On July 9, 1990, the first serial Il-96-300 airliner took to the skies for the first time. It was the "dream liner" of the Soviet aviation industry, which Aeroflot was looking forward to. However, when the plane was ready for operation, Russian air carriers turned their faces to the manufacturers of foreign airliners. This happened largely due to the intrigues of these same manufacturers, supported by domestic bureaucracy.
At that time, we had an extra-class airliner - a wide-body comfortable aircraft Il-86, which could accommodate up to 350 passengers. However, it was a medium-range aircraft, and it was necessary to fly long distances on the morally obsolete Il-62.
From the new car they demanded a range of at least 9000 kilometers. And in 1988, a prototype took to the air for the first time. Two years later, tests of the first serial Il-96-300 began. And three years later, the aircraft was certified and launched on long-distance routes, connecting Moscow with the cities of Asia and both Americas. For the creation of an airliner capable of competing with Boeing and Airbus, the team of developers was awarded the State Prize.
However, there was no real competition. Il-96 was literally "eaten up" by American firms and local officials who were not interested in the development of the domestic aviation industry. Rather, they are even interested in its collapse. As a result, the Voronezh Aviation Plant produced only 28 such aircraft. Most of them are operated in the "presidential" squadron. Several cars sold to Cuba.
Let's remember this story and find out the current state of affairs...
In the 70s, on the basis of the country's first wide-body Il-86, the development of a new machine began, capable of covering distances of up to 9000 km with the same passenger load. The development was named Il-86D and differed from the base machine in wings with an increased area and NK-56 engines. The first flight, which lasted 40 minutes, was made by an experimental Il-96-300 aircraft (tail number 96,000) on September 28, 1988 from the Frunze Central Airfield on the Khodynka field. Crew in command Honored Test Pilot of the USSR Hero of the Soviet Union Stanislav Bliznyuk held it directly over the central regions of Moscow. The difficulty was that the car assembled in the OKB workshops had to either be disassembled in order to be transported in parts to Zhukovsky, or to take the risk of lifting it from the Central Airfield, where the runway was only 1800 m long. Bliznyuk insisted on the second option.
“Many years have passed since that first takeoff. Once, in a conversation with me, Bliznyuk admitted that, sensing that the acceleration of the plane had obviously slowed down, he decided to count to three, and then decide to abort the takeoff, which was tantamount to disaster. I knew about three seconds, but in this conversation Stanislav Grigoryevich admitted that he counted to four. These seconds, when you remember the past, instantly, like a fragment from a movie, flash through your head, causing an unpleasant feeling that remains for a lifetime ... At the Central Airfield, I had to meet the landings of Il-76 and Il-38 aircraft. I confess honestly - you don’t feel pleasure from this, only acute joy after the plane stops serves as a good compensation for the experience. ( G. V. Novozhilov. From the book "About myself and airplanes")
In the process of testing, the Il-96 performed several long-range flights, including Moscow-Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky-Moscow without landing in Petropavlovsk. The plane covered 14,800 km in 18 hours and 9 minutes. June 9, 1992 Il-96 flew from Moscow to Portland via the North Pole, spending 15 hours in the air. The aircraft was tested in Yakutsk at -50°C and in Tashkent at +40°C. According to the test results, on December 29, 1992, the aircraft was awarded a certificate of airworthiness. For six months, new cars were “run in” on Aeroflot routes, and due to lack of funding, operational tests had to be combined with commercial freight traffic - they carried radio equipment. The work of the Ilyushin Design Bureau team on the Il-96-300 was awarded the State Prize of the Russian Federation.
On April 6, 1993, a modified Russian-American Il-96MO aircraft (experimental) took off at the Central Aerodrome of Moscow with four Pratt & Whitney PW-2337 turbojet engines and Collins flight and navigation equipment. This extraordinary event was preceded by the efforts, which began many years ago, not only of the aviation specialists of the two countries, but also of the leaders of the USA and the USSR. The idea of building a joint long-range aircraft was approved back in 1973, when the tension of the Cold War subsided, but if then the designers were going to take the Tristar from Lockheed as the basis for the development, then by the time the project was already ready Il-96-300. Moreover, the idea was warmly supported by the well-known American billionaire businessman A. Hammer. It was like this: our airframe plus their engines and electronics.
In fact, the first international commercial project in civil aviation was born, designed to combine the best elements of domestic and foreign production in terms of technical and economic criteria. As a result of this work, on August 11, 1992, at the first exhibition of aviation equipment in Zhukovsky, the general director of TsUMVS (Central Directorate for International Air Services (now Aeroflot) V. Potapov, G. Novozhilov and General Director of VASO (Voronezh Aircraft Building Association) A. Mikhailov signed a decision “On the acquisition of Il-96M, Il 96M \ T aircraft with PW-2337 engines and a set of navigation equipment from the Collins company. And it was - nothing less than the development, construction and delivery of 20 aircraft to Aeroflot. Moreover, both participating countries agreed to “share the risks”, i.e. each took payment for his own work. Has the process started?
It's all wrong guys…
Work on the creation of a joint machine, which began in the third quarter of 1990, was scheduled to be completed in the first quarter of 1993. The reader knows that much has changed in the relations between our countries during this period. First of all, the Soviet state collapsed. However, in early 1993, at the request of the vice presidents of Collins and Pratt & Whitney, in the presence of the then capital mayor Y. Luzhkov Ilyushin Design Bureau hosted a presentation of the Il-96MO. And again, Bliznyuk skillfully takes off from the Central Airfield. And flight tests of the Russian-American flying brainchild began, and then in June of the same year, its debut flight at Le Bourget in Paris. “For the first time, the West is buying a Russian plane. Ilyushin and Pratt Whitney announced yesterday that Partners, headquartered in Amsterdam, has ordered five Il-96T "trucks" with an option for five Il-96M freighters or passengers. Deliveries will begin in 1996" ( from an article in the daily issue of "Fligt" at the Le Bourget exhibition of June 17, 1993).
“In view of the importance of implementing the project for the production of the Il-96M wide-body aircraft, I ask you to include it in the list of priority work for cooperation with the United States” (resolution President B. Yeltsin dated July 20, 1994, sent to the Prime Minister V. Chernomyrdin).
The matter remained for the "small" - "Eximbank" of the United States for the project had to provide a loan of about a billion dollars under the guarantees of the Russian government. But… “Boeing is concerned that the American loan is creating yet another competitor in the placement of capital investments. Boeing Board Representative Franz Schronz appealed to high officials and the presidential administration on this issue B. Clinton". ("Aviation Week" dated 3.04.95).
The Russians' partners at Pratt & Whitney tried to argue in the US Congress: "Such concern about competition with Ilyushin in the long term is just a front for Boeing and McDonnell Douglas, seeking to reserve market share for their commercial aircraft in the former Soviet Union" . How far did they go then!
Not going to surrender to the mercy of the overseas victors, Genrikh Vasilyevich Novozhilov, on the day of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Victory in the Kremlin, seeks a meeting with US President B. Clinton to remind him of the joint agreement on the construction of the Il-96M. The result was a document sent shortly from America, in which "the President of the United States confirmed that the US Expert Import Bank (EXIMBANK) is considering an application to finance this project."
In June 1996, a meeting was held with the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation V. Chernomyrdin on the issue of state support for the creation and certification of the Russian-American aircraft and equipping Aeroflot-Russian International Airlines with it. From the reference to the meeting: “American engines and components were supplied free of charge. The total investment of American partners in the form of equipment supply, engineering and financial support amounted to about 150 million US dollars ... The issue of financing the Russian part of the project, i.e. 500 million dollars, has not been finally resolved, although a number of Russian banks have agreed.
On March 31, 1998, the AR IAC type certificate for the Il-96T aircraft was received. Now the cargo version of the joint Russian-American aircraft has become suitable for sale.
After receiving a certificate from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for the same aircraft, the Ilyushin team reasonably considered that the main task had been solved. Now mass production and the creation of a passenger Il-96M on its basis were to begin. It's just a matter of creating the interior. And then it began...
June 28, 1998 VASO visited Russian Prime Minister S. Kiriyenko. During the visit, an agreement was drawn up, signed by representatives of the plant, the Ilyushin company and the general director of Aeroflot V. Okulov. It confirmed an order for the manufacture of 20 aircraft, including 17 Il-96M. The agreement was signed Head of the Board of the National Reserve Bank A. Lebedev.
But then came a memorable default. The volume of GDP in the country decreased, the banking system ceased to function, and payments stopped. Hard times have come for the Ilyushins. For some reason, the scheme for delivering aircraft to the customer has changed dramatically. Now, in order to reduce taxes for Aeroflot, the planes had to be sold first to a foreign leasing company. And only from her on lease to be in Sheremetyevo.
In connection with this, a lump of various bureaucratic formalities grew. For the most part - impossible. What prompted the management of Aeroflot in early 2000 to abandon the Il-96T. The outbreak of the NATO war with Yugoslavia also played a negative role. Knowing about which Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov, who flew an Il-62 to the USA for negotiations with Vice President Gore, made a sharp turn over the Atlantic.
In his book “The Minefield of Politics”, Yevgeny Maksimovich wrote about this as follows: “A meeting of the Russian-American commission was scheduled for March 20, 1999, which was headed by Gore from the United States, and from our side by the constantly shifting prime ministers. Our government inherited the unresolved problem of US financing of the joint project to create the Il-96M \ T aircraft.
The “loop over the Atlantic” frightened the “money people” who worked with us ... There was no doubt that an opinion appeared in these circles: work on the Il-96T project is hardly worth continuing. I note that the government of the Russian Federation also refused to give guarantees to Eximbank on a loan.
By the end of August 1999, the only copy of the Il-96T (more precisely, the airframe of the aircraft with all components of Russian production) with tail number RA-96 101 was sold for the debts of VASO and became the property of bankers. By the way, before that, it had been repeatedly shown at air shows in Aeroflot's corporate coloring, although the airline refused it. So sadly ended the history of the Russian-American project. Truly, "and happiness was so possible ..."
Landing
Well, what about the IL-96-300? The first such aircraft entered service with Aeroflot in 1993. Currently, these aircraft are available only in the Rossiya State Customs Committee as a VIP transport and in Cubana (the leader of Cuba also flies on it). In total, the Voronezh enterprise produced 20 aircraft, including experimental ones.
On August 11, 2009, it was announced that the Il-96-300 aircraft would be discontinued as "unpromising". And before that, Dmitry Medvedev visited the VASO plant. After getting acquainted with the aircraft, he said: “This is a good aircraft. You go inside and you feel that we still have power in the country. Well done! Congratulations again! Our cars are the best, of course. Simply handsome!"
Expert opinions
Sergey Knyshov, Il-96 commander, underwent an internship in the USA on Boeings, but prefers to fly only on the IL-96:
If we compare two long-haul aircraft: Boeing-767 and Il-96-300, then an American with two engines carries 200 passengers and consumes 6 tons of fuel. IL-96 takes on board 300 passengers and 15 tons of cargo with a consumption of only 7 tons. Divide tons by kilometers - and everything will become clear to you. In addition, the IL-96 is a magnificent machine: a spacious cabin, large screens - the blind will see everything. The fuselage diameter is 6 meters, like a subway tunnel. You feel like you are in a normal, reliable liner with four engines. By the way, in its entire history, the IL-96 has not been involved in a single accident. Didn't kill a single person.
Anatoly Knyshov, test pilot, Hero of Russia:
When in the 90s I flew to the States on an Il-96 and I had fuel left in the tanks for another three hours of flight, the Americans were terribly surprised. A representative of their aviation authorities then bluntly stated: for some positions, this type of aircraft is unattainable for us. It is strange that Russia is still able to create a competitive product. On the Il-96, on the instructions of the general designer, I made six landings with an imitation of the failure of all engines. No one has done this on any foreign type. And on the IL-96, even a crew of an average level of training can do this.
Genrikh Novozhilov, chief designer of IL-96:
I am often asked to compare two aircraft: ours and the Boeing 767. There is an official assessment carried out by the State Research Institute of Civil Aviation. These aircraft are not inferior to each other in terms of characteristics. Ours is bigger. If you look at the monthly flight time at Aeroflot, then the Il-96-300 sometimes has more than the Boeing. And in terms of the number of landings per month, we are superior to the Boeing 767, because the IL-96-300 is not always operated on the ultra-long routes for which it was created.
Last year Aeroflot put up for sale all six Il-96-300 aircraft. "In connection with the planned phased decommissioning of Il-96-300 aircraft, Aeroflot invites all interested parties to send their proposals for the acquisition of this type of aircraft," the air carrier said in a statement.
The company does not name the cost of the aircraft, explaining that this is a matter of negotiations. The last flight under the flag of Aeroflot Il-96-300 was performed on March 30, 2014 from Moscow to Tashkent.
As an Aeroflot representative explained to Interfax, the planes are old, with high fuel consumption and cause complaints from passengers because of the low cabin comfort. All Aeroflot Il-96-300s were produced in 1991-1995.
Deep modernization
A new chance for this beautiful car appeared a year ago. And, apparently, it will be implemented. But the "revived" Il will no longer be a civilian, but a military machine.
At the end of the last century, the Ilyushin Design Bureau released the Il-96-400 aircraft - a new modification of a passenger liner that can accommodate not 300, but 435 passengers. Cuba intends to acquire it in limited quantities. On the basis of the "four hundredth" transport Il-96-400T will appear very soon. It has a dual purpose and can be used both in civil and military aviation.
But most of all, the Ministry of Defense became interested in the modification of the Il-96-400TZ. This is a tanker, which in 10 years should replace the Il-78M. In terms of its parameters, it significantly exceeds the obsolete Ilyushin tankers that have been in operation in the Air Force since the late 70s.
The main advantage is the carrying capacity and range. Il-96-400TZ is capable of delivering 65 tons of fuel over a distance of 3,500 km. While the upgraded modification of the Il-78M-90 carries up to 40 tons of aviation kerosene over a distance of 3000 km.
At the moment, the Ministry of Defense has targeted 30 tankers. There is a good chance that other armies will be interested in the new machine. For example, in Indian. A clean transporter Il-96−400T also has a significant export potential. By the way, the Il-96-400TZ is easily transformed into a conventional transport aircraft with a payload capacity of 92 tons.
The Ministry of Defense also has plans to acquire 14 passenger Il-96-300s by 2024.
The upcoming purchase of a significant number of Il-96-300 and Il-96-400T will also play a beneficial social role. Since the capacities of the Voronezh Aircraft Plant are almost completely occupied with servicing other orders, the plant has already begun hiring new specialists, that is, additional jobs are appearing.
Flight performance of Il-96−300 and Il-96−400T
Length: 55.35 m - 63.94 m
Height: 17.57 m - 15.72 m
Wingspan: 57.66 m - 60.11 m
Wing area: 350 sq.m. - 392 sq.m.
Maximum takeoff weight: 250 t - 270 t
Engine power: 4×16,000 kgf - 4×17,400 kgf
Cruise speed: 850 km/h - 850 km/h
Ceiling: 12,000 m - 13-spoiler>
Record aircraft P-42. Maybe someone else does not know about and about
Il-96-400M is a promising project for the deep modernization of the Il-96 liner. Increased capacity, improved flight performance and economic performance suggest a return to the commercial airline market.
IL-96-400- wide-body long-haul passenger airliner. It is a deeply modernized modification of the basic Il-96-300 aircraft. An improved version of the Il-96-400M is being developed.
The passenger version was not made due to a lack of orders.
History
Il-96M
In 1988, the newest Soviet long-haul wide-body airliner Il-96 made its first flight, which received an additional index of -300. Equipped with new on-board equipment and engines, the Il-96-300 significantly outperformed both the long-haul Il-62 and its direct progenitor, the Il-86. However, among its advantages over its predecessors there was one more - the Ilyushins took into account the problems that arose when trying to modify the Il-86 and, when creating the Il-96, they invested in it a huge potential for modernization in various directions. All this could have made the liner very successful, if not for the collapse of the USSR and the sharp weakening of the aviation industry of the new Russia. The IL-86 was no longer produced by 1997, and although the IL-96 was retained, it is produced individually.
Nevertheless, the modernization potential of the aircraft played to its advantage. In 1993, in the wake of euphoria and mutual friendship between the Russian Federation and the United States, the updated Il-96M was lifted into the air - the first-ever brainchild of the joint work of aviators of the two countries. The aircraft received a fuselage extended by as much as 8.5 meters, American avionics and Pratt & Whitney PW2337 engines (from the family of engines used on the Boeing 757 and C-17 Globemaster III). At the same time, the capacity increased to 435 people, the maximum takeoff weight was up to 270 tons, and the range was up to 12,800 km (similar to the Il-96-300: capacity 300 people, maximum takeoff weight 250 tons, range 9000 km). The liner even received an FAA certificate, but, of course, it didn’t see much demand: it’s 1997 in the yard - the United States has a lot of its own planes, but Russia doesn’t have money for such liners. As a result, for some time the aircraft returned to its homeland, received old NK-86 engines and appeared at MAKS-2003 under the symbol Il-96-400. In 2009, the plane was cut.
IL-96-400
Nevertheless, the very impressive performance of the IL-96M did not allow it to sink into history forever. Moreover, in the 1990s, large twin-engine liners had not yet conquered the sky, and in Europe, the Airbus A340, which was similar in characteristics, was gaining popularity.
The Ilyushins decided not to let go of the opportunity and created a new version based on the Il-96M, replacing foreign components with Russian ones. The Il-96-400 index was left for him, but it was a modernized car: the on-board systems were improved, and new, forced PS-90A1 engines with a thrust of up to 17.4 tf were installed under the wing (conventional PS-90A with a thrust of 16 tf did not pull a heavier car) . Attempts to sell the passenger version were unsuccessful, but the cargo version of the Il-96-400T was more successful: several aircraft were operated by Atlant-Soyuz and Polet, but by 2017 both of them had ceased to exist. One of the aircraft for the Flight is being modified into the VKP version - an air command post. Also, the Ministry of Defense announced the purchase of a trial batch of IL-96-400 in the tanker version. There is information about a potential large order for 30 aircraft in the future.
Power point
The main power plant of the Il-96-300 are PS-90A engines with a thrust of up to 16 tf. The Il-96-400 is 20 tons heavier than its younger brother, and to ensure the required flight characteristics it is equipped with four PS-90A1 engines, the thrust of which reaches 17.4 tf each. A very serious drawback of the engines of the PS-90A family has always been considered their rather low reliability and low maintainability. Often, the main problem of the commercial operation of the IL-96 was precisely its engines. Nevertheless, for many years these engines have been brought to acceptable levels and the PS-90A1, A2, A3 engines can already be considered acceptable. Versions of these engines are equipped with IL-76MD-90A, also known under the symbol IL-476.
Nevertheless, one thing is not a bad engine for military transport, another is a fairly cheap and economical engine for a commercial airliner. PS-90 - was developed back in the 1980s and can no longer be called the cutting edge of modern progress. Of course, the first thing that comes to mind when pronouncing the phrase “new Russian aircraft engine” is the PD-14. PD-14 is the latest and most promising aviation jet engine, which is being developed primarily for the MS-21 medium-haul airliner. In addition, the leadership of the aviation industry is clearly betting on this engine in the long term. However, for all its advantages, the engine has a drawback - with its thrust of 14 tf, it is not powerful enough to be installed on the Il-96-400M. The option of installing the PD-14M is often discussed - a forced version of the PD-14 with a thrust already of 15.5 tf - it is made for the promising, larger version of the MS-21-400. However, this is not enough, even taking into account the possible reduction in the mass of the liner due to less fuel or lighter materials.
The solution is the PD-18, an engine based on the PD-14. With a thrust of 18-20 tf, it is closest to what should be under the wing of the Il-96-400M. However, at the moment it is not known when this engine will be created and put into series. Perhaps, taking into account the modernization of the IL-96, the creation of this motor will be accelerated.
So for the IL-96-400M there are 3 options:
- PS-90A1 - available, but obsolete
- PD-14M - promising, but not powerful enough (the limits of effective forcing are unknown, it is possible to overclock it to 17-17.5 tf)
- PD-18 is the most optimal option, but the timing of its creation is still unknown
IL-96-400M and ShFDMS
SFDMS - W iroko F yuselage D alne M agistral FROM the aircraft, also known as CR929, is a project of a new wide-body long-haul airliner with a capacity of 250-300 seats. The aircraft is being created jointly by the Russian UAC and the Chinese Comac.
It is assumed that this aircraft will appear in the mid-2020s. It will optionally be equipped with European or American-made engines (Rolls-Royce, Pratt & Whitney or General Electric), and then with Russian PD-35 engines.
At first glance, it may seem that Russia is creating two long-haul liners at once, which, given the economic situation, is strange. However, it must be borne in mind that these aircraft belong to different market niches:
CR-929 can accommodate 250-300 passengers, while IL-96-400M can accommodate 330-435 passengers. That is, in the line of IL-96 goes one step higher, CR-929 are different and complementary liners.
IL-96-X
In addition, by the end of the 2020s, when the CR-929 receives the PD-35, the same engine may become the basis for the power plant of the updated Il-96 - let's call it provisionally - X.
This is the same version of the Il-96 with two engines, which has been exaggerated in expert circles and in the media for a very long time.
Taking into account the experience of creating the CR919, the IL-96-X can receive not only new engines, but also a twin-engine scheme, improved filling and a new, black wing. Under such conditions, the IL-96 may not be a bad aircraft at all.
IFC proposes to make a salon for 415
Nevertheless, in the current iteration, the IL-96-400 still does not meet the requirements of customers (whether government agencies or commercial organizations). It requires modernization, which will be discussed below:
The impossible yesterday becomes possible today. The Voronezh Aircraft Plant (VASO) began assembling the first experimental Il-96-400M, which is a modernized version of the good old Il-96-300, equipped, of course, with no less good Perm PS-90 engines. The project was before, and now remains planned and unprofitable, but who knows what the American sanctions will reach?
Both the Superjet and the MS-21 have imported components, while the Il-96 (and PS-90 engines, of course) are completely domestic. So far, total bans in the field of aviation look like a nightmare, but the Russian leadership, apparently, decided that our country should have a cure for such a nightmare. Just in case.
The issue was resolved precisely at this level, because in recent years PJSC VASO has been producing new wide-body aircraft exclusively in the interests of state customers. However, back in May 2016, in parallel with the Russian-Chinese wide-body project, a fundamental decision was made to develop and launch mass production of the modernized Il-96-400M passenger aircraft for Russian airlines. Then many wondered why Russia needed two aircraft of the same type, but now much is becoming clear.
well forgotten old
The new modification will differ from the basic IL-96 by a fuselage lengthened by 9.65 meters, the use of more powerful PS-90A1 engines and an upgraded avionics complex, as well as a completely new interior of the passenger compartment, increased to 350 passengers.
As they say, you will laugh, but it is in this version that the plane approaches the original idea, because at one time the general designer Genrikh Novozhilov "shortened" the glider due to too little thrust from the Perm engine, which left on the step of the last car of state funding from sadly drooping on platform of the Samara engine NK-93. So it remained in the Soviet past. Now no one remembers the former competition between the Permian Design Bureau of Solovyov and the Samara Design Bureau of Kuznetsov, now the Permians have another main enemy. "Pratt-Whitney" is called, and this name is well known to the inhabitants of the Perm Territory.
But back to the Il-96-400M, according to which in December 2016 a contract was signed with PJSC "Il" for development work, providing for the development and construction of the first prototype in Voronezh. According to materials published on the official website of public procurement, the cost of the contract for development work on the aircraft is more than 10 billion rubles, of which 7.55 billion are allocated for the actual construction of the prototype. About 6 billion has already been received from the state budget in 2016-2017, and the remaining 4 billion will be received before the end of this year.
In a typical two-class layout, the Il-96-400M will accommodate 326 passengers in three economy class cabins and 24 passengers in business class. The maximum takeoff weight of the aircraft has been increased to 270 tons, the maximum payload weight will be 58 tons, and the flight range with a load of 40 tons and air navigation fuel reserve will be 8100 kilometers.
Recently, in July, the Government of the Russian Federation allocated funds in the amount of 1.32 billion rubles of state investments, which will go to the authorized capital of VASO and will be used for the reconstruction and technical re-equipment of production for the production of Il-96-400M. The cost of the entire reconstruction project, which should be completed in 2020, is 1.467 billion rubles. That is, the plans are quite serious, there is no turning back.
Backup option?
In the spring of this year, VASO began manufacturing the first parts for the Il-96-400M prototype, at the same time the slipway for assembling its fuselage, which had previously occupied the fuselage of the unfinished fifth Il-96-400T, was released. According to the contract, the production of the Il-96-400M prototype should be completed before the end of 2019, and its preliminary flight tests should be carried out from November 2019 to January 2020. The certification tests of the liner should be completed by June 2020 with the issuance of an addition to the type certificate - approval of the main design change. Around the same time, the MS-21 will also go into series, including with the new Perm PD-14 engines. Thus, the IL-96-400M is frankly a backup option.
Of course, no one will order Aeroflot to buy even a modernized Il-96, but still with four engines, the most likely potential buyer is the Rossiya special flight squad. Recall that the country's leadership flies on completely domestic aircraft with Perm engines, and nothing else.
However, who can now say what will happen to the sanctions in three years? Americans regularly introduce new restrictions, and there is no end in sight. It is also possible to impose a moratorium on the sale of new American aircraft, avionics, and aircraft engines to us and stop servicing existing American-made aircraft. Just like it already happened with Iran, for example.
And since both European aircraft and new Russian ones contain a share of American components and technologies, their purchase and commissioning can also be fraught with significant difficulties and take a long time. Russia is just insuring itself for this peak case so that we have proven projects in the civil aircraft industry, which are carried out without the participation of our "foreign partners". From the word "absolutely".
It is no longer up to economic efficiency, we are talking about the strategic security of the country. And the Perm PS-90 engine, as an experienced veteran, is always ready to insure the newcomer PD-14, who still has everything ahead of him.
Although the situation is changing so quickly, including the exchange rate of the ruble, that the IL-96-400M can already compete with Boeings and Airbuses owned by foreign airlines. They will refuel for currency, and our planes - for rubles. Of course, on domestic flights, the new IL is still not a competitor to Western aircraft as long as they fly.
But let's better think that aviation sanctions are just a nightmare.
Text: Alexey Klochikhin
The promising Russian wide-body airliner Il-96-400M will receive two engines instead of four - and this, the developers assure, will allow it to compete on equal terms with the best Boeing and Airbus aircraft. However, this will happen at best in seven years. Why is Russia modernizing an old Soviet airliner and will it interfere with the creation of a similar Russian-Chinese aircraft?
Russia is launching the process of deep modernization of the Il-96-300 and the creation of a new wide-body passenger aircraft Il-96-400M on its basis.
"IL-96-400M would have good commercial prospects if it had a modern engine"
As Nikolai Talikov, chief designer of OAO Il, told the VZGLYAD newspaper, in 2019 it is planned to build a prototype aircraft, conduct tests and certify it. In 2020, its mass production should begin with final assembly at the Voronezh Aircraft Building Enterprise (VASO). In five years, by 2025, it is planned to assemble seven such aircraft, that is, one or two aircraft per year. Although if there is interest in the aircraft, then VASO will be able to produce three aircraft a year. “At one time, the plant produced eight to ten Il-86 aircraft a year,” recalls Talikov.
Unlike its predecessor (IL-96-300), the fuselage of the Il-96-400M will be increased by 9.35 meters due to two inserts in front of and behind the wing. In addition, the upgraded liner will receive a new "heart". It will be equipped with more powerful PS-90A1 engines with a maximum thrust of 17.4 tons instead of PS-90A (16 tons). As a result, the Il-96-400M will be able to take on board up to 415 passengers - 115 more than the Il-96-300.
The liner will receive new radio communications and flight and navigation equipment. A more comfortable cabin will appear with an additional central luggage rack and division into classes, the latest on-board equipment and an entertainment system. In other words, the filling of the liner is planned to be brought up to the modern world level.
Modernization of long-designed aircraft is a traditional world practice. For example, the Boeing 747 is older than the Il-96, but it still flies due to the fact that its filling is constantly being upgraded, Roman Gusarov, director of the Avia.ru portal, notes. Including engines.
And the engines are the main problem of the new liner. Even the new Permian PS-90A1 is still inferior to Western counterparts in terms of efficiency. A more worthy engine is only being developed. We are talking about the prospect of installing on the Il-96-400M instead of four PS-90A1 two PD-35 engines with a take-off thrust of 35 tons. “With the same payload mass of 58 tons, it will be possible to increase the flight range from 8,750 km to 10,800, and fuel consumption will be significantly lower,” says Talikov. As expected, when equipped with two engines, the Il-96-400M will be able to compete on equal terms with foreign A-330-300Neo, B-787-8 and B-787-9, including in terms of fuel efficiency. The developer claims that the cost per seat-kilometer will be lower than that of competitors. However, it is planned to certify the PD-35 only in 2024.
The absence of a modern engine can mean one thing - airlines are unlikely to show much interest in the upgraded aircraft. “The IL-96-400M would have good commercial prospects if it already had a modern engine. When the PD-35 engine is available, then the aircraft will become comparable with imported counterparts in terms of its main characteristics. In the meantime, the liner will lose in two parameters - fuel consumption and the number of engines. Western equipment flies on two engines, and we have four, which means that operating costs are higher,” says Gusarov.
Hence such a small plan for the production of aircraft - one or two per year. “That will be enough. Seven aircraft by 2025, I think, will be able to attach through the State Aviation, ”says Gusarov.
However, why in seven years will the Il-96-400M with the new PD-35 engine be needed, if by that time its competitor, a wide-body long-range airliner, which Russia is developing together with China, should take off? In Russia, this aircraft is still called ShFDMS, in China - C929. According to the plan, the liner should make its first flight in 2023, and the first deliveries will begin in 2026. This liner promises to be not only comparable in terms of basic characteristics to Western counterparts, but also to surpass them - thanks to the latest engines, composite materials and the latest achievements in aerodynamics. It is assumed that the Russian-Chinese liner will be 10-15% more efficient than the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Airbus 350.
Development and production will require $13 billion in investment and another $7 billion to set up a parts supply chain, sales support and marketing. Expenses between Russia and China are divided equally. For comparison, it is planned to spend a total of 53.4 billion rubles (or $940 million) on the Il-96-400M modernization program for 2016-2023.
And yet there are reasons why the project to modernize an already fairly old Soviet aircraft was supported and will be funded by the state.
“This is a purely Russian project, and Russia is interested in it strategically in terms of maintaining competencies that are easy to lose”
Firstly, this relatively inexpensive project will allow the Russian aviation industry to retain technology and competencies - in other words, the ability to design and build large wide-body aircraft. This is extremely important, because today only three countries (regions) in the world can build such liners - the USA, Europe and Russia. In addition, the president flies on the Il-96-300, there are five such aircraft in the presidential fleet, and it is difficult to imagine that the first person of the Russian state will transfer to a foreign, even a Russian-Chinese aircraft.
Secondly, no one can guarantee that the Russian-Chinese project will go according to plan. China is a very difficult, although very promising partner, and there are many examples of how joint Russian-Chinese plans have failed for one reason or another.
Finally, "much of what will be installed in the new version of the Il-96-400M can also be used in the new Russian-Chinese project," says Gusarov. For example, the same PD-35 engine can form the basis of the engine for this project.
In addition, if relations with the West suddenly escalate and affect the aviation sector, then the Il-96-400 will close the niche of wide-body Boeing and Airbus.
“In any case, no matter what happens to the Chinese project or no matter how aggravated relations with the West, we will retain the competence and production of wide-body aircraft, retain personnel and technology. If necessary, it will be possible to expand production to 10 aircraft per year, which will be quite enough for our market, and will remain for export. All over the world, large wide-body aircraft are not produced in such large volumes as traditional narrow-body aircraft,” the source said.
Finally, there is another extremely important reason why Russia should not be allowed to lose the technology for creating such liners. On the basis of this aircraft, it is possible to create third-generation air control centers, the so-called doomsday aircraft. They can be activated in the event of a nuclear war if the ground control structures are destroyed. The most famous of these specialized aircraft are the American E-4B based on the Boeing 747 liners and the Russian Il-80, developed on the basis of the passenger Il-86.
In fact, the wide-body Il-86, created back in the 70s, was technically a breakthrough in the Soviet aviation industry. But after the collapse of the Soviet Union, they simply forgot about it: there was not enough money, and the technological chains were broken.
In modern Russia, the IL-96-300 was used only by Aeroflot (it had long since withdrawn from its fleet) and the bankrupt airline Transaero. Although several aircraft are still available in the fleet of the Presidential Administration and in the state-owned Cuban airline.
The place of its own large liner was taken by foreign competitors, mainly used Airbus (A310, 340) and Boeing (747, 767, 777). There is even a version that the trouble was not even that imported liners were more economical and competitive than ours, but that the Americans and Europeans gave a conditional 10% of the deal for each ordered batch of their aircraft (simply bribed). Even so, the only way to change the situation in the near future is through market-based measures, making the Russian offer more attractive.
The main thing is that the state should not cross the border and decide to force Russian airlines to buy the Il-96-400M under duress without any apparent need. “If there is no imposition of a non-competitive aircraft for now on everyone and everything, then everything is fine. After all, airlines have to make money,” says Gusarov. Another thing is if favorable conditions for the purchase and ownership of such aircraft are offered to airlines, and they themselves want to switch to their operation.
A source in the aviation industry told the newspaper VIEW and the estimated cost of the future car. In terms of price - 7 billion rubles, or $ 120 million - the Il-96-400M already looks attractive, at least at the current ruble exchange rate. “It turns out that we are selling a wide-body aircraft at the price of a narrow-body aircraft. This is the approximate price of a narrow-body A-320,” notes Gusarov. However, for airlines, it is important how much it will cost to own an aircraft as a whole over the entire period of its operation. When the PD-35 engine appears, this cost may turn out to be no worse than Western counterparts. And by that time, Russian airlines will just need to replenish the fleet with wide-body airliners. For example, according to Kommersant, Aeroflot will retire all 22 Airbus 330s and four out of 15 Boeing 777s by 2025.
The history of domestic airbuses, now they are more often called wide-body aircraft, begins in 1967, when in October the Decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR was issued, which launched the development of the first Soviet medium-haul wide-body aircraft Il-86 with a passenger capacity of 350 people.
The first domestic airbus Il-86
The design of the aircraft was entrusted to the Design Bureau. Ilyushin. At the initial stage, a variant of the Il-62-250 increased to 250 seats with a fuselage extended by 6.8 meters was worked out. This project did not receive further development. To accommodate 350 passengers, it was necessary to increase the number of seats in a row, and in order to maintain the level of comfort achieved on the IL-62, options for a double-deck aircraft and a single-deck aircraft with an oval fuselage and two separate passenger cabins were worked out. These studies also remained only on paper.
February 22, 1970 OKB im. Ilyushin was issued a technical assignment for the development of a wide-body passenger aircraft with 350 seats. On March 9, 1972, the Council of Ministers of the USSR adopted Resolution No. 168-68 on the start of work on the Il-86 aircraft. A distinctive feature of the first Soviet airbus was the possibility of carrying luggage on the principle of "luggage with you." Together with TsAGI, an extensive set of studies was carried out to select the fuselage diameter. As a result, a fuselage was designed with nine seats in a row and two wide aisles. The wing was equipped with slats and triple-slotted flaps, which were later replaced by double-slotted ones. Such mechanization provided high lift and made it possible to take off from relatively short runways.
The first flight of the experimental IL-86 was performed on December 22, 1976. In June 1977, the aircraft was shown at the Le Bourget air show. Factory tests were completed at the end of September 1978, after which certification tests began. The application for a certificate of airworthiness was submitted on May 15, 1974, and the certificate itself was received on December 24, 1980. Two days later, the Il-86 performed the first regular flight on the route Moscow - Tashkent - Moscow.
For more than 30 years, this comfortable handsome giant has been carrying passengers on the busiest air routes. In the 80s, the Ilyushin Design Bureau received the State Prize for its creation.
At the beginning of 2017, four Il-86 aircraft were in operation. All of them were used in the Air Force of the country and did not carry out passenger transportation. A total of 104 serial aircraft and two prototypes were produced.
IL-86 RA-86140 , SVO, October 4, 2009 Before the flight Moscow - Hurghada - Moscow
Wide-body long-haul aircraft Il-96-300
With the growth in the volume of air transportation in the Soviet Union, the need arose to create a domestic long-haul aircraft with a large capacity. In foreign airlines, a significant part of the fleet of long-haul aircraft was made up of wide-body liners, which provided passengers with a significantly higher level of comfort than long-range narrow-body aircraft during many-hour flights.
Initially, it was assumed that the long-haul airbus would be a further development of the Il-86 aircraft and retain the maximum possible structural commonality with it. In accordance with this approach, the new aircraft, which received the designation Il-86D ("long-range"), had the same design of the fuselage, plumage, and main on-board functional systems as the Il-86. This made it possible to reduce the time for creating a new machine, to quickly introduce it into mass production in parallel with the production of the Il-86 aircraft. The Il-86D differed from its predecessor only in the wing area (470 m 2) and new NK-56 engines with a high bypass ratio and low specific fuel consumption in cruising flight.
In 1978, using the results of the Il-86D project, the Design Bureau began to develop the Il-96 aircraft with a T-tail, a supercritical high aspect ratio wing and an area of 387 m 2 . The development of such a variant of a long-haul airbus was carried out at the Design Bureau until 1983. By this time, progress had been made in the field of aviation science and aircraft construction, which made it possible to abandon the idea of creating the Il-96 aircraft using many ready-made units and systems of the Il-86 aircraft in its design. The design bureau decided to develop a fundamentally new Il-96-300 wide-body aircraft.
Initially, it was planned to equip the new aircraft with four NK-56 engines with a take-off thrust of 18,000 kgf each. But due to numerous complex and contradictory reasons, the Minister of Aviation Industry I.S. Silaev, by his forceful decision, relied on the D-90 (PS-90) engine, which was common for passenger aviation, developed by the Perm Design Bureau under the leadership of P.A. Solovyov. An order was given to stop the development of NK-56, at the same time OKB im. S.V. Ilyushin was instructed to redesign the Il-96 for four D-90 engines. The thrust of the developed Permian engine (13500 kgf) was insufficient. At the request of "Ila", P.A. Solovyov agreed to bring it up to 16,000 kgf.
The Ilyushins had to reduce the length of the aircraft, abandon the T-tail and increase the keel area by increasing its height by one and a half meters. The need to increase the vertical tail area was determined by the requirement to ensure directional stability in the event of a single engine failure. The wing span was increased to 60 m and its sweep was reduced, while the wing area was reduced to 350 m 2 . Winglets appeared on the wingtips with a height of 3.1 meters and an angle of deviation from the horizontal axis of 15 o.
Wing and airframe design
The Il-96-300 wing is equipped with complex and efficient take-off and landing mechanization, consisting of slats along its entire span, internal double-slotted and external single-slotted flaps, as well as transverse controls: internal ailerons and spoilers. In order to reduce the wear of the power elements of the wing and make the aircraft more resistant to turbulence, a wing vibration damping system was developed, in which external ailerons operating in automatic mode are involved, they do not participate in the lateral control of the aircraft, internal ailerons control roll.
The design of the power wing box was developed using monolithic prefabricated panels with a higher level of design stresses than on the IL-86 while ensuring the required strength, service life and survivability. This was achieved by using new materials in the construction of the panels, both with increased fracture toughness, low-cycle fatigue, with low crack growth rates, and high-strength materials with increased tensile strength and good fatigue characteristics.
To reduce the number of longitudinal and transverse joints, which are the main source of fatigue cracks, long and wide semi-finished products are used in the airframe design of the Il-96-300 aircraft. Another feature of the wing is the large scope of honeycomb structures. They are used to make the nose and tail parts of the wing, landing gear doors, various elements of wing mechanization: spoilers, ailerons, part of the flaps.
In order to reduce the frontal resistance of the engine nacelles, thrust losses and, ultimately, to reduce fuel consumption in cruising flight, the IL-96-300 engine nacelles have smooth, rather than stepped external contours, which are typical for engine nacelles with a high bypass ratio, which previously installed on domestic and foreign aircraft. And although the gain from nacelles of this form is relatively small, it is expressed in very significant fuel savings when performing long-distance flights.
The fuselage of the Il-96-300 has the same diameter as that of the Il-86 - 6.08 m. However, the design of the fuselage has been significantly changed to increase its reliability, ensure safety in case of damage, reduce the crack growth rate, ensure a given resource, reduce weight and improve quality of the outer surface.
Reducing the length of the fuselage led to a reduction in passenger capacity. The different layout of the passenger cabin provides for a capacity of 235 to 300 people. The standard layout of the economy class allows you to place 300 seats in two salons: in the first - 66 and in the second - 234 seats with a step of 870 mm, nine in a row with two aisles 550 mm wide. The layout for 235 seats provides for a three-class cabin: in the first class - 22 seats with a pitch of 1020 mm, in business class - 40 seats and in economy class - 173.
Cockpit, avionics and equipment
The IL-96 uses a glass cockpit control system, which includes a modern Russian digital avionics complex with six color multifunctional displays, an electric remote control system with a backup mechanical control system, an inertial navigation system and satellite navigation aids. The aircraft is equipped with an integrated system for issuing information to the crew on monitors about the operation of the liner's systems. The airborne flight and navigation complex provides almost complete automation of aircraft navigation in difficult meteorological conditions over any areas of the globe and automatic landing in conditions corresponding to ICAO category IIIA. The aircraft is operated by a crew of three: the aircraft commander, co-pilot and flight engineer.
When developing the cockpit, the Ilyushin Design Bureau engineers were tasked with reducing pilot fatigue during long-term work on a long-distance flight for many hours, increasing the reliability, safety and regularity of flights. As on the IL-86, the well-proven principle of the forward-looking crew, placed in a single group, is used here, which ensures mutual control and mutual assistance between its members. All means of displaying information and controls are placed in accessible and visible places. This approach required the integration of individual signaling devices, indicators and controls into a single multifunctional information and control system that provides the issuance of signals (light, sound, speech), display of the parameters of the flight and navigation complex, power plant and aircraft systems, as well as control of the operation of systems and onboard equipment.
The use of multi-channel redundant systems on the IL-96-300 with automatic shutdown or switching of faulty channels basically frees the crew from any actions in the event of failures. The information display system notifies the crew of a failure that has occurred, and only in some cases the crew needs to manually duplicate the operation of the automation. Only in some cases, when untimely activation or deactivation of the most critical systems, such as engines or the second and third stages of fire extinguishing, can significantly affect flight safety, automation is not used and the decision is made by the crew.
All information about the operation of on-board systems, as well as the indication of data necessary for piloting and navigation, are combined into a single information display system, which is based on two subsystems - on-screen display and complex information signaling.
Cockpit Il-96-300 The on-screen display system is part of the flight and navigation complex and its main means of presenting information to the crew are four color on-screen indicators along the edges of the dashboard, two of which are intended for the commander of the ship and two for the co-pilot. Each pair of these indicators consists of an integrated flight display and an integrated navigational situation display, which provide the crew with the information necessary for piloting the aircraft and navigating.
Indicators of the integrated alarm information system are located in the middle part of the dashboard. The right screen is intended mainly for indicating the parameters of the engines, and the left one is for signal information.
In addition, it is possible to manually call each of these screens of any information that the system has. It has memory devices that allow, after the flight, to display on the screens information about the failures and malfunctions of the on-board systems that occurred during the flight. For operational documentation of failures and malfunctions, there is a printing device on board the aircraft, which, if necessary, issues a form with a list of systems and assemblies that failed in flight for ground service personnel and crew.
The fuel system of the Il-96-300 was developed on the basis of the fuel system of its predecessor, the Il-86. The fuel system works automatically, without requiring the participation of the crew, and only if necessary, manual control is provided. Fuel is located in nine caisson wing tanks, of which eight are located in the wing consoles and one in the center section.
The fuel system is made separate for each of the four engines, in turn, each engine is fed with fuel from the supply section of its tank. Consumable compartments are filled with fuel throughout the flight, which ensures its reliable supply to the engines in all flight modes. The development of fuel from the cantilever tanks is carried out with a delay to unload the wing and increase the critical flutter speed.
The landing gear of the Il-96-300 consists of three main supports located behind the center of gravity of the aircraft, and a front support located in the forward fuselage. Each of the three main legs is equipped with a four-wheel bogie with brake wheels, and the front leg has two non-brake wheels. All fourteen wheels are of the same size 1300x480 mm and the pressure in the tires is 11.5 kg / cm 2.
The current state of the IL-96 program
As of January 1, 2017, 15 Il-96 aircraft were in operation. Of these, 4 airliners in the Il-96-300 version are operated by the Cuban national airline Cubana de Aviacion (one of them is in storage), two Il-96-400 and 9 Il-96-300 aircraft are in the special flight squad "Russia" . Aircraft are used to transport top officials (RA-96019, RA-96102). The Il-96-300PU aircraft, tail number RA-96019, is Aircraft No. 1, the Control Center, on which the President of the country flies, aircraft RA-96102 is intended for the Minister of Defense.
The Il-96-400T aircraft is a cargo modification of the Il-96-300. The length of the fuselage of the Il-96-400T aircraft has been increased by 9.35 m compared to the basic Il-96-300 aircraft.
The main difference between the Il-96-400T cargo aircraft and its passenger version is that the passenger cabin has been converted into a cargo cabin with a reinforced cabin floor and with the installation of additional rails for attaching floor mechanization designed for loading and unloading international aviation pallets and containers. The layout of the cargo deck of the IL-96-400T allows the use of various loading schemes and means of packing when placing cargo. The maximum payload is 92 tons.
Regular passenger traffic in our country is not carried out on this type of aircraft. At the end of 2013, Aeroflot management proposed to the company's board of directors to abandon the operation of the Il-96, motivating their proposal with economic considerations.
On March 30, 2014, an Il-96-300 liner of Aeroflot airlines with tail number RA-96008, flying from Tashkent, made its last landing at Sheremetyevo Airport. These planes did not carry passengers on regular flights anymore.
As of January 1, 2017, five Il-96s were being built in the assembly shops of the Voronezh Joint-Stock Aircraft Building Company (VASO) - three Il-96-400T and two Il-96-300, UAC plans to produce two or three aircraft per year for period up to 2023-2025.
PJSC Il, on the instructions of the Ministry of Defense, developed the Il-96-400TZ tanker based on the Il-96-400T cargo modification. It was planned that it would be a "clean" tanker with an overhead tank, capable of transferring over 65 tons of fuel at a distance of up to 3.5 thousand km from its base airfield. However, in May 2018, it became known that the military department abandoned the development of this machine in favor of the Il-78M-90A 2 tanker.
| Il-96-400M aircraft | ||
| Dimensions | ||
|---|---|---|
| wingspan (m) | 60,105 | |
| aircraft length (m) | 63,939 | |
| aircraft height (m) | 15,717 | |
| wing area (m 2) | 350 | |
| wing sweep angle along the 1/4 chord line (deg) | 30 | |
| fuselage diameter (m) | 6,08 | |
| Main characteristics of the engine | ||
| engine number and model | 4 x PS-90A3M 1 | |
| maximum takeoff thrust, not less than (kgf) | 4 x 17400 | |
| ICAO compliance | App.16, Ch.4 | |
| Mass characteristics | ||
| maximum takeoff weight (t) | 265 | 58 |
| maximum capacity of fuel tanks (l) | 152620 | |
| Flight performance | ||
| cruising speed (km/h) | 870 | |
| flight range with the maximum number of passengers (km) | 10000 | |
| flight altitude (m) | 9000-12000 | |
| takeoff distance (m) | 2700 | |
| landing distance (m) | 1650 | |
| Number of places | ||
| flight crew | 3 (2) | |
| passenger | single-class layout - 436 two-class layout - 386 three-class layout - 315 |
|
IL-96-400M
There are only three manufacturers in the world that are capable of producing wide-body airliners - the American Boeing, the European Airbus and the Russian Ilyushin. And the Euro-Atlantic duopoly has absolutely no need for a competitor in the face of our country.
In the years after the collapse of the USSR, Russia has lost a lot in the field of civil aviation. Often the positions of the industry surrendered voluntarily, but for the most part, the anti-industrial lobby made a lot of efforts to destroy the Russian aviation industry. We now have the results of this "fruitful" work - the vast majority of aircraft in Russian airlines are of foreign manufacture.
In 2010, the most experienced pilot of Aeroflot, who had flown over 20 thousand hours, the crew commander of the Il-96, Vladimir Salnikov, said that Airbus directly states in the contract for the sale of aircraft: the intermediary receives 10 percent of the transaction amount. The Boeing Corporation is not at all embarrassed to report that in 2009 it spent $72 million bribing officials in the CIS. And if, for example, Aeroflot buys several Boeings or Airbuses for a billion dollars instead of Il-96s, 100 million of them will immediately go into the pockets of interested people.
In addition to direct bribery of officials, efforts are also being made to restrict flights for domestic aircraft to Europe and the United States, and such restrictions did not begin yesterday. Suffice it to recall the end of the 50s, when a ban on jet aircraft with two engines was introduced in Europe in order to increase safety. This measure was a response to the appearance in the USSR of the breakthrough jet passenger liner Tu-104. To overcome this limitation, the Tupolev Design Bureau had to develop the Tu-110 aircraft with four engines.
The sanctions introduced in 2014 and constantly extended by Washington and Brussels are aimed, among other things, at restricting the import of new technologies into Russia that our country does not possess. In such conditions, Russia has no choice but to take care of strengthening the defense and the means of maintaining air communication between the European part of the country and its eastern borders. We need an updated version of the wide-body long-haul airliner.
Reports on the resumption of production of the Il-96 in the Il-96-400M version and the development of the ShFDMS project - a wide-body long-range aircraft, appeared almost simultaneously in 2014-2015. Initially, it was not entirely clear why it was necessary to develop two similar aircraft. Complete clarity was introduced in September 2016 by Dmitry Rogozin, who, during a visit to Voronezh, said that in the period before the creation of a strategically new passenger aircraft (Russian-Chinese CR929), and this is approximately 2027, the Il-96-400M will cover the main needs of Russia as on long-haul flights to the Far East from the European part, as well as charter flights during the holiday season to those countries that need large-capacity aircraft.
The Il-96-400M was developed on the basis of the transport version "-400T", so its fuselage will be 9.35 meters longer compared to the base aircraft Il-96-300 and will be 63.939 meters.
The main differences between the "-400M" version and previous modifications are two pilots in the cockpit and the replacement of the PS-90A1 engines with the next-generation PD-14M engines, which develops a take-off thrust of 16-17 tons. As you know, the basic PD-14 with a thrust of 14 tons was developed for installation on the MS-21 airliner, and the version with the M index is being developed for the Il-214 military transport aircraft (in June 2017, the Il-214 aircraft (MTA / SVTS) received official name IL-276 1). Replacing the PS-90A1 with the PD-14M promises a significant reduction in fuel consumption and maintenance costs for the power plant.
Russian Aviation Note: information about the prospective replacement of the engine was taken from the magazine UAC "Horizons" No. 4 2016 (# 12) p. 31, where these data are given by Olga Kruglyakova, deputy head of the preliminary design bureau of the Il company. In our opinion, the power of the PD-14M is not enough for the new IL-96, and we can talk about promising PD-18R with a take-off thrust of 18-20 tf. Probably, until a new engine with a thrust of at least 18 tf is created, tested and certified, the same time-tested PS-90A1 will be installed on the aircraft.
In early March 2017, Alexander Inozemtsev, General Director of the Perm Aviadvigatel, announced that the PS-90A1 engine would be upgraded to the PS-90A3M version, which would eventually be installed on the Il-96-400M 1.
The reconfiguration of the passenger cabin will further improve the fuel efficiency of the aircraft. In the presence of a business class, the capacity will be 370 seats, and in the economy version - 436.
These improvements will bring the Il-96-400M closer in terms of operating economy to the popular Western models Airbus A330-300 and Boeing 777-200.
OKB im. Ilyushina compared the Il-96-400M, in the version for 332 passenger seats, and the serial Airbus A330. Calculations showed that, taking into account the whole range of planned improvements, the PER indicator (direct operating costs, in the Western manner - direct operational costs, DOC) is almost equal. “The planes turned out to be close in terms of operating economy. And taking into account the difference in prices due to the change in the exchange rate, the Russian car is reaching a competitive level, ”says Nikolay Talikov, General Designer of Ila.
It is not expected to make any other major changes to the time-tested airframe and systems. Also, no additional testing is required. The aircraft has a high proven design life of 70,000 hours. The maximum takeoff weight of the aircraft was successively increased from 235 to 250 and then to 270 tons. It won't go up any further either.
In 2019, the first prototype of the Il-96-400M passenger aircraft will be assembled at the facilities of VASO, at the same time the aircraft will receive a new designation - Il-496, according to reports from PJSC "IL", a fundamental decision on this has already been made 3 , for the implementation of the project production of Il-96-400M for the period until 2021, it is planned to allocate about 50 billion rubles. From 2020 to 2023, the State Transport Leasing Company (STLC) is to accept five new aircraft. It is expected that they will be operated on the lines between Moscow and Vladivostok with Khabarovsk.
On January 18, 2019, Alexei Rogozin, General Director of PJSC Il, outlined priorities for the year, one of which was the launch of the Il-96-400M 4 wide-body long-haul passenger aircraft into mass production.
In the spring of 2018, VASO began manufacturing parts for the first prototype Il-96-400M. At the same time, the slipway for assembling the fuselage of the aircraft, which had previously occupied the fuselage of the unfinished fifth Il-96-400T, was released. The production of the prototype Il-96-400M should be completed before the end of 2019, in the first half of 2020, preliminary and certification tests of the liner will take place, which by June 2020 should be completed with the issuance of an addition to the type certificate - approval of the main design change 3.
