Ilyushin IL-86 Camber Wide-Body Jetliner

The Ilyushin IL-86 is a four-engine, medium-range, wide-bodied jetliner, designed and manufactured by Ilyushin Aviation Complex of Russia. The IL-86, which has the NATO reporting name ‘Camber’, was the maiden wide-body passenger aircraft built in the Soviet Union. About 120 IL-86s were built until production was halted in 1992.

The development of IL-86 began in 1974, and its maiden flight took place at Khodynka airfield in December 1976. Deliveries commenced in September 1979. The IL-86 entered into service in December 1980, and went on to break 18 world records in October 1981.

As of 2011, six IL-86s are still in service; four in the Russian Air Force and with Donavia.

Variants

The variants of IL-86 include IL-86D, IL-86V and IL-96. IL-86D is a long-range version of IL-86, fitted with large wingspan and heavy fuel tanks, and powered by Lotarev D-18 engines.

The IL-86V is a 450-seater and re-engine model that entered into service in April 1985. The variant is powered by RB211-524G engines.

The IL-96 is an upgraded version of IL-86. Powered by four Pratt & Whitney PW2337 turbofan engines, the variant features short fuselage section and modern equipments.

Orders and deliveries

Customer orders for the IL-86 jetliner included: Vnukovo Aviation Enterprise (21 arcraft); TsUMVS Administration of International Air Communications, centred on Sheremetyevo Airport (22), Tashkent Air Enterprise (nine), Sheremetyevo Air Enterprise (ten), Pulkovo Air Enterprise (eight), Alma-Ata Air Enterprise (eight), Chkalovsky Soviet Air Force Base (four), Kol’tsovo Air Enterprise (six), Tolmachevo Air Enterprise (six), Erevan Air Enterprise (two) and Yemelyanovo Air Enterprise (three).

Design and features

The IL-86 was designed for military and commercial applications, and for domestic and international routes. It can take-off from and land on small runways even in adverse weather conditions, and features electric motors to control tail-plane incidence.

Flight deck

The aircraft boasts a six-window flightdeck that carries three crew members. The flight deck houses primary flight display, a cockpit voice recorder, flight data recorder and an electromagnetic pulse de-icing system.

An automatic flight control system is installed to decrease the workload of pilot by executing automated operations.

Cabin

The IL-86 features three spacious and comfortable pressurised cabins, which can accommodate 350 passengers or 16,000m³ of freight.

These are fitted with eight toilets, two pantries and three lower deck air-stair doors which provide access to the ground level for dropping off baggage before entering the passenger cabin.

Avionics

The avionics suite installed in the IL-86 includes a Pizhma-1 navigational system, GPS transceivers, a traffic collision avoidance system, an instrument landing system, a weather radar, a VOR radio and distance measuring equipment.

A VSU-10 auxiliary power unit supplies power to the cabin.

Engines

The IL-86 is powered by four Kuznetsov NK-86 bypass turbojet engines, each of which generates 127.5kN of thrust. The NK-86 is an advance version of Kuznetsov NK-8. Produced by Kuznetsov Design Bureau, the engine was certified in April 1979. The engine’s lifespan is 10,000 hours, and it can run for 4,000 hours before it needs to be serviced.

The engine is equipped with five-stage low-pressure compressors, six-stage high-pressure compressors, annular combustor cans, a single-stage high-pressure turbine, a dual-stage low-pressure turbine, engine pylons, thrust reversers and an electronic control system. It produces a lot of noise.

Landing Gear

The IL-86 is fitted with a conventional two-wheeled nose gear in the front section of the fuselage. A four-wheeled bogie is fitted in the centre of lower fuselage and two similar bogies are placed below the outer wings.

Performance

The IL-86 can fly at a maximum speed of 900km/h. The cruise and stall speeds of the jetliner are 750km/h and 330km/h respectively. Its range is 3,800km and the service ceiling is 12,000m.

The take-off and landing distances of the jetliner are 2,700m and 1,980m respectively.