Tupolev Tu-154
The Tupolev Tu-154 was the Soviet Union's most widely used medium-haul jet airliner, filling roughly the same role Boeing's 727 and 737 played in the West. Its three rear-mounted engines and robust, oversized landing gear let it operate reliably from the rougher, less-maintained runways common across the Soviet Union and its allies. It became the backbone of Aeroflot's domestic network for decades, carrying more passengers than almost any other Soviet-built airliner. Production ended in 2013, and most examples have since been retired in favour of more fuel-efficient Western or Russian twinjets.
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Did you know?
Tu-154s needed a three-person flight crew including a flight engineer, unlike the two-pilot Western jets that later replaced them.
Specifications
| Length | 47.9 m (157 ft) |
|---|---|
| Wingspan | 37.6 m (123 ft) |
| Height | 11.4 m (37 ft) |
| Maximum passengers | 180 |
| Persons on board | 158-180 |
| Maximum take-off weight | 100 t |
| Range | 2,200 NM (4,074 km) |
| Maximum speed | 486 kt (900 km/h) |
| Service ceiling | 39,000 ft (11,887 m) |
| Optimum ceiling | 35,000 ft (10,668 m) |
| Rate of climb | 3,000 ft/min (15.2 m/s) |
| Take-off distance | 2,100 m (6,890 ft) |
| Landing distance | 2,060 m (6,759 ft) |
| Fuel capacity | 47,000 l |
| Engines | 3x Kuznetsov NK-8 / Soloviev D-30KU |
| Units built | 1,025 |
Curated by CatchFlights from manufacturer documents, ICAO Doc 8643 and reference works; values are left out where no source could confirm them. Sources are listed on our credits page.
In CatchFlights
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