«404» (Tu-404)
extra large passenger transport
The work on the Tu-404 was initiated in 1991 along with another large passenger aircraft project - the
Tu-304. The Tu-404 was designed to transport more than 1,200 passengers to destinations 12,000 - 13,000 km away. The
Tupolev Design Bureau was working on several variants of the new heavy passenger
transport.
One of the possible configurations for the aircraft was that of a flying wing. In this configuration the aircraft's powerplant would consist of six pusher turboprop engines developing 18,000 kg of thrust each during take-off and each consuming only 0.644 kg/kgf-h of fuel in cruise mode. The engines are located in the tail section of the flying wing fuselage between two large V-shaped vertical stabilizers.
The central fuselage contains six passenger compartments accommodating 1214 passengers. The leading edge of the central fuselage has a sweep of 45 degrees. Two large removable wings containing fuel tanks have the leading-edge sweep of 35 degrees and are attached to the central fuselage. The wings hold most of the aircraft's
fuel.
Another version of the Tu-404 is of a more conventional design: a two-level passenger aircraft capable of transporting 1,200 people to destinations of up to 10,000 km. The lower level of the fuselage is designed as a multi-section cargo compartment for transporting cargo in standard aviation containers. Two sub-variants of this design have been developed: a mixed passenger-cargo aircraft with the enlarge cargo section and a dedicated cargo model.
The massive low-level wing with a leading-edge sweep of 35 degrees and vertical wingtips has massive control surfaces: multi-section leading-edge control surfaces, low-speed control areas, multi-section flaps. Each half of the altitude control surface is made of two
sections.
The aircraft is designed to be powered by four NK-44 or Rolls-Royce "Trent" engines installed on underwing pylons. The aircraft's undercarriage consists of several carts with multiple wheels in each cart. It is retracted into the central fuselage section of the
aircraft.
| Description | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Design | ANTK Tupolev | ||
| Designation | «404» (Tu-404) | ||
| Function | Long-range passenger aircraft of extra-large capacity | ||
| Variant | conventional | flying wing | |
| Dimensions & Weight | |||
| Length, m | 86,6 | 59,7 | |
| Wing Span, m | 77 | 110 | |
| Overall height, m | 27,3 | 18,8 | |
| Fuselage, m | Length | 86,4 | |
| Height | 9,4 | ||
| Width | 8,0 | ||
| Wing Leading Edge Sweep | 35° | 35° | |
| Max. Take-off Weight, kg | 605000 | ||
| Max. Landing Weight, kg | 460000 | ||
| Max. Payload, kg | 126000 | ||
| Passenger Capacity | Business Class | 750 | |
| Economy Class | 1200 | 1214 | |
| Power-plant | |||
| Number of Engines | 4 | 6 | |
| Engine Type | Turbofan NK-44 | Turboprop | |
| Thrust on Take-off per engine, kgs | 40000 | 18000 | |
| Fuel Consumption in Cruise Mode, kg/kgf h | 0,54 | 0,644 | |
| Fuel Consumption for Passenger, g/passenger-km | for 750 passengers | 20 | |
| for 1200 passengers | 14 | ||
| Performance (project) | |||
| Cruise speed, km/h (M=) | 900 | ||
| Cruise altitude, m | 11000 | ||
| Practical range with payload, km | normal | 13500 | |
| max | 9200 | ||
| Required Runway Type | Class "A" | ||
| Take-off Run, m | 3200 | ||
References and Credits:
- Under designated «ANT» and «Tu» / V.Rigmant. Aviatsia i Kosmonavtika № 10.2000 /
- Tupolev Tu-404 / Venik's Aviation Page /