Ilyushin Il-86

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Il-86 of Pulkovo Aviation Enterprise at St. Petersburg Airport

The Ilyushin Il-86 is a Russian wide-body commercial passenger jet aircraft.

The aircraft was developed by Ilyushin, one of the Soviet Union's design offices; announced in 1971, it first flew on 22 December 1976, and entered commercial service in 1980. It was the first wide-body type built in the Soviet Union, and around 120 were built. Initially it was only flown by Aeroflot and, slightly later, China Xinjiang Airlines.

It has good capacity, cargo space and robustness, but since the Soviets at the time lacked any high-bypass turbofan engine, the aircraft had to use four Kuznetsov NK-86 low-bypass turbofans similar to the NK-8 engines of the Il-62 'Classic' (though of somewhat higher power), which have a high fuel consumption. These inferior engines severely limited range compared to Western wide-body jets such as the DC-10 or A300.

Passengers board on the lower deck via the integrated airstairs and stow their own baggage, before proceeding upstairs to their seats, allowing the Il-86 to operate from airfields without any facilities.

Other airframes of the type have been modified for use in military roles such as airborne early warning and communications support.

The Il-86 has recently lost a lot of its destinations due to its high noise levels and recent failing of a safety test at a European airport.

The Il-96 is an updated version of the Il-86, but is shorter in length and features more modern components and some composite materials.

On October 23, 2006, Aeroflot's Deputy Director General Igor Desyatnichenko told reporters that the airline will cease flying the plane. "The Il-86 planes will not be in use starting November 15, and it is too costly to keep them through the winter and fly just two or three months in the summer." He added that the planes were fuel-guzzling and did not meet Europe's rigid noise and environmental standards.

Aeroflot is looking for potential buyers or lessees of the Il-86 planes in its fleet.

The aircraft's NATO reporting name is Camber.

[edit] Civil operators

In August 2006 a total of 65 Ilyushin Il-86 aircraft remain in airline service with Aeroflot (12), Armavia (1), Atlant-Soyuz Airlines (8), KrasAir (4), Pulkovo Air (8), S7 Airlines (12), Tatarstan (3), Ural Airlines (5), Uzbekistan Airways (10) and Vnukovskie Avialinii (1).^[1]

[edit] Specifications

Measurement	IL-86
Cockpit crew	Three
Seating capacity	250 (3-class)
Length	59.94 m (195 ft 4 in)
Wingspan	48.06 m (157 ft 8 in)
Height	15.81 m (51 ft 10 in)
Wing Area	320 m² (3,444 sq ft)
Empty Weight	164,000 kg (360,800 lb)
Maximum take-off weight	208,000 kg (458,560 lb)
Cruising speed	.80 Mach
Maximum speed	.82 Mach
Range fully loaded	4,600 km 2,480 nm
Cargo capacity	16 LD3
Service Ceiling	11,000 m or 36,000 ft
Engines	4 X Kuznetsov NK-86
Engine Thrust	127.5 kN or 28,660 lbf thrust each