9 April 1960

Tupolev Tu-114 CCCP-76459, holder of nineteen FAI World Records for Speed. (Уголок неба)

9 April 1960: Over a 5,000-kilometer course at Sternberg Point Observatory,¹ a Tupolev Tu-114 Rossiya four-engine turboprop airliner, serial number 88402, registered CCCP-76459, set seven Fédération Aéronautique Internationale flight records, including a world speed record of 877.21 kilometers per hour (545.07 miles per hour), while carrying a load of 25,000 kilograms (55,115.6 pounds).²

Colonel Ivan Moiseevich Sukhomlin

The airplane was flown by Colonel Ivan Moiseevich Sukhomlin (Иван Моисеевич Сухомлин) and Konstantin Petrovich Sapielkine (Константин Петрович Сапёлкин). On 24 March 1960, Colonel Sukhomlin and Colonel Boris Mikhailovich Timoshok flew Rossiya to set eight FAI world speed records,³ and on 1 April 1960, Colonel Sukhomlin flew the Tu-114 to set another seven speed records.⁴ The FAI credits Sukhomlin with 37 world records.

These are the fastest speed records ever established for any propeller-driven airplane. The records were retired by the FAI due to changes in rules.

Tupolev Tu-114 three-view illustration. (Уголок неба)

The record-setting Tu-114 was the second production airliner.

The Tupolev Tu-114 Rossiya was a four-engine, turboprop-powered airliner developed from the Tu-95 Bear nuclear-capable long-range heavy bomber. It had a flight crew of five, two pilots, a navigator and two flight engineers, and could be configured to carry from 120 to 220 passengers, or 30,000 kilograms of cargo.

The Tu-114 made its first flight 15 November 1957 under the command of Colonel Alexei Petrovich Yakimov,  and began regular service with Aeroflot 24 April 1961.

The Tu-114 is 54.10 meters (177 feet, 6 inches) long, with a wingspan of 51.10 meters (167 feet, 8 inches) and overall height of 15.50 meters (50 feet, 10 inches). The wings are swept aft to 35° at ¼-chord, and they have significant anhedral. Total wing area is 311.1 square meters (3,348.7 square feet).

Tupolev Tu 115 CCCP 76459, World Record holder. (Уголок неба)

The Tu-114 was powered by four Kuznetsov NK-12MV turboprop engines, each driving two contra-rotating four-bladed propellers. The NK-12 was rated at 14,795 shaft horsepower (10.89 megawatts). The NK-12 is a single-shaft axial-flow turboprop engine with a 14-stage compressor section and 5-stage turbine. The engine is 19 feet, 8.2 inches (6.000 meters) long, 3 feet, 11.3 inches (1.151 meters) in diameter, and weighs 5,181 pounds (2,350 kilograms).

The Tu-114 had a cruise speed of 770 kilometers per hour (478 miles per hour) at 9,000 meters (29,528 feet) (0.70 Mach), and a maximum speed of 894 kilometers per hour (556 miles per hour) at 8,000 meters (26,247 feet) (0.80 Mach). The airliner has a practical range of 7,000 kilometers (4,350 miles) and maximum ferry range of 8,800 kilometers (5,468 miles). The service ceiling as 12,000 meters (39,370 feet).

The airliner’s empty weight is 93,500 kilograms (206,132 pounds) and maximum takeoff weight is 179,000 kilograms (394,628 pounds).

A Tupolev Tu-114 at Paris-Le Bourget after a flight from Budapest, Hungary, 5 June 1959. (Magyar Hírek folyóirat/Wikipedia)

The Tupolev Tu-114 was produced from 1958 to 1963, with 32 built. They were in service until 1976.

CCCP-76459, the world-record-setting airliner, was displayed at Novogorod Airport, Veliky Novogorod, Russia, in 1977. It was destroyed by fire in 1990.

The world-record-setting Tupolev Tu-114, CCCP–76459 (s/n 88401) was destroyed by fire at Novogorod in 1990. (Detlev Grass via АВИАЦИЯ, ПОНЯТНАЯ ВСЕМ)

¹ The Sternberg Point Observatory, also known as the Sternberg Astronomical Institute (Государственный астрономический институт имени Штернберга), is located in Moscow, Russia.

Sternberg Astronomical Institute

² FAI Record File Numbers 3663, 3664, 3665 and 3666

³ FAI Record File Numbers 8125, 8126, 8127, 8128, 8129, 8130, 8131 and 8880: 871.38 kilometers per hour (541.45 miles per hour)

⁴ FAI Record File Numbers 8133, 8134, 8135, 8136, 8137, 8138 and 8139

© 2023, Bryan R. Swopes

Share this article: