The Tupolev Tu-154 is a Russian three-engine medium-range narrow-body airliner (NATO reporting name; Careless). Developed to replace the Tu-104, the Antonov An-10, and the Ilyushin Il-18 turboprops. The maiden flight took place on October 4, 1968, entering service in May 1971. The main variants are the Tu-154, Tu-154A, Tu-154B, and the extended range, Tu-154M. One Tu154M m underwent modification for the training of cosmonauts to fly the Buran spacecraft. Production ended in 2013, with 930 airframes of all variants built.
The airframe is mostly an aluminium alloy structure with a semi-monocoque fuselage, low mounted swept-back, anhedral cantilever wings, and ‘T’ tail. The retractable undercarriage is an oversized tricycle type, enabling operation from unpaved and gravel airfields. The flight crew of four consists of two pilots, a flight engineer, navigator, passenger cabin seats up to 180 passengers, and six abreast.
Early models used three Kuznetsov NK-8-2 low-bypass turbofan engines, mounted at the rear of the fuselage, externally on each side and a third internally, fed via a dorsal air-intake through an “S-duct.” The Tu-154M used the more fuel-efficient Soloviev D-30K turbofan engine. The Tu-154B has a cruise speed of 470km/h (292 mph), a maximum speed of 913km/h (567mph) with a service ceiling of 12,100 meters (39,700 ft) with a maximum range of 3,900 km (2,400 mi).
