FSX-SE Russia's "Bear" (Tu-95)...came to mind...

[P_7878 6,757]

[Note: All the "Russian" linguistics, here, (plus my own "visit" to the beautiful township of Severka), put me in the mood for a bit more Russian, and made me think of this (Soviet) aircraft. The impressive Tu-95 goes by the NATO reporting name "Bear". It was the creation of the (visionary) aeronautical engineer (and pioneer), Andrei Tupolev, in the USSR. Tupolev designed (or/and oversaw) the design of more than 100 types of civilian and military aircraft in the Soviet Union over 50 years: imagine a "Soviet" engineer been honored outside the Soviet Union as an honorary member of both the Royal Aeronautical Society and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics in recognition of his work...!]

The Tu-95 (Bear) with its eight contra-rotating propellers, currently holds the reputation (reportedly) of being the loudest (i.e. noisiest) plane in the world...! In fact, it’s so noisy that listening devices on submerged U.S. submarines can hear a Bear flying overhead. Western fighter pilots who shepherded Bears over international airspace, have reported being able to hear its turboprops above the sound of their own jet engines. ..! And, btw, the rumor, that its (supersonic) sound might have caused instance(s) of actual miscarriages is probably just that, a rumor...!!

It's powered by four enormous turboprop engines, whose power drives eight enormous propellers (actually four pairs - two coaxial propellers, in each pair, in contra-rotation, arranged one behind the other, that spin in opposite directions - see images). For its design, Andrei Tupolev had borrowed many innovative features, that were still being (actually) refined for the first generation of jets, and this move turned out to be a masterstroke of contemporary engineering...! First flown on 12 November 1952, e.g. its distinctive swept-back wings are set at an angle of 35°. For comparison, Boeing 707, the first successful commercial passenger jetliner to be designed with swept-wings, had made its first flight on December 20, 1957, five years later. Such swept wings are almost always used on (modern) jet aircraft designs of today.

So, please find, below, a set of images of this venerable Cold-War relic, that continues to be operational even today. My sample test-flight, here, with this aircraft, involves takeoff and touch-down, at Sheremetyevo Alexander S. Pushkin International Airport (UUEE), that serves the city of Moscow. Hope you enjoy these pictures of this classic (and iconic) turboprop!

[Note: If you wish, you may search, for (RW) "tu-95 sound videos". There is one 7:43min video, that I liked. Just remember to be cognizant of folks around you...before raising the "virtual" volume of your SIM....🙂...for those loud Kuznetsov NK-12 turboprop engines...!]

[UUEE(Drzewiecki Design)/Freeware(Tu-95)/REX]

[bernd1151 6,008]

Great set and story, P_7878. I think you know that the Tu 95 also had a civilian counterpart, which was based on its break-through design, the venerable Tu 114. The aircraft was the largest (220 seats) and fastest passenger plane at its time. It was able to travel at speeds typical of modern jetliners, 880 km/h (550 mph). At 10,900 km (6,800 mi), it also had the longest range. A bit of trivia, if you allow me: at one time, Soviet leader Khrushchev came to the US on a state visit, using the Tu 114. Its landing gear was so tall, that he could not leave the plane; no boarding ladder was long enough to reach the doors. It took the airport administration some thirty minutes to come up with a solution 😃

Edited June 14, 2020 by bernd1151

[P_7878 6,757]

Folks: Thanks much...!!

Bernd: Appreciated the comment, and, for the interesting Khrushchev anecdote...! I didn't know about it, although, the Tu-114 Pax variant, I had come across, while reading about Tu-95.

And, now, I do see, this story, mentioned in the Tu-114 Wiki itself:
"When it arrived at Andrews Air Force Base, the ground crew found that the aircraft was so large and its landing gear so tall that they had no passenger steps high enough to reach the forward hatch. Khrushchev and his party were obliged to use the aircraft's own emergency escape ladder".

In many of the images, in this post, I've shown bottom-up views, to accentuate Tu-95's tall landing gears (it reminds me a bit of the Constellation)...Tu-95/Tu-114 planes were/are, indeed, special...!

Edited June 14, 2020 by P_7878

[HighBypass 2,339]

I need a British Phantom II to intercept that Cold War Contra-rotator! I do have the excellent SimWorks Phantom II, but I require a Rolls Royce Spey-engined FGR.1 or FGR.2, probably have to be freeware.... 😎

[JAT 185]

One of my favorite aircraft. I always loved how the propellers turn in opposite direction on the same engine.

nebojsa

[Phantom88 3,289]

The Bear has Big Claws!!!

[HighBypass 2,339]

The biggest..

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsar_Bomba

Tu-95V carried it..