Virtavia - Tupolev Tu-22 'Blinder'

Tupolev Tu-22 'Blinder'

The unusual but ill-fated Blinder was to be the replacement for the subsonic Tu-16 Badger. Capable of Mach 1.5, the plane was typical of the times, with a slender, wasp-waisted fuselage designed around the area rule, and steeply swept-back wings. The aircraft was hastily designed, and had very high takeoff and landing speeds, poor low-speed handling, and a bad cockpit layout with limited visibility. It did have very good transonic performance for the time, and its two 36,000-lb thrust engines provided respectable speed for a bomber of that era. In the event, the plane just did not live up to expectations and had a short service life, being replaced by the much more modern and effective Tu-22M Backfire. No examples of the Blinder remain flyable today, according to all credible reports. Still and all, the plane has its place in history and no collection of USSR bombers is complete without it.

FS2004 and FSX only


Features

• single variant model, the KD Missile Carrier


• very high detail texture set with realistic weathering (texture masters available)


• full FSX model included with all FSX features (bump mapping, self-shadowing, etc.)


• highly authentic flight model with very detailed and carefully illustrated checklist


• all aircraft flying foibles and 'challenges' carefully replicated


• three animated crew hatches (shift-e)


• all three crew seats descend out of aircraft on 2nd exit command (shift-e+2)


• animated afterburner petals


• very highly detailed and authentic (Russian text) cockpit, many mousable switches


• photo-realistic highly authentic all-xml 2D panel, several custom pop-ups for autopilot, high level of mousability, many unique functions such as setting fuel level by mouseclick


• automatic (on throttle) staged animated afterburner visual effect with corresponding performance boost and smoke trail


• simulated Tu-22 soundset included


• automatic smoke trail, wing surface vapour flash and wingtip vortices effects


• VC rain effects (FS2004 only)