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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.