Warszawa 2013-06-26
Iliuszyn Ił-86.
Continuation of the previous chapter.
The production of the Iliuszyn Il-86 aircraft and the Polish case.
That Soviet industry had problems with production was a known secret. The only department of aviation production that always had the green light was front-line combat machines. CCCP lacked raw materials and prefabricated elements. The factories were very fragmented, and the transport between them was poor. The lack of production capacity may have been partly facilitated by international cooperation. At that time, the Soviets supported themselves with the organization of Comecon (Council for Mutual Economic Assistance). In fact, it was a political organization, not an economic one, ensuring the realization of the interests of the rulers in the Kremlin. Through Comecon, the Polish Aviation Industry was involved in the implementation of the Il-86 program. The Soviets gained production capacity (paying with transfer rubles, not convertible to hard currency, i.e. currency from the free world) and a future market. In addition to Poland, the industry of Czechoslovakia, which produced passenger seats, and the GDR were also involved in cooperation.
Program progress.
The process of managing the Il-86 program was led by Genrikh Novozhilov, who became the successor of Sergei Ilyushin. In 1973, he announced another program schedule. The first flight was scheduled for 1976, and the entry into service was to take place in time for the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow. At the same time, in 1973, the basic data of the aircraft were confirmed; span 48.30 m, length 58.50 m, maximum take-off weight 190,000 kg, range approximately 5,000 km, maximum speed 950 km/h.
The first two examples were built at the experimental plant of the Ilyushin Bureau. The first with the registration CCCP-86000 nb 347. The number 347 was removed after time. The second copy from nb 348, to this day (2012) is an exhibit in Moscow. A third airframe was also built and used for fatigue testing. The remaining machines were built in Voronezh.
The first flight of the aircraft was made on December 22, 1976, at the Khodynka airport near Moscow, where the Frunze aviation center existed. 7 km from the city center in the north-western direction. The captain of the test crew was test pilot Alexander Kuznetsov.
Khodynka Airport was the oldest airport in Moscow, opened in 1920, and until 1941, the only one. Currently, the airport is liquidated and its area is built up. Air traffic was stopped around 1995. In 2010, there were still planes that were supposed to be museum exhibits. The museum was not established. The Frunze Aviation Center was a research center for the Sukhoi, Mil, Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureaus. The testing facility for Mikoyan-Guriveich's office was moved 140 km from Moscow to the city of Luchowits (Луховицы).
The flight of the Il-86 aircraft was carried out at risk, because the aircraft was not completed. The plan had to be carried out. The plane did not yet have a large part of the equipment, including navigation. If the departure had not been carried out, there would have been financial problems, because funds were distributed for the tasks performed. The constructors could also incur party penalties, which could translate into official demotions.
Success propaganda.
The designers of the Il-86 program claimed that more than 50 new technological processes were used in the aircraft. One of them was to be a wing leading edge de-icing system based on electromagnetic pulses. This system was to use 500 times less energy than conventional systems. Finally, the way to remove ice is conventional, using hot air.
It doesn't end there. The initial flight test program was completed two months ahead of schedule on October 20, 1978. Other sources claim that these studies were completed on September 22, 1978. They almost say that the tests were completed before the plane took off. However, according to the original schedule, the flight tests should have been completed on November 7, 1977, the 60th anniversary of the October (Bolshevik) Revolution.
After the failure to obtain aircraft components in the West, an image of concern for the reliability of the aircraft was announced. Therefore, "the construction uses as many assemblies and systems that have already been well tested in operation in previously built machines." (statement by Genrikh Novozhilov. ). Particular attention was paid to the control system. "The aerobus does not lose control even with virtually improbable damage, such as jamming of a part of the control surfaces or tearing off one of the control cables." (statement by Genrikh Novozhilov. ). Admittedly, the control system has been doubled. But the statements show that it was already outdated at the time of design. There are no hydraulic or electrical subsystems, just hydraulic amplifiers and steel tie rods.
Repeatedly, Genrikh Novozylov emphasized that the Il-86 is the third generation of passenger aircraft with the Il mark (first generation piston engines - Il-12/14, second generation turboprop engines - Il-18, third generation turbojet engines - Il-62). However, the Il-86 is only the level of the Il-62.
Program effects and production.
The first stage of flight tests was completed after 6 months on June 6, 1977. Aerodynamic properties turned out to be better than calculated. The aircraft reached a maximum speed of Mach 0.93. Banking, without losing altitude, was 10 percent better.
Then came the period of retrofitting the aircraft and removing the revealed defects. This period lasted a long time. Presumably, they still hoped to acquire components from the Western market.
On April 24, 1979, state acceptance tests began, which were completed only on December 24, 1980, i.e. after the Olympic Games in Moscow. The certificate was issued by the State Aviation Register CCCP (Aвиационный Pеестр CCCP) and bears No. 10-86 and meant that from December 26, 1980, the aircraft is approved for passenger flights.
The structure has been certified for 20 years with the possibility of extension to 25 years, or 10,000 landing operations with the possibility of increasing to 20,000 operations, or 30,000 flight hours with the possibility of extension to 35,000 flight hours. The aircraft has a maximum taxi weight of 207,000 kg, a maximum take-off weight of 206,000 kg, and an empty weight of the aircraft of 114,000 kg. The maximum fuel reserve is 90,000 kg, which is enough for 9.5-11 hours of flight, with an average fuel consumption of 8,000 kg to 9,500 kg of fuel per hour of flight. The aircraft has a maximum commercial capacity of 42,000 kg (passenger weight is rated at 26,200 kg, baggage weight 5,250 kg, cargo and mail weight 10,550 kg). The designers provided for the following weight distribution; three pilots - 240 kg, cabin crew - 700 kg, passenger cabin equipment - 580 kg, auxiliary room equipment (kitchens, toilets) - 1,584 kg, groceries - 340 kg, service luggage - 130 kg, emergency and rescue equipment - 691 kg, on-board transport equipment (nets, ropes, locks) - 47 kg. The ratio of freight weight to maximum weight is 20.4 percent to 100 percent.
On September 22, 1981, the crew with Captain G. Wołkow set 7 international records in one flight, and on September 23 (24) 1981, another 11 international records. For the sake of accuracy, it must be stated that at that time the free world was no longer playing this type of record. Nevertheless, records were recorded by the FAI organization.
It should be noted that the Il-86 program did not provide for the construction of prototypes. The idea was to save funds and speed up the programme. However, that did not happen. The program lasted over 10 years.
Production of the Il-86 lasted from 1976 to 1991. It was carried out at Factory No. 64 in Voronezh (currently 2012 - Vaso). Three units were built immediately. The first of them made its first flight on October 25, 1977. These first three machines were used for model certification.
Production; 1 - 1977 (CCCP-86003 No. 51483200001), 2nd – 1978, 1st – 1979, 2nd – 1980, 4th – 1981, 11th – 1982, 12th – 1983, 8th – 1984, 9 (including 4 for Adon ) - 1985, 11 - 1986, 10 - 1987, 10 - 1988, 9 - 1989, 11 (3 for China) - 1990, 1 - 1991 A total of 106 aircraft were built. Plans to build another 40 machines did not come true. In their place, the successor of the Il-96 began to be built.
A simulator was developed for the Il-86 aircraft. Today it looks primitive, but at that time it was the best product that Soviet industry could afford. Given that it is not managed by any computer system. Its main task was to master the take-off and landing phases at specific airports by the crews, taking into account the weather conditions according to ICAO 1 and 2 categories. The basis was mock-ups of airports made in an appropriate scale. A movable camera was placed on a special guide, which transmitted the image to the screen for the cockpit simulator. The cabin simulator itself had almost all the gauges found in a real cabin. The crew consisted of only two pilots.
Production of Il-86 aircraft and cooperation with Poland.
Talks about placing part of the production of Il-86 aircraft in PZL Mielec have been going on since 1975. The program included the transfer of technology to Poland. He forced the execution of significant investments in Mielec, which was a revolution for the company. The new technologies included; titanium machining, chemical treatments, machining of large panel elements.
From May 1977, the PZL Mielec plant produced all aircraft control surfaces. As a result, 20% of the control surfaces of all Il-86 aircraft were produced in Poland.
In 1979, one of the Il-86 aircraft landed at Okęcie Airport. The arrival was related to the promotion of the aircraft on the Polish market, due to the ongoing talks regarding the purchase of these machines for PLL LOT. The talks were so advanced that the Soviet side officially talked about the delivery of PLL LOT planes in 1981, and this will be the first copy delivered abroad. The Polish side, at that time, did not take an official position. It should also be noted that the purchase was to take place on a barter basis, i.e. the aircraft would be payment for components delivered by Poland. The Polish side did not like it, because PZL Mielec had to buy machine tools with hard currency and this investment did not pay off. On the second day of Aerobus' stay in Poland, a press conference was held in its second cabin (141 seats).
From 1980, it was planned to produce entire wings and entire empennage. However, social unrest and the creation of NSZZ Solidarność caused fear in the Kremlin. The factory in Voronezh decided to keep the production of entire wings for the Il-86 at home, despite the slowdown in production.
In 1980, an exhibition of Polish aviation production was organized in Warsaw. In addition to the aircraft, subassemblies made for the Il-86 aircraft were demonstrated. One set of parts weighed over 5,000 kg.
What was produced in PZL Mielec?:
1 Complete vertical tail. It had a height of 8.52 m, a base length of 9.40 m, an area of 56.06 square meters, a total weight of 1,920 kg, and the rudder tilted up to 27 degrees to each side. Construction Semi-monocoque, double-girder, all-metal. Hull mounting nodes made of titanium alloys. Rudder suspension nodes made of duralumin forgings. Chemically milled inter-girder cover. Covering of the trailing parts with honeycomb filler. Metal, single-girder rudders.
2 Horizontal tail. It had a span of 20.57 m, an area of 96.50 square meters, a total weight of 3,020 kg, a rudder weight of 295 kg, a rudder deflection of 25 degrees up, 15 degrees down. Half-shell, girder, metal construction. Knots made of duralumin forgings. Chemically milled inter-girder cover. Flowing parts with honeycomb filler. Floating tail (variable angle of attack).
3 Engine booms. They had the following dimensions; 1.10 m x 1.40 m x 8.40 m. Weight of inner boom 430 kg, outer boom 360 kg. The power elements in the booms are made of titanium (frames and stringers). The outriggers have two nodes for connecting to the wing and three nodes for connecting to the engine. The nodes are made of high-strength steel. The booms in the rear were made with honeycomb fillers.
4 The gills had an overall length of 26.016 m, a maximum width of 1.852 m, and a weight of 380 kg. The gills consisted of two symmetrical bands; right and left. Each assembly consists of 6 segments connected by bolts. The gills are extended by means of screw mechanisms on rails made of titanium. The basic material from which the gills were made was duralumin.
5 Screw mechanisms are special screws made of steel that has been hardened by nitriding. Chrome-nickel-tungsten steel. Through four bearing balls, the screw connects to the nut made of the same material. The precision of the manufactured elements ranged from 15 thousandths of a millimeter to two thousandths of a millimeter, i.e. 15 - 2 um. The screws had a length of 0.50 m to 1.20 m.
The elements made in Poland were of very high quality. None of the elements were rejected by the Voronezh plant.
Operation history.
Flights were inaugurated on December 26, 1980, on the Moscow - Tashkent route, and at the beginning of 1981, regular flights were launched on the Moscow - Mineralnye Vody route. In total, the plane went to the 27 most important routes in the CCCP area.
Only in June 1981, Il-86 aircraft began to fly to Eastern European countries. The first route was the Moscow - Berlin line. The planes set off for Western Europe in October 1981, in accordance with Aeroflot's winter flight schedule. Charter flights started in 1982.
Probably in the spring of 1983, Il-86 planes began spectacular flights to Cuba to Havana. Now it was possible to convince yourself of the capabilities of the machine. Unfortunately, the range of the machine required a correction of the route and two stopovers. The planes took off from the newly commissioned Terminal II at Sheremetyevo Airport (The terminal was built for the 1980 Olympics). The first leg, approximately 2,950 km, ended with a landing at Shannon Airport in Ireland. After about 3 hours 50 minutes of flight. After refuelling, the aircraft took off for a second leg of approximately 3,380 km to Gander, Newfoundland, Canada. About 4 hours 20 minutes flight. Refueling again and take off for the third leg to Havana, approximately 3,060 km long. About 4 hours of flight. The flight itself is 12 hours 10 minutes, but it was dependent on the weather conditions, especially the wind. (And the direction of the flight itself, due to the rotation of the Earth. It is faster to cover the distance from east to west. ). It turned out to be unrealistic to stay at stage airports for less than 50 minutes. It was good if the plane took off after two hours. All because of the inconsistency of Russian regulations with those in force in the free world. So if the plane made it to Havana in 16 hours, that was a good result. It should also be noted that the location of the stage airports was favorable and the route was not too far from the shortest one.
By 1988, for 8 years, Il-86 aircraft carried 30 million passengers. After the collapse of the CCCP in 1991, Il-86 aircraft appeared in the colors of the airlines of the former republics.
Since April 2002, the European Union and the USA began to limit the issuance of permits for the arrival of Il-86 machines to their countries, due to the excessively high noise level.
On January 23, 2006, at Aeroflot, Deputy General Director Igor Desyatchenko said that the Il-86 was to be decommissioned by November 15, 2006. Nevertheless, these planes can still be found on Asian and African routes. They were withdrawn in 2010. Only machines in service with the army remained in operation.
The system - baggage in the manual system - worked only partially. Most travelers preferred to leave their suitcases at the terminal check. Otherwise, it would take hours for the passengers themselves to load their luggage onto the plane before they could get it to the shelf. The problem, however, was that there was no difference in the price of the ticket. There was also no hand luggage system, as is the case with low-cost airlines, which is reflected in the ticket price.
The observations and comments of travelers were interesting. They positively perceived the boarding ramps to the plane. Going up the 12 steps with two suitcases is not a problem as the stairs are wide. Then there is a large corridor of 7.5 square meters (each of three). A single 11-step staircase leads to the cabins, where two people can easily pass each other. The constructors promised that a bar would be set up in one of the lower corridors when the aircraft entered the western lines. The passenger cabin is equipped with four (two on each side) emergency exits equipped with inflatable slides. The constructors announced that 350 people would be able to leave the aircraft in an emergency within 90 seconds, using the exits on one side only. Observing the tests conducted by Western aviation companies, we claim that this was a lie, and the tests on the Il-86 aircraft were not actually carried out.
Passenger cabins are equipped with 21-inch overhead cinema screens. These screens were cathode ray tubes, just like ordinary TV sets used in private homes at that time. These screens were not designed to withstand shocks and broke quickly. Lack of funds meant that they were not repaired or replaced. Each passenger had at his disposal individual headphones equipped with switches with 12 radio channels. This miracle of technology also did not last long and the headphones were quickly liquidated.
The 3-person crew system also failed in the Il-86 aircraft. In fact, the crew consisted of 4 people. The fourth person was the navigator and always occupied the middle (additional) seat intended for the so-called observer. This navigator had no instruments of his own. It used pilots' switchboards. Its most important role was to read instruments during the landing approach, allowing the pilots to focus on observing the terrain through the windows.
The Il-86 was very willingly used by the army. Good take-off and landing parameters allowed the use of almost all Russian airports. Individual gangways allowed for loading soldiers without special airport equipment.
In the mid-1980s, four No.; 86146 - 042, 86147 - 043, 86148 - 046, 86149 - 048 were delivered to the 8th Special Aviation Regiment. Presumably, they were converted into flying command posts, as evidenced by the additional antennas. Nevertheless, the aircraft continued to carry civilian registrations.
The Germans from the GDR did a good job. As part of the deliveries under Comecon regulations, four Il-86s were allocated as barter for component production. In 1987, the East German carrier Interflug announced that it was ready to accept the first two Il-86 aircraft. They even granted them registrations; DDR-AAA and DDR-AAB. Instead of these machines in 1988, the Germans adopted two A 310 aircraft.
Data T-T Iliuszyn Ił-86:
Span 48.06 m. Length 59.54 m. Height 15.81 m. Bearing area 320 square meters. Maximum weight 206,000 kg. Load weight 42,000 kg. Landing weight 175,000 kg. Fuel 86,000 kg (83,676 liters). Top speed Mach 0.88 (950 km/h). Cruising speed 850 - 900 km/h. Landing speed 240 - 260 km/h. Maximum reach 4,600 kg. Range with a load of 3,600 - 3,800 km. The take-off length of the aircraft is 2,300 m. The landing length is 2,600 m.
Aircraft engines: NK-86 with 4 x 127.5 kN thrust.
106 Il-86 aircraft were built. In Poland, the Il-86 and Il-96 aircraft were not operated. The Polish Aviation Industry participated in their production.
Written by Karol Placha Hetman