Tu-144

Flight testing

Tu-144 suffered from a rush in the design process to the detriment of thoroughness and quality. According to Concorde technical flight manager Brian Calvert, "the rush to get [Tu-144] airborne exacted a heavy penalty later". Concorde's first flight was originally scheduled for February 1968, but was pushed back several times until March 1969 in order to iron out problems and test components more thoroughly. The rush is apparent even in outward timing: the 1963 government decree launching the Tu-144 programme defined that the Tu-144 should fly in 1968; it first flew on the last day of 1968 (31 December) to fulfill government goals set five years earlier.