TU-144LL
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What you need to know to fly the TU144LL.

Take off:
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Set 1 notch of ТflapsУ to extend the front stabilizer wing.
Trim only 1 tiny notch forward (nose down trimming).
Throttle up to 70% and release brakes.
Throttle up to 99% just below afterburners.
At 164 knots IAS start rotation, alpha up to 10.1 degrees  initially.
Gently let go on the stick to arrive at the proper climb angle.
DonХt use trims.
At 208 knots IAS runway clear.
Passing 385 knots IAS retract stabiliter wing (flaps in).
Upon reaching Mach = 1 neutralize the trim (1 notch nose up).
DonХt pass Mach 1 below 25.000 feet.

The following are Indicated Air Speeds (IAS):
Vrot = 165 knots.
Vclimb = 250 knots.
Vfe = 425 knots.
Vno = 545 knots or Mach 1.9 above 25.000 feet.
Vne = Mach 2.4 at 33.000 feet.

Let the TU -144 climb automatically to its economic flight altitude and accelerate to Mach = 2.  Reduce throttle gently to maintain altitude and speed. Trim if necessary.

Approach
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Vapp = 225 knots
Vthld = 190 knots
Vso = 154 knots.

Reduce throttle gently to arrive at Mach = 0.99 at or above 25.000 feet.
Reduce to descend to 12.000 feet with 1.500 feet/min. at Mach = 0.6.

Maintain 12.000 feet and reduce to 410 knots. Reduce gradually.
Upon arriving at 410 knots apply 1 notch flaps (to extend front wing).
Maintain altitude, reducing to 310 knots. Trim if ncessary.
At or below 310 knots apply 2 notches flaps, full front wing deploy.
Reaching 20 nm out of the field descend to 10.000 feet and reduce
to 250 knots. If all is well you will be flying pitch up some 8 to 9 degrees
which you can track on the pitch ladder.
Set the ТMinimumsУ indicator for radar altitude to 250 feet now.

At 15 nm from the airport line up into the runway direction.
At 10 nm out and having the ТhoopsУ in-sight sink to 8.000 feet AGL.

Important before touchdown
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CAVE! In the windshield is a fixed green marking youХll need to maintain the proper Тon-speed AOAУ... The TU144 you are flying has for your convenience a ТhoopsУ head-up display. The pitch of the arriving Tupolev is so high however, that you will hardly be able to get a proper view on the runway upon low arrival. To accomodate a proper landing the ТhoopsУ-HUD has been installed, but...

... in the HUD youХll see the (o) velocity vector, where the plane flies toward and the Тnose headingУ (+) cross. The angle between the HUDХs waterline and the (+) is in principle the Тon-speed AOAУ, whereas the true angle of attack is between the (o) and (+) markings. Try to understand this, read back if unclear, then:

... the TU144 may either sink rather rapidly with nearly zero degrees Тon-speed AOAУ or fly its approach tail down (which may be a difference of some 30 feet between nose and tail)! This poses a problem, then at the approach the velocity vector disappears below the HUD, while the (+) and waterline remain visible.
To facilitate an easier approach the green marker in the windshield will assist you!

Set up your approach at 8.000 feet some 10 nm out and lined up with the runway.
If not just go around to line up properly first!
Throttle up to maintain 250 knots below 10.000 feet and go around to arrive at 20 nm out of the runway to make sure you are lined up at least 12 nm out.

With the ФhoopsХ down below peeking up from the runway throttle back to maintain 220 knots and fix the (+) at the green windshield marking. Steer downward maintaining 220 knots and keep the (+) mark at the green windshield marking, but also keep the (+) at the same time fixed at the end of the runway! End of the runway, not the touchdown zone!

YouХll sink onto the last ТhoopУ in front of the runway and you start to flare off upon reaching the ТMinimumsУ warning, bleeding off some speed to 190 knots well above the threshold, levelling off as much as possible.
YouХll need altitude, then the Т100 feetУ sound warning actually means the tail of the Tupolev sits pretty near to the surface already! 

Loosing speed the TU144 sinks down to hit the tarmac when the Т30 feetУ altitude warning sounds, showing how high your cockpit was! So donХt wait until a Т20 feetУ or even Т10 feetУ warning sounds. These warnings usually wonХt come!

Use the reversers to brake speed an apply brakes below 100 knots.

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The ТstrangeУ front stabilizer wing of the TU144LL
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Apart from the sharp deltawings the most significant detail of the TU144 is its retractable front stabilizer wing. This wing lies flat against the fuselage when retracted and stands out wide when flown. That this challenges ТX-PlaneУ, ТPlaneMakerУ and ТPartMakerУ (all parts of Laminar ResearchХs simulator package) is certain. It appeared nearly impossible to design a retractable stabilizer that lies flat against the fuselage,  is turned quasi-horizontally when deployed and doesnХt influence the flight dynamics too markedly when moving into positions.

This type of wing had to be specifically designed. Using the maximum possibilities within X-Plane it succeeded to arrive at an optimum compromise! The front wing can be retracted (into the fuselage though) and be flown according to specifications without noticeable aerodynamical side-effects. The wing has been designed for a maximum speed of 425 knots, at which the wing must have been retracted.  A rather seamless transition occurs when accelerating across 385 knots and retracting the wing. Or decelerating below 415 knots. Hardly any steer or trim corrections are necessary in those cases.

Due to its anhydral of nearly 5 degrees one would expect X-Plane to impose excessive forces on the plane when retracting or expanding the stabilizer wing. The wing rotates in a slanted way back into and out of the fuselage. This could be counteracted in our design nearly completely. The aerodynamical effect is no more or less than when using a moderate type of flaps...

-----------copyright notice-------------------------------
The TU-144 was designed by:
Rob Pfile (project management, flight tests).....<[email protected]>
Hans van Kampen (aerodynamics, engineering)...<[email protected])
Julik Tharkanov (graphics, instrumentation)..........<[email protected]>
© August 2001 by Rob Pfile and Assoc. <[email protected]>
ТNo part may be copied or proliferated for commercial usage without prior written permission from Rob Pfile < [email protected]>. This model may only be used with the ТX-PlaneУ simulator package from Laminar Research, Inc.  For individual usage with ТX-PlaneУ the TU144 folder and its contents must remain intact, copies must comprise a reference to the copyrightholders. Any modification should be sent to the archives of Rob Pfile >[email protected]>Т.