The TAPO production plant in Tashkent, Uzbekistan has landed a contract with Russian lessor Technospecstal-Leasing to supply 30 Ilyushin Il-114 turboprops, writes Tom Zaitsev.
The deal, which also involves the Ilyushin design bureau, follows last year’s delivery by TAPO of an aircraft to regional operator Vyborg Airlines and a subsequent tripartite agreement signed during last year’s Moscow air show.
The lessor’s parent company, Technospecstal-Engineering, is a St Petersburg-based distributor of mining, earth-moving and heavy construction machinery. “Leasing aviation equipment seems set to become a substantial business for us too,” says company director Vitaly Kislichenko . “We estimate Russia’s requirement for new regional turboprops alone at 250.”
Under the contract, TAPO will assemble six Il-114s this year and 12 in each of the following years. All aircraft will be fitted with enhanced Klimov TV7-117FM engines and Russian-made avionics. The lessor has orders from a carrier run by Russian steelmaker Severstal for eight aircraft and Moscow government-owned Atlant-Soyuz for six.
Source: Flight International
