The first flight of the prototype Tu-144 was on December 31, 1968, satisfying the Air Ministry's five-year plan. Passenger flights began in 1977 to coincide with the 60-year anniversary of the ...

The only supersonic airliners ever made, the Concorde and the Tupolev Tu-144, were not private ventures. While the cost of the Tu-144 is opaque due to the nature of the Soviet Union's economy ...