Heavy transport aircraft are dual-use items. They are needed both by the national economy and the army, and it happens that humanitarian operations are impossible without them. It is difficult today to imagine helping a faraway country that fell victim to the elements (earthquakes, floods or volcanic eruptions) without a huge flying hospital or airship that can deliver tens of tons of food, equipment and medicines in a matter of hours. And the rescuers themselves also need to be brought along with special equipment. Such a ship in our time was the IL-76MD-90A, the "younger brother" of the "seventy-six", who had already managed to see different continents. But first of all, these aircraft were created for military purposes.
Prototype
It so happened in the USSR that most of the transport aircraft was designed by the design office of O.K. Antonov. This team created many very successful and reliable aircraft, which became the “workhorses” of Aeroflot and the Air Force, including champions in size and carrying capacity. But in the late sixties, due to changes in world politics, a need arose for means of delivering a large number of equipment and people over long distances. Moreover, this was required to be done quickly. Propeller "Antonovs" still carried the main load in the implementation of landing operations, but the Ministry of Defense set the task of creating a large-capacity jet aircraft. We entrusted the project to the design bureau them. S.V. Ilyushin. So in the early 70s, this fast-moving and beautiful giant appeared - Il-76.
"Elder" and his brothers
The machine was so successful that various modifications (more than two dozen) of various purposes were built on its base: from ordinary transporters to flying training space centers. The medical option "Scalpel MT" includes the operating room, intensive care unit and other intensive care units. The A-50 is our answer to Avax, it is capable of long flights along the borders, during which the aircraft carries out reconnaissance of the tactical and strategic situation in a wide border zone. Top-secret A-60 - a carrier of laser beam weapons. There is a variant of a flying tanker. Both polar and fire options have been created. We recognize the IL-76, it is impossible to confuse it with any other aircraft, it’s waiting for those who are in trouble, and our country's ill-wishers know that if “Candide” appeared in the sky (as NATO aviation experts classified them, the word means “sincere”, or “straightforward”), then the matter takes on a serious turn. Such a strong man and indeed different tricks are useless.
Each time, the modifications concerned updating avionics, increasing the power of the power plant, and the use of additional equipment. The last and deepest of them received the index IL-76MD-90A. The characteristics of this aircraft are fully consistent with the latest requirements regarding economy, noise, environmental friendliness and safety, and it is difficult to distinguish from the prototype, which turned out to be conceptually so successful that, obviously, this aircraft has a long heavenly fate.
The first rollout to the test aerodrome of the new modification aircraft took place in 2011. Initially, its name corresponded to the number of "product", and sounded like "IL-476." The IL-76MD-90A appeared a little later, in September 2012, when a military-style light gray test sample took off from the runway of a factory airfield near Ulyanovsk.
The main external differences
Aircraft modifications IL-76MD in the first post-Soviet years built at the Tashkent Aircraft Plant. V. Chkalova, however, economic difficulties that impede the development of Uzbek engineering, prompted Russian customers to seek production capacities in their country. They were found in Ulyanovsk, at the Aviastar plant.
Changes in the design, despite the outward resemblance to the previous model, have been quite serious. The specialist will immediately distinguish the IL-76MD-90A in a new elongated wing. The chassis has also undergone a modification, they are designed for 60 tons of payload plus the weight of the aircraft itself, filled with fuel, in addition, they are designed with a serious margin of safety. The requirements are high, since one of the specified technical conditions was the creation of the possibility of operating the transporter not only on concrete, but also on unpaved runways.
The fuselage, including the glazing of the pilot and navigator cabs, remained virtually unchanged. Another thing is equipment hidden under the casing.
Engines
First of all, the cost-effectiveness of aircraft depends on the engine. The IL-76MD-90A aircraft is equipped with four turbojet PS-90A-76s (in honor of which it received its additional indexes in the name), creating a thrust of 14.5 thousand kgf. In turbo mode, it can reach 16 tons, but in this case, fuel consumption during take-off will increase significantly. In flight mode at a cruising speed, 3300 kgf is also sufficient, and during landing braking, a reverse thrust of 3600 kgf can be created. The consumption of kerosene is reduced by 12% compared with the previous model and amounts to 0.59 kg / kgf * h in specific terms. Thanks to the new power plant, the main parameters were able to bring the Il-76MD-90A aircraft into line with international environmental and economic standards. The characteristics of the aircraft fit the ICAO standards.
More than a hundred thousand liters of aviation kerosene contain fuel tanks.
Cargo compartment equipment
The speed of cargo delivery for any purpose, military or civilian, depends not only on how fast the plane flies, but also on the capabilities of their prompt loading and unloading after landing. The IL-76MD-90A cargo compartment is equipped with two winches, developing a force of up to 3 tons, with the help of which non-self-propelled machinery can be brought into it. Any object weighing up to ten tons is lifted using four telphers. A ramp of a variable inclination angle will allow the entry of larger cargoes, up to thirty tons. If the equipment is delivered with a crawler-type undercarriage, then the sub-rails contribute to its smooth running. There is also the possibility of installing four roller monorail tracks, which are used for landing or loading sea or air pallets and containers.
Cargo compartment
Parachute landing is carried out through the ramp, and the IL-76MD-90A may - depending on the equipment option - have one or two-deck layout. True, the possibility of jumping simultaneously from two levels is usually not used due to the high risk of excessive convergence of paratroopers and cargo. The one-deck option involves the deployment of personnel in the amount of up to 145 people (paratroopers in full calculation - 126), two-deck - up to 225. The air hospital can take 114 wounded on board.
To transport people in the cabin, side and central seats are installed.
When converted into a flying fire engine, tanks for water or special extinguishing compounds are installed in the cargo compartment.
Pilot cabin
The crew workspace, successfully worked out for previous models, is even more improved in the ergonomics of the Il-76MD-90A. Photos of the pilot's cabin are shown by liquid crystal displays (there are eight of them), which replaced the pointer devices - “alarms”. Control panels with joystick handles have a highly intelligent functional content. The traditional successful glazing, providing excellent visibility for pilots and the navigator, is complemented by the “transparent cockpit” effect during daylight hours, which facilitates control in conditions of limited visibility or in its complete absence. All these functions are supported by the Kupol-III-76M flight-navigation complex.
"Dome"
Modern navigation instruments have taken on many of the functions that navigators and pilots previously performed. Flight planning, plotting, calculating fuel consumption and other operations on an IL-76MD-90A aircraft are performed automatically. But that's not all. The Kupol complex corrects data on the location of the aircraft, manages the approach (if the airport has equipment that corresponds to the second category of ICAO) and even assesses the meteorological situation, giving the crew recommendations on how to optimize the piloting process. The system also warns of aircraft flying at close and oncoming courses, warning against the possible danger of a collision. The Cupola’s help in landing is invaluable, especially in the absence of visual control.
Technical details
The IL-76MD-90A, whose photo is amazing in size compared to a car or other aircraft, takes off from a surprisingly short strip. It is enough only 1.7 km. Coasting during landing can be reduced to 960 m due to the operation of the engines in reverse mode. Speed in flight can reach 800 km / h. Non-stop range depends on the mass of the cargo. A transporter can deliver a weight of 50 tons for 5 thousand kilometers, and 20 tons for 8.5 thousand kilometers.
Now about the dimensions that the aircraft Il-76MD-90A has. Technical specifications correspond to the dimensions: the fuselage cross-sectional mid-span diameter is approximately 5 meters, the length of the aircraft is 46.6 m, the span of planes is 50 m, and the height (from the chassis) is about 15 meters.
Chassis
Chassis capable of withstanding up to 210 tons is also impressive (this is how much the IL-76MD-90A aircraft can weigh). Photos taken from the ground during take-off allow us to judge their overall design and the grace with which they fit into niches located along the lateral influx of the fuselage. Five racks: one nasal and four main. On each of them there are impressive sizes of pneumatic wheels arranged in rows, four on the axle. The design of the chassis in general repeats the technical solutions of the IL-76, except that the increased load associated with the growth of payload and fuel, as well as the possibility of operation from problem aerodromes, required the reinforcement of all elements.
Prospects
Heavy aviation equipment, and because of its high cost, and because of the specifics of its application, as a rule, is not produced in gigantic quantities. However, the aircraft fleet, inherited by the Russian Air Force from the USSR, is gradually developing its motor resource. The normal life for this type of aircraft is three decades, so the leadership of the concerned departments is the time to think about how many IL-76MD-90A aircraft will be needed. The characteristics of this transporter fully satisfy the requirements of the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Emergencies, and Aeroflot, even taking into account the prospects. Serial production began in 2012, three copies were built. If the initial need was estimated by the number of 38 aircraft, then at the time of the launch of the series it increased to fifty, and then reached one hundred pieces of various modifications (until 2020). The defense department also showed interest in a special long-range radar reconnaissance aircraft based on the same IL-76MD-90A.