“It's a clumsy reflection of yourself when you break a mirror.”
Tupolev Tu-144 first flightIn 1968, the Russian Tupolev TU-144 prototype 00-1 became the first supersonic-capable airliner to fly when it made its first 37-min flight at Zhukovski, USSR, with test pilot Captain E.V. Elyan at the controls. Its aerodynamic styling and wing shape made it a look-alike for the British-French Concorde, and so was dubbed Concordski in the West. The Concorde prototype 001 flew for the first time a few months later on 2 Mar 1969. The TU-144 became the first SST to fly at supersonic speeds, over Mach 1 on 5 Jun 1969; and over Mach 2 on 26 May 1970. The Concorde prototype 001 reached these landmark speeds on 1 Oct 1969 and 4 Nov 1970.« |
