The fleet of transport aircraft of the Russian Air Force is rapidly aging. This fact cannot leave indifferent the heads of the defense department, who are interested in the maximum mobility of the armed forces. Aircraft that have served as army “workhorses” for decades are gradually wearing out, spare parts for them are becoming less accessible, and the engine life, with all the reliability of Anov, is far from endless. Advances in technology also contribute to the growing needs of both civilian carriers and their military counterparts. Everyone is waiting for a new aircraft, and there is some reason to believe that the Il-112 will become the new "draft force". It is not yet “in metal”, it exists only on paper, but in our technological time everything happens very quickly.
From Antonov to Ilyushin
In the USSR, design bureau O.K. Antonova, located in the capital of the Ukrainian SSR Kiev. Oleg Konstantinovich was transferred to the capital of Soviet Ukraine in 1946 from Novosibirsk, where he headed the branch of the Yakovlev Design Bureau. Here Antonov created many wonderful aircraft, most of which still plow the skies over the CIS countries and far beyond. These machines are reliable, beautiful and "friendly" to the pilots, they "forgive" some control errors.
After the collapse of the USSR Design Bureau. OK. Antonov became Ukrainian, and it became increasingly difficult to solve the problems of the Russian armed forces in the field of transport aviation from year to year. In addition to political contradictions, many technical shortcomings interfere with the matter. Be that as it may, the leadership of the Russian Federation set the task: to build aircraft independently, without relying on foreign suppliers and developers. The Il-112 should become part of this strategy, the characteristics of which (in particular, a carrying capacity of six tons) will successfully replace the vast fleet of An-26, An-24T, An-32 and other vehicles that have been serving in our army for several decades.
Army criteria
In the mid-nineties, the issue of re-equipping transport aircraft was already quite acute. There were two main applicants for the supply of a new main model of light aircraft (5-6 tons). In general, the Ukrainian An-140 was suitable for Russian customers, but for a number of indicators it did not completely satisfy them. In particular, the army leadership insisted on the need for a ramp, which was very successful on the An-26, and was both a ramp and a lifting mechanism.
One of the main requirements was the possibility of operation on unpaved runways. To the greatest extent these declared parameters corresponded to the Il-112 aircraft, with only one caveat. The Ukrainian An-140 was already assembled, it could be touched, but the Russian aircraft existed only on paper and mock-ups.
General schematic
The structural-schematic approach shown by the designers of Ilyushin is interesting. All that was good (and there were many) at the Antonovs, they took over. In order to be convinced of this, it is enough to compare the formulas of the last two KB aircraft - Il-114 and Il-112. The first (by the way, it turned out to be not very successful) has a classic “Ilyushin” scheme, which is characterized by a low wing with two engine nacelles tested on the Il-12 and a round fuselage (monocoque) in cross section. This scheme, in turn, causing an association with the Douglas DS-3, was used in the design of the IL-18 and IL-38.
Other features are inherent in Antonov Design Bureau airplanes: the wing has an upper position, motors are suspended under it, the fuselage section on top includes a surface close to the half cylinder, and the bottom is almost even (half-monocoque). This is what the IL-112 looks like. The photos and sizes suggest the closeness of the ideologies of this aircraft with the An-24 and its subsequent modifications (An-26, An-30 and An-32).
Of course, this is not about plagiarism. Each aircraft structure is developed on the basis of technical specifications, and general ideas will lead to the appearance of similarly similar aircraft even if their appearance is kept in strict secrecy. It is impossible to say that the “Ilyushinites” copied something from the “Antonovites”. Moreover, so far they have not received any preferences.
Note that the problems plagued the IL-112 from the very beginning of the project.
Launch Issues
More than two decades ago, in 1993, an outline model of the aircraft was presented for discussion by the state commission. A year later, after the issuance of the government decree, the design of two versions of it began - military transport and passenger.
The original idea was to combine the efforts of the Bashkir oil industry and aircraft manufacturers. At the plant in Kumertau (Ka helicopters are being built there), it was planned to launch another, “airplane” line, financing the project through the sale of hydrocarbons. In an environment of "dashing nineties" from this venture, which at first promised success, unfortunately, nothing came of it.
Design Bureau specialists decided to deploy the production of IL-112 in Voronezh, at the VASO aircraft plant. The enthusiasm of the team was facilitated by the victory in the Air Force competition, in which the new machine had to withstand serious competition with transporters developed by real masters - Sukhoi Design Bureau, MiG RSK, Tupolev ASTC and Experimental Machine-Building Plant named after V.M. Myasishchev. Success seemed to be near.
Unexpected obstacles
The fate of the Il-112, however, was difficult. On the one hand, political and departmental reasons hindered the successful launch of the series. The project of deep modernization of the heavy transporter Il-76MD-90A absorbed too much budgetary funds, and therefore the then Minister of Defense Serdyukov suggested that developers search for their own sources of financing. This task was obviously difficult, if it had a solution at all, since foreign competitors came to the civil aviation market, and for the sake of what, in fact, the aircraft was developed (that is, a military order) did not bring money. On the other hand, another round of political trade began with Ukraine over the same An-140.
Technical problems
Although the task of raising funds in the absence of state funding was difficult, the Ilyushin firm solved it. The project was included in the state defense order taking into account the duration of the first flight. He was appointed for 2008, and then moved to 2010. The annual demand was estimated at 18 pieces.
But by this date, the developers failed to produce a result. There were several reasons, and they were purely technical in nature. The main thing was that the partners (the plant named after V.Ya. Klimov) could not provide the Il-112 with suitable engines.
The characteristics of the aircraft depend on its power plant. The power required for this aircraft is 3.5 thousand hp. (2 x 1.75 thousand), and the Klimovsky TV7-117ST engine developed only 1.4 thousand. In order to show the desired result, the new Ilu lacked 700 “horses”.
General information about the aircraft
So, now about the main thing, that is, about what the Il-112 is. This is an all-metal monoplane with a riveted connection of the main components made of titanium and precision duralumin, with some elements made of composite materials. The wing is high located, with two engine nacelles, its degree of mechanization is high, there are brake flaps to reduce the run-out. The fuselage is divided into three compartments. The cargo section (like everyone else) is sealed. Tail plumage T-shaped. The door is combined with a ladder, the ramp and ramp are in the rear. The chassis has five supports, the main racks are retracted into the side flows on the sides.
Flight characteristics
The speed of the new aircraft will be approximately the same as that of the An-24 or An-26 - from 480 (cruising) to 550 km / h. The ceiling is 7600 m, range - up to 1000 km, but takeoff and landing characteristics will significantly improve. In order to take off, Il will need an 870 m long airspace, and 600 m in order to land. Avionics has undergone major changes. It is assumed that the devices will be the most modern. The cargo compartment is spacious, its capacity exceeds the size of the cargo that the An-140 can carry.
How good is he?
IL-112 - the plane is not perfect, but we can confidently say that it is quite good. Provided that the engines are replaced with domestic VK-3500 in some design improvements, it can quite perform the tasks of transport aviation, and even has a certain export potential. Representatives of the armed forces of India became interested in a new type of machine several years ago, and a good reputation will prompt a closer look at it and other promising customers. In addition, it is important that our Ministry of Defense today no longer revels in the hope of fruitful cooperation with Western partners, focusing on domestic technology. We have nothing more modern today, but time is running out.
Good news
The project celebrated its twentieth anniversary; it can be called long-term construction. It is possible that in a different political situation, this project would add to the list of unrealized ideas, however, encouraging news has recently been heard. IL-112 will still be brought to mind, moreover, at the direct direction of the President of the Russian Federation. It is one of the best in its class, and its production will be an excellent way to raise the domestic aircraft industry. This will require money, and they will be allocated.
Samara Aviakor will become the main base on which the Il-112 will be assembled. 2014, thus, became decisive in the fate of the aircraft. It is hoped that in a maximum of three years his first flight will take place.
This decision became possible after changing the concept of transport aircraft, namely, the collection of all production and design forces into a single structure. However, experts believe that veterans should not be deducted from their accounts ahead of time. The modernization of proven and reliable Soviet-style aircraft will give time to develop and bring to the required level the latest aircraft, which will replace them.