The day I tested the Tu-144...

[Tsuneyoshi]

Hello guys!

People know me for being a Concorde user, but this time I came up with results from a small test I did with the Tu-144, the only civilian supersonic aircraft capable of "competing" with Concorde.
In my research, I tried to use Tu-144 on its maximum performance. So hard...
Both the Concorde and the Tu-144 suffer greatly from range and fuel consumption, but the Tu-144 has a great disavantage...
Its range of only 2500nm...
I'm currently playing at London Heathrow, and even though I have a good market for this range, it might not be the best HUB to play with the Tu-144.

The Tu-144 is currently flying profitably, but as you can see from the image below, it's a very small profit.
The routes it flies are short, so ticket prices are not so high.

How did I perform the test?

So... I looked for good routes, in my case Faro and Baghdah.
I was able to put only 1 flight in each, but everything is ok as it is flying almost all day.
Since both routes are "short flights", the demand for C class and F class is very low, so I can't exploit both effectively.

Prices: + 70%.



Keeping in mind that the fuel is costing around 280USD, I believe it is not so bad, obviously Concorde has a much better performance, but just like Concorde, the TU-144 also has potential, very low, but it has. The major disadvantage of the Russian supersonic when compared to the western one is that it has about 10,000kg/hr more consumption than Concorde.

So... Let's compare them with some basic information and we will understand why Concorde is better than Tu-144:

Concorde
Fuel Consumption: 23.200kg/hr
Range: 3300nm
Maintenance: 350.000USD (Check C).

Tupolev 144:
Fuel Consumption: 34.040kg/hr
Range: 2570nm
Maintenance: 650.000USD (Check C).

Below, 2 images of my test with Tu-144.

Conclusion:
Tu-144 can give you some profits, but not in London Heathrow. I would try to use them at Singapore, USA and Dubai because of Juicy Routes around 1500-2500nm. I will store it because I'm already flying 20 Concordes (all of them very profitable 400.000USD+ per week) + 2 other types.

Hope you guys enjoy!

*Don't give up of any aircraft, challenge yourself and do your best to get the best with it.

[gazzz0x2z]

The only planes I'd avoid at all costs are the Baade and the Convair 880/990. All the rest can be made profit of, even the IL12s.

And of course, you can make profit out of the convair 880s, but their vulnerability is such that I wouldn't take the risk. IL12s make money their first 5/6 years of life, without too much risk. Then you scrap them. Their cost is so low that scrapping them actually made me profit(after 5 years in the desert)

[MikeS]

Nice report!

Did you do any experiments with tech stops?
Cheers!
Mike

[Cardinal]

The only planes I'd avoid at all costs are the Baade and the Convair 880/990. All the rest can be made profit of, even the IL12s.

And of course, you can make profit out of the convair 880s, but their vulnerability is such that I wouldn't take the risk. IL12s make money their first 5/6 years of life, without too much risk. Then you scrap them. Their cost is so low that scrapping them actually made me profit(after 5 years in the desert)

That was true of the Convairs until recently. They got a data update (more accurate real-world data was found) and they're actually competitive now. Still vulnerable but nowhere near what they used to be. The difference is dramatic. That said, the 732Adv blows the 880 away performance-wise, but you have to wait a decade for it.

[Tsuneyoshi]

The only planes I'd avoid at all costs are the Baade and the Convair 880/990. All the rest can be made profit of, even the IL12s.

And of course, you can make profit out of the convair 880s, but their vulnerability is such that I wouldn't take the risk. IL12s make money their first 5/6 years of life, without too much risk. Then you scrap them. Their cost is so low that scrapping them actually made me profit(after 5 years in the desert)

Since the last update, C880/990 are very competitive, I will probably use them in some GW. But Baade would be a very hard challenge. I'd avoid IL-86... hahahaha

[Tsuneyoshi]

Nice report!

Did you do any experiments with tech stops?
Cheers!
Mike

Yes! With Concordes. In early 80's, Some of my Concordes were flying with tech-stops, they did a great job! But since the born of wide body aircrafts, those routes are not so good (still profitable, because it can fly there everyday).