Il-62M/MK
Three versions of the four-engined 170- to 195-seat Il-62 were built between 1963 and 1985, before it was superseded by the re-engined Il-62M. All versions were dimensionally identical, with the main differences being in engine type, weight and performance.
While the initial production version was equipped with the Kuznetsov Nk8 engines, the later Il-62M and MK were equipped with the Soloviev D-30KU.
Il-76
The Il-76 was conceived to meet the Soviet air force's requirement for a heavy transport aircraft. The first example of the four-engined high-winged freighter flew in March 1971, and the type entered service in 1974.
Different versions were produced for Aeroflot and the Soviet military, all powered by the MKB (Soloviev) D-30KP engine. Many Il-76s are now flown on commercial freight charters.
A 6.6m stretched version, the Il-76MF, powered by the Perm PS-90A turbofan, was flown for the first time in August 1995. The new model features a 1.5t increase in payload, while the new engines are claimed to offer a 12% reduction in fuel consumption enabling range to be boosted by 20%.
Il-86
The four-engined Kuznetsov NK-86-powered Il-86 was the first Russian widebody, and the first example was flown in December 1976. It entered service with the then Aeroflot in December 1980. Some 104 aircraft had been built and delivered when production ceased in 1994.
The planned CFM56-5C2 re-engineing programme for the Il-86 seems to have been delayed indefinitely.
Il-96-300
The Il-96-300 is a short-fuselage, long-range, advanced-technology development of the Il-86, equipped with new engines (Perm PS-90A), but features a new wing, EFIS flightdeck and a fly-by-wire FCS. The first prototype was flown in September 1988, and the aircraft was certificated in December 1992.
Production - Final assembly of the Il-96-300 is undertaken at the Vorenezh factory in Russia.
Il-96M and T
The Il-96M (T is the freighter designation) is a stretched development of the Il-96-300, with Western-built P&W PW2337 engines, and Rockwell-Collins flightdeck avionics.
The prototype Il-96M, created by modifying the prototype Il-96-300, was flown in April 1992, while the first production-standard aircraft (an Il-96T freighter) is to be flown in 1997. First flight of the production aircraft has been delayed.
ARIA holds orders for 20 Il-96Ms and Ts, of which the first five aircraft will be the Il-96T cargo variant, and the other 15 will be the Il-96M passenger version. Amsterdam-based leasing company Partnairs also holds five orders.
The ARIA deal has received US Exim Bank financing to cover the US content of the aircraft.
Production - See Il-96-300.
Il-98
The Il-98 is a proposed twin-engined version of the Il-96M, which would be powered by P&W PW4000s, GE GE90s or R-R Trent 800s.
Source: Flight International
