Sukhoi T-4
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Sukhoi T-4, or "Aircraft 100", or "Project 100", or "Sotka" was a Soviet high speed reconnaissance and interceptor aircraft that did not proceed beyond the prototype stage. It is sometimes incorrectly named Su-100.
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[edit] Development
Despite design similarities the Sukhoi T-4 was not intended as a Soviet equivalent of the North American XB-70 Valkyrie supersonic bomber, but was rather intended to take advantage of many of the XB-70's aeronautic innovations to develop a smaller reconnaissance and interceptor aircraft capable of reaching Mach 3. In this respect the T-4 is more closely a Soviet attempt to develop an aircraft comparable to the proposed North American XF-108 Rapier.
The T-4 was made largely from titanium and stainless steel, and featured a primitive fly-by-wire control system but also employed a mechanical system as a backup. The aircraft's nose lowered to provide visibility during takeoff and landing. A periscope was used for forward viewing when the nose was retracted, and could be employed at speeds of up to 373 mph (600 km/h). Braking parachutes were used in addition to conventional wheel brakes.[1]
[edit] Testing
The first T-4, designated "101," first flew on August 22, 1972. The test pilot was Vladimir Ilyushin, son of famed aircraft designer, Sergei Ilyushin (Ironically, Vladimir never served in his father's bureau.), and navigator Nikolai Alfyorov. It has flown only ten times for a total 10 hours and 20 minutes. It is believed to have reached at least Mach 1.3 using four Kolesov RD36-41 engines. These engines each produced 16,000 kgf (35,300 lbf or 157 kN) thrust with afterburners. The aircraft was designed to achieve speeds of up to Mach 3.0, but the program was canceled before the full performance of the aircraft could be reached. The T-4 is also believed to be the "aircraft 101" that set a 2000 km circuit speed record of mach 1.89. This would seem to indicate that it couldn't cruise at its designed speed of almost Mach 3 and could be a reason the program was canceled.
Another reason of cancelling the project due to the VVS (Военно-воздушные силы， Voenno-Vozdushnye Sily，Soviet Air Force) issued the requirement of 250 T-4. Meanwhile, some other high rank officers argued into gaining other more practical and supportive fighters instead of having such a huge flying steel plate in the air. When Marshal Andrei Grechko was made the Minister of Defense, he was told by a staff, "You could have your enormous MiG-23 order only if the T-4 would be abandoned". In an afterthought, perhaps it was a smart bargain because producing a T-4 would not be easier and cheaper than making an XB-70, which ended up being canceled due to cost overruns and technical difficulties.
[edit] Survivors
One T-4 survives today. Aircraft "101" is on display at the Monino Museum near Moscow. The serial numbers of the prototypes were "101" to "106". Only "101" and "102" were built, other additional prototypes "103" and "104" were under construction, "105" and "106" only existed on draft charts. Only the "101" completed all the test flights and flew the last test flight before the project was canceled on January 22, 1974. The rest of prototypes were scrapped.
[edit] Specifications
General characteristics
- Crew: 2
- Length: 44.0 m (145,2 ft)
- Wingspan: 22.0 m (72 ft 2 in)
- Height: 11.2 m (36 ft 9 in)
- Wing area: 295.7 m² (3,183 ft²)
- Empty weight: 55,600 kg (123,000 lb[2])
- Loaded weight: 114000 kg (258000 lb[2])
- Max takeoff weight: 135,000 kg (297,000 lb[2])
- Powerplant: 4× Kolesov RD-36-41 turbofans, 4 х 16,000 kgs ()[3] each
Performance (estimated)
- Maximum speed: Mach 3.0 (3,200 km/h 1,987 mph[2])
- Cruise speed: Mach 2.8 (3,000 km/h 1,863 mph[2])
- Ferry range: 7,000 km (4,347 mi[2])
- Service ceiling 20,000-24,000 m (66,000 ft)
[edit] References
[edit] External links
[edit] See also
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Comparable aircraft
Related lists
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