First flight of Tupolev Tu-114 Rossiya

The Tupolev Tu-114 Rossiya was a Soviet airliner derived from the Tu-95 strategic bomber, which had four huge turboprop engines with contra-rotating propellers. It could carry a large number of passengers over long distances and was among the largest and fastest airliners of its time, and the fastest propeller-driven airliner ever built. The Tu-114 began regular service in 1961 on the Moscow–Khabarovsk route. In 1959 a Tu-114 flew Nikita Khrushchev to the United States, and later it was used on routes to Cuba and Tokyo. It was loud, and was replaced by jet airliners, but it set many records and was in use until the 1990s.

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