the car, and it was absolutely impossible to make mistakes in piloting.
As a result, the improved MiG-15 replaced it in 1948. A Soviet jet aircraft flies at a speed of more than 860 kilometers per hour.
passenger plane
The most famous jet passenger aircraft, along with the English Concorde, is the Soviet TU-144. Both of these models were included in the category of supersonic.
Soviet aircraft entered production in 1968. Since then, the sound of a jet aircraft has often been heard over Soviet airfields.
