Tupolev Tu-110

The Tupolev Tu-110, with the NATO reporting name Cooker, was a four-engined Soviet jet airliner that made its maiden flight in 1957. It was developed from the twin-engined Tu-104 after a Council of Ministers directive of August 1956 asked the Tupolev Design Bureau for a version that could safely cross large expanses of ocean and take off more safely if an engine failed. Four Lyulka AL-7 turbojets sat in staggered pairs in the roots of an extended centre-section, and the first prototype flew on 11 March 1957. The production Tu-110A had extended-chord wings, enlarged baggage holds and seating for up to 100 passengers in an all-tourist layout. The Kazan factory was authorised to build ten, but only three production aircraft were finished, so four were built in all and none entered airline service. All four were converted to Tu-110B with Soloviev D-20 turbofans and used for avionics, missile and boundary layer control experiments, remaining active into the 1970s.