Today marks 23 years since the first flight of an ultimately unsuccessful Russian airliner design. The Tupolev Tu-334 was a short-fuselage, rear-engined twinjet that the company foresaw as a successor to the likes of its older Tu-134. However, development stopped when Tupolev was rationalized into the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC).

A decade in the making

Plans for an airliner known as the Tupolev Tu-334 are reported to have emerged as early as 1989, a full 10 years before the type's first flight. Initially, the company targeted a fairly short turnaround, with a turbofan-powered version slated for introduction by 1992. It planned that a propfan version would succeed this in 1995.

The advantages of the aircraft using propfans, engines that are distinct from turbofans and turboprops but draw on both, would have included better efficiency and a higher passenger capacity. However, Tupolev ultimately opted to solely develop turbofan-powered Tu-334s, using Progress D-436 engines.

Despite initially planning to roll the aircraft out in the early 1990s, the breakup of the Soviet Union hampered Tupolev's development of the Tu-334. By the middle of the decade, it had only got as far as displaying a prototype. This came in the form of a mockup that lacked many of an aircraft's key systems.

Performance and specifications

Eventually, after a decade of development, the first functioning Tu-334 performed its maiden test flight on February 8th, 1999. At this stage, Tupolev had big plans for the jet, which it based on the Tu-204, but scaled down its fuselage and wings. Another difference was that it had tail-mounted, rather than underwing, engines.

Tupolev's big plans for the Tu-334 comprised a range of variants to serve different purposes. The standard production version would have been the Tu-334-100. The company planned for this to seat up to 102 passengers in a high-density layout. A two-class setup saw this figure drop to 72.

As far as the performance of the 31.26-meter-long twinjet was concerned, the Tu-334 could cruise at a speed of 820 km/h (440 knots). Meanwhile, its range was 3,150 km (1,700 NM). In terms of dimensions, it sported a 29.77-meter-wide wingspan, with an area of 83.23 square meters. Meanwhile, the tip of its tail stood at 9.38 meters tall.

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Never entered production

Even after the Tupolev Tu-334 made its first test flight, budget problems continued to slow its development. For example, it didn't obtain a Russian type certificate until nearly five years later, in December 2003. Orders tricked in at a slow but steady rate, with seven carriers said to have requested the type by December 2006. At this time, another 24 carriers had reportedly signed letters of intent, totaling another 297 examples.

By 2008, some 100 airlines were said to have expressed an interest in the Tu-334. At around this time, Sputnik News reported that Tupolev was aiming to commence serial production by early 2009. However, when the rationalization of Russia's various manufacturers led to the creation of the wider United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), the new group opted against further development, making the Tu-334 an airliner that never was.

What do you make of the Tupolev Tu-334? Would you have liked to have seen the type reach full-scale production and enter commercial service? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.