The Tupolev Tu-330 was a proposed Russian medium-size
transport aircraft Transport aircraft is a broad category of aircraft that includes:
* Airliners, aircraft, usually large and most often operated by airlines, intended for carrying multiple passengers or cargo in commercial service
* Cargo aircraft or freighters, fix ...
developed by
Tupolev
Tupolev (russian: Ту́полев, ), officially Joint Stock Company Tupolev, is a Russian aerospace and defence company headquartered in Basmanny District, Moscow.
Tupolev is successor to the Soviet Tupolev Design Bureau ( OKB-156, design off ...
since the early 1990s. The project was stopped around 2000s due to lack of funding and difficult economic situation of the
Russian aircraft industry at the time.
Design
The Tu-330 was to have a swept high-mounted wing design with two
high-bypass ratio
PS-90A engines mounted below the wings. An optional powerplant system has also been proposed, using
NK-93 engines that can operate on
LNG (liquefied natural gas) fuel. The aircraft was also designed for commonality with the
Tu-204/Tu-214 civilian airliner series, in order to simplify production and minimize costs of manufacturing, maintenance and parts.
Variants
In addition to Tu-330, the following variants were proposed:
;Tu-330: Basic civilian cargo variant.
;Tu-330PS:
Search and rescue variant.
;Tu-330P:
Firefighting variant.
;Tu-330RL: A variant designed for long-range reconnaissance flights.
;Tu-330R: Communication relay aircraft.
;Tu-330VT: Strategic/Tactical
airlifter
A military transport aircraft, military cargo aircraft or airlifter is a military aircraft, military-owned transport aircraft used to support military operations by airlifting troops and military equipment. Transport aircraft are crucial to ma ...
.
;Tu-330SE: Sanitary and evacuation aircraft.
;Tu-330TZ:
Aerial refueling tanker.
;Tu-330K (Tu-338): A proposed liquid natural gas-fuelled variant with a
Samara NK-94 engine.
Specifications
References
Notes
Bibliography
*
External links
Information on the Tu-330, from Tupolev* http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/russia/tu-330.htm
{{Tupolev aircraft
Proposed aircraft of Russia
Tu-0330
Tu-0330
Tu-0330