Ilyushin IL-96

Ilyushin IL-96, my first plane

When I was a 2-year-old child, my parents went to Crimea, the most popular Soviet resort on Black Sea. From my native city of Minsk, you can get to the sea by train (thirty to forty hours) or just in two hours by plane. They afforded to took me and Aeroflot flight by Tupolev Tu-134. It was a motto in Soviet Union "Fly by Aerflot planes" with Aeroflot being one and the only available air carrier. It was my first real flight and I don't remember any single bit of it.

It was May of 2006, I was 25 when the destiny decided to take me to the skies once again. We were going to Seoul, Korea on business trip. It was my first business trip, it was my first visit abroad but it seemed that most of all I was excited that I will fly. I liked airplanes through all of my life. I was born and grew in a city district bordering old Minsk-1 airport and I saw planes landing and taking off almost each day. There was even a cafe in the discarded Tu-134 not far from my kindergarden. So many times me and my friends went to airport fence to take a look at a runway and white majestic aircraft standing near hangars.

I feel myself confident in any airport and on board of any aircraft as I experienced around 20 flights by now. I can't even remember all of them. But there is a flight never to be forgotten - my first one Aeroflot SU-599 flight made by Ilyushin IL-96 that took me from Moscow Sheremetyevo International Airport to Incheon International Airport of Seoul. Was I afraid of flying with all those terrorists and crashes? May be not. I was fascinated.

Flying by plane is great, every part of it. Registration, waiting and watching aircraft through the windows, boarding... One of the most exciting feelings I have ever had is sitting on the plane that starts accelerating on the runway. You just feel its tremendous power with every single bit of your body. And then you are in the skies with clouds beneath and everything on the ground seems to be so insignificant, highway like a thin hair, and only pieces of nature matter: mountains, deserts, ocean, rivers. I just love to fly. That's it.

We flew Ilyushin IL-96 both to Seoul and back. I had nothing to compare with at the time but I think that our flights were okay, no problems. For some time I thought IL-96 was not really comfortable, rather rough inside like most of Soviet consumer goods, but I changed my mind after travelling on Lufthansa's old Boeings-747 with worn-out interior and no free space for legs. IL-96 is not a bad plane after all in terms of passenger comfort and it has rather nice and solid appearance. Let leave its noise and fuel efficiency to specialists :)

This picture was taken in Incheon, on our way back from Seoul. It is Aeroflot's Seoul-Moscow flight SU-600. In addition to model and registration numbers most planes have their own names or nicknames. Lufthansa's planes are named after German cities, for instance. This IL-96 is named V. Chkalov (В. Чкалов in Russian, you can see it under Russian flag near cockpit) after well known Soviet pilot Valery Chkalov who made several ultralong flights from Moscow to North America cities of Vancouver and Washington through the North Pole on Tupolev ANT-25 plane.

Initially I published Ilyushin IL-96 photo in my personal album with pictures from flights to Korea and back. It has 36 plane and airport related pictures and comments in Russian. You can check the album at http://lj.lyrics.by/20060604/. This photograph is one of the best I ever made in my life and I tried to submit it to Airliners.net. Unfortunately it was rejected and approved only at personal image hosting of myaviation.net. There are two pictures there made by me: this IL-96 and Airbus A320 of China Eastern Airlines in Pudong Airport, Shangai from my next business trip to Asia.

My Experience with Aeroflot Russian Airlines, Soviet Service Style

A few thoughts to share about Aeroflot. It is the largest Russian airline, successor of a behemoth that occupied all civil air space in Soviet Union. Aeroflot offers some good ways to get to Asia from Europe and USA and has reasonable prices. Since collapse of Soviet Union they even replaced most of their Soviet made fleet with more comfortable and newer planes by Boeing and Airbus, at least for international routes. And yet after almost 17 years since transforming from state monopoly into market company they are best known for their notorius service, both in air and on land in Sheremetyevo International Airport.

I will tell you the truth. If you need to get to Seoul from Minsk, you can go by Belavia/Aeroflot shared flight from Minsk to Moscow and then by Aeroflot flight from Moscow to Beijing. It is the cheapest and the fastest way. And still many people tend to choose more expensive and longer one: by Lufthansa flight from Minsk to Frankfurt (it is 2 hours and a half in the opposite to Seoul direction) and then from Frankfurt to Seoul. So you you tell me what kind of service offers Aeroflot if people decide to lose at least 4 hours and couple of hundred of dollars in order just to avoid Aeroflot?

Is it so scaring? It depends on how lucky you are and how much do you expect. As I already told you, my first flight was on Aeroflot's IL-96 from Moscow to Seoul and I must admit I was pleased with our stewardess. She was really kind and attentive and the food was okey. But then was the returning flight and totally unfriendly stewardess that didn't even pay attention to any requests except those for goods from duty-free catalog. And the choice of food for all but you because you are different and sit towards the plane tail. And after all you arrive to Sheremetyevo to meet overpacked baggage carousels and long queues to unfriendly immigration officers.

Aeroflot is even more disturbing if you get on board of their planes from some flight by decent company like Singapore Airlines or Cathay Pacific. Not even to mention grands I flew several China local airlines and each one of them had better service than Aeroflot. When I was in China this summer and watched CNN in my hotel room I was surprised to see along with Sochi promotion to 2014 Winter Olympics massive Aeroflot advertizing campaign, claiming their highest standards in service. Aeroflot! I don't believe you :) Check 1997 article Hold the Jokes, Please: Aeroflot Buffs Its Image, I guess it is pretty actual until now.

Of course all of this is just my personal opinion based on two flights experience, experience of collegues and my perception of big companies remained since Soviet union. Now they are on free market, they have no other choice but to change themselves and be better. May be some time...

General Information about IL-96

The Ilyushin Il-96 is a four-engined long-haul widebody airliner designed by Ilyushin in the Russian Federation and manufactured primarily by the Voronezh Aircraft Manufacturing Company in Voronezh. It is powered by four Aviadvigatel PS-90 two-shaft turbofan engines.

The Ilyushin Il-96 is a shortened, long-range, and advanced technology development of Russia's first widebody airliner, the Ilyushin Il-86. It features supercritical wings fitted with winglets, a glass cockpit, and a fly-by-wire control system. It was first flown in 1988 and certified in 1992. The basic IL-96-300 is equipped with modern Russian avionics integrating six multi-function color LCD displays, inertial and satellite navigation systems, and an Traffic Collision Avoidance System (including mode “S”). It allows operating the airplane with two crew members. The avionics correspond to modern requirements on international routes in Europe and North America (RNP-1) and allow navigation and landing under ICAO CAT III/A conditions. The Il-96 is offered in three main variants: the Il-96-300, Il-96M/T and Il-96-400.

The Il-96-300 has a standard passenger capacity of 262 seats in a two-class configuration with 18 seats with 54 inch seat pitch and 244 seats with 32 inch pitch. Galleys are positioned on the upper deck, and the lower deck can accommodate 18 LD-3 containers and crew rest areas. Although its list price is more than 30% lower than equivalent western types, Russian airlines are not particularly eager to buy it. As of September 2006, there are only 16 Il-96-300s in operation with Aeroflot (6 of the 17), KrasAir (2), Domodedovo Airlines (3; actually operated by Krasair on behalf of AiRUnion alliance), Atlant-Soyuz Airlines (1; cargo version), Cubana de Aviacion (3) and Rossiya (2). Two more aircraft are being readied at the plant in Voronezh for shipment to the government of Cuba. Both Aeroflot and Transaero received tax exemption when importing Western-built aircraft in exchange for their promising to buy a few Il-96's each. Aeroflot cargo initiated talks about ordering 6 Il-96-400T and ordered more 6 il-96-300

Meanwhile, Air Zimbabwe was planning to purchase 5 Il-96-300, making the airline the largest carrier of the type outside Russia and second largest carrier to operate the planes after Aeroflot. However, after talks with Russian authorities, the order was canceled (along with Tupolev orders). Iran Air took delivery of two Ilyushin Il-96-300s on short-term leases on from Russia’s Kras Air in October 2006 and will use these aircraft on a trial basis for up to one year. If they meet its operational requirements, IFC will consider placing an order for up to four aircraft. In June 2006, Syrianair announced an agreement to purchase two Il-96-400 aircraft and an Il-96-300 aircraft.

In June 2005 the Volga-Dnepr Group signed a 15 year financial agreement with Ilyushin Finance Corporation (IFC) to take delivery of two new-build IL-96-400T aircraft. The aircraft will be operated by Volga-Dnepr's subsidiary AirBridge Cargo. The first is due to be delivered in late 2006.

Also in 2005 Atlant-Soyuz Airlines reached an agreement with Ilyushin Finance for the delivery of two IL-96-400T cargo planes in addition to the Il-96-300T the airline already operates. The Cuban official newspaper Granma announced on 3 January 2006 the first official flight of the first Cubana IL-96-300, from Havana to Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was announced that since the second quarter of 2007 the factory will be tuned to produce only two latest modifications of the plane.

IL-96 Variants and Modifications

There are two variants of the Il-96 and launched on two separate occasions. The Il-96-300 was launched in 1985 with introduction into service in 1993. The Il-96M was launched in 1993 with introduction into service in 2000.

IL-96-300

The Il-96-300 is the initial variant and is fitted with Aviadvigatel (Soloviev) PS90A turbofans with a thrust rating of 16,000 kgf (157 kN, 35,300 lbf). Development started in mid-80s while first prototype flew on 28 September 1988, with Russian certification was obtained on 29 December 1992. The first Il-96 entered service with Aeroflot in 1993.

Range with 262 passengers and fuel reserves (for holding 75 minutes at an altitude of 450 m) in a two-class configuration is about 5,940 nautical miles (11,000 km), allowing flights from Moscow to US west coast cities, a far improvement over the Ilyushin Il-86. It is used by Russian president Vladimir Putin as a VIP plane.

This version also comes in a longer range version dubbed Il-96-300V.

IL-96M

This is a stretched variant of the Il-96-300. It features a 10 m (30 ft) fuselage stretch, is 15 tonnes (33,000 lb) heavier, is fitted with Western-style avionics, and is powered by four Pratt & Whitney PW2337 engines with a thrust rating of 37,000 lbf (165 kN). Range with 312 passengers in a three-class configuration or 92 tonne (203,000 lb) payload is about 5,600 nautical miles (10,400 km). This turned it into a true—but vastly more capable—Il-86 successor. The Il-96M/T is broadly comparable with the Airbus A330-300 and Boeing 777-200A, but is much cheaper. Development on the M/T variant stalled when the US Export-Import Bank suspended talks on financing the engines and avionics, due to Russia's economic problems [2]. This version is also used as President Putin's VIP transport plane. The Il-96M also dispenses the need for a flight engineer. It is designed for a crew of two.

IL-96T

This is the freighter version of the Il-96M.

IL-96-400

The Il-96-400 was developed with Russian avionics and engines. It is based on the Il-96M/T fuselage and is powered by four Aviadvigatel PS90-A1 turbofans. It can carry up to 435 passengers. Typical two-class configuration will have 332-340 passengers. Range with 247 passengers in a three-class configuration is about 11,300 km.

Ilyushin IL-96 Technical Specifications

Measurement	IL-96-300	IL-96-M	IL-96T
Length	55.3 m or 181 ft 7 in	64.7 m or 212 ft in	66.9 m or 209 ft 9 in
Span	60.11 m or 197 ft 3 in
Height	17.5 m or 57 ft 7 in
Zero Fuel Weight	183 000 kg or 403 000 lb
Maximum take-off weight	250 000 kg (551 000 lb)	270 000 kg (595 000 lb)
Cruising speed	.83 Mach*
Maximum speed	.86 Mach
Range fully loaded	7 000 km	11 482 km or 6 195 nautical miles	10 000 km or 5 437 nautical miles
Max fuel capacity	150 000 liters 39,625 US gal
Engines	Aviadvigatel PS-90A	Pratt & Whitney PW2000
Cockpit crew	Three	Two
3-class Seating	259	307

Note: Mach number (Ma) is a dimensionless measure of relative speed. It is defined as the speed of an object relative to a fluid medium, divided by the speed of sound in that medium. Mach number is the number of times the speed of sound an object or a duct, or the fluid medium itself, move relative to each other. At a temperature of 15 degrees Celsius and at sea level, Mach 1 is 340.3 m/s (1,225 km/h, 761.2 mph, or 661.7 kn) in the Earth's atmosphere. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mach_number]

Ilyushin IL-96 Avionics

On the airplane are installed the following systems providing ICAO recommendations and Eurocontrol requirements:

• Integrated control panel of communication and navigation KPRTS-95М-1 and Flight management system VSS-95-1V
• Upgraded Electronic Indication systems SEI-85М and KISS-1-2МA (redaction 6) with LCD indicators
• Inertial system NSI-2000MT or BINS-85
• Ground approximation system EGPWS with the terrain relief information or SRPBZ (or MARK V)
• Collision air avoidance system CAS-81A (or SPS-2000)
• System BRIK-324
• Domestic system of selective calling of crew on radio communication (Selcal) – АSV-324
• Weather locator Buran-А, or MN RLS – without wind shear (or RDR-4B with functions of wind shear warning and turbulence detection)
• MV-range radio station «Orlan-85STD» with maintenance of VDL Mode 2
• Crew satellite communication system Aero Mini M or Aero I (telephone and data exchange with UVD and airline)
• Sound information solid-state registrar RZBN-1, ensuring crew members negotiation recording and cabin sound situation (4 channels) with record conservation of 2 hours of flight information
• System MSRP-A-02 with solid-state protected and operational storage devices

Ilyushin Il-96 Bonus: another really great picture

This picture of Ilyushin IL-96 landing in Domodedovo International Airport of Moscow is copyright of Evteev Mikhail and it is originally published at http://www.airliners.net/open.file/1081577/

---

Wikipedia article about Ilyushin Il-96 was used as a source.