FIVE RUSSIAN airlines have confirmed renewed interest in re-engineing their Ilyushin Il-86s with CFM56 turbofans.
According to Il-86 chief designer Igor Katyrev, the five responded to a business proposal from Ilyushin, pointing out the advantages of replacing the Kuznetsov NK-86s with the CFM56s.
The Western powerplants, which would be virtually the same as the 150kN (34,000lb)-thrust units powering the Airbus A340, would confer a 40% range increase, to around 7,500km (4,000nm), and a similar percentage reduction in fuel consumption.
Ilyushin declines to reveal which airlines were interested, although Aeroflot International Airlines, Transaero and Vnukovo Airlines are among the most successful Russian operators of the Il-86.
Katyrev says that a joint-venture group, possibly involving Ilyushin, the VASO industrial plant and CFM International could be formed to carry out the re-engineing programme.
CFM has already carried out extensive studies into the engineering effort required, but initial interest waned because of lack of money among Il-86 operators. Ilyushin puts the cost of re-engineing an Il-86 at just over $19 million.
CFM International would look to a much greater Il-86 re-engineing market if the current plans succeeded. There are some 200 such aircraft in Russia.
Source: Flight International
