I first saw one in a 70s Soviet movie – can’t remember the name – about a Georgian bush pilot who dreams of flying a Tu-144. After knocking around Moscow for a while with an Armenian friend, he gets his dream, but decides he misses home and so goes back to his old job. Just a good heartwarming movie.

Anyway, it’s an absolutely beautiful aircraft. Seeing it on the ground almost makes you do a double-take, because it looks like something whose native habitat is the air.