TU-144 SST
by Chris King

1/700 Russian TU-144 SST (Scratchbuilt)

This is a 1/700 custom-made model of the Russian SST TU-144. Several of these were made in the early 1970's to compete with the Anglo-French Concorde. Although similar in appearance to the Concorde at first glance (hence the early nickname "Condordski"), it is actually a completely different aircraft, with little retractable "wings" above the forward fuselage for better control at slow speeds. Of course many aviation enthusiasts remember the tragic crash of the demonstrator aircraft at the 1972 Paris Air Show. This effectively killed large-scale production of the plane, although it was somewhat redesigned afterwards. The TU-144 was used briefly as a mail transport, but due to very high operating costs this was discontinued. One airframe was taken out of storage in the 1990's and refurbished into flying condition for use a test aircraft. NASA and Russia funded the project together, which resulted in them carrying both the Russian and US flags on the tail.