Home › Compare › Concorde vs Tupolev Tu-144

Concorde vs Tupolev Tu-144

Both aircraft at true relative scale, against a 1.8 m person and a double-decker bus.

Concorde25.6 m span · 12.2 m tall Tupolev Tu-14428.8 m span · 12.5 m tallBus1.8 m

Wingspan and overall height are drawn to true scale from the sourced figures on each aircraft page. Compare any other aircraft in the live tool →

The numbers

Side by side

ConcordeTupolev Tu-144DifferenceBigger
Length61.66 m65.70 m4.04 mTupolev Tu-144 +7%
Wingspan25.60 m28.80 m3.20 mTupolev Tu-144 +12%
Height12.20 m12.50 m0.30 mTupolev Tu-144 +2%
MTOW185 t207 t22 tTupolev Tu-144 +12%
Typical seats10014040Tupolev Tu-144 +40%
Range7,222 km6,500 km722 kmConcorde +11%
Max speed2,179 km/h2,285 km/h106 km/hTupolev Tu-144 +5%
The verdict

Which is actually bigger?

The Tu-144 flew first, by two months, and that was rather the entire point of it. It was also faster on paper and worse in almost every way that mattered: it needed afterburners just to hold cruise, it was so loud inside that passengers passed notes, and it carried fare-paying passengers for a grand total of 55 flights. Concorde flew commercially for 27 years. Being first is not the same as being right.

The Tupolev Tu-144 is the longer of the two, at 65.70 m against 61.66 m, a difference of 4.04 m. It also has the greater wingspan, 3.20 m wider, so it is the bigger aircraft on both measures.

The supersonic airliner. The first supersonic airliner. The silhouettes above are drawn at true relative scale from the sourced figures on each aircraft's page, same metres, same pixels, no artistic licence.

On capacity, the Tupolev Tu-144 carries more people in a typical layout, 140 against 100.