IL-62 question
Aeroflot, CSA, LOT, Malev, possibly United Arab Airlines back in the day and a few VIP examples China, Russia, East Germany all seen at LHR over the years. A great aircraft and the odd time one of the Rossiya examples pays a visit these days it's a thrill.
I believe at one point in the late 80's/early 90's Shannon had more IL62's transiting than all the other European airports combined. Didn't the Irish have some deal with Russia/Aeroflot to maintain/service aircraft doing the long haul between Moscow and Havana etc ?
I believe at one point in the late 80's/early 90's Shannon had more IL62's transiting than all the other European airports combined. Didn't the Irish have some deal with Russia/Aeroflot to maintain/service aircraft doing the long haul between Moscow and Havana etc ?
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When increasing range saw most flights across the Atlantic overflying Shannon instead of calling for fuel the airport went into something of a decline. By the late 1970s this was becoming a serious problem.
The USSR was expanding its links with countries in Central and South America but its aircraft didn' t have the range to fly from Russia to Cuba (the nearest friendly country). Shannon had been used as a stopover but Gander had cheaper fuel and the IL62M just about had the range.
This hurt Shannon so a scheme was hatched whereby Soviet fuel would be delivered to Shannon and stored for Aeroflot's use. 1.25 million gallons was delivered on 11 June 1980 and the first refuelling was on July 3. All ground handling was by Aer Rianta.
By the mid 1980s over 3000 flights a year were being handled with Aeroflot getting "free" fuel insofar as the fuel came from its government allocated supplies rather than having to buy it at market prices and Aer Rianta was gaining revenue from ground handling and catering.
Aer Rianta then bartered landing fees against some of the fuel and, with a massive price advantage over other airports, attracted regular charter traffic refuelling from TWA, Rich International, American Trans Air, Worldways and Tarom.
The USSR was expanding its links with countries in Central and South America but its aircraft didn' t have the range to fly from Russia to Cuba (the nearest friendly country). Shannon had been used as a stopover but Gander had cheaper fuel and the IL62M just about had the range.
This hurt Shannon so a scheme was hatched whereby Soviet fuel would be delivered to Shannon and stored for Aeroflot's use. 1.25 million gallons was delivered on 11 June 1980 and the first refuelling was on July 3. All ground handling was by Aer Rianta.
By the mid 1980s over 3000 flights a year were being handled with Aeroflot getting "free" fuel insofar as the fuel came from its government allocated supplies rather than having to buy it at market prices and Aer Rianta was gaining revenue from ground handling and catering.
Aer Rianta then bartered landing fees against some of the fuel and, with a massive price advantage over other airports, attracted regular charter traffic refuelling from TWA, Rich International, American Trans Air, Worldways and Tarom.
Tarom used Il-62's to LHR - I logged YR-IRE there on 26 Aug 84
I think you might need to resize that 'tiny' photo mr janetflight
Are Rianta…..do they still exist ?
I believe at one point in the late 80's/early 90's Shannon had more IL62's transiting than all the other European airports combined. Didn't the Irish have some deal with Russia/Aeroflot to maintain/service aircraft doing the long haul between Moscow and Havana etc
Among other aircraft were the Cubana domestic Antonov 24s, which all needed to come back to the factory at Kiev every few years for a D-check. This was a challenging operation for a smaller aircraft, routing (as I understand it) from Havana via Nassau, Bermuda, Yarmouth Nova Scotia, Gander, Keflavik, Shannon, Prague and Kiev. Went on for years. They never lost one in the transit.
The IL-62, even the M variant, did not have the range to do anything like Moscow to Havana nonstop, but its predecessor on the route, the big contra-rotating turboprop Il-114, started such flights around the time of the Cuban missile crisis, and were picked off at their various refuelling points by the US government applying extreme pressure on local governments along the way. After a couple of changes, including some points in west Africa, the 114 routed north from Moscow to Murmansk, thence nonstop over the ocean. Has to be the longest propeller aircraft sector of all time, about 16 hours. I understand they could only take half the passenger load, plus minimal baggage.
That must have been quite a journey.
In approximately the middle of this page, it reads 19h40min for the flight from SVO to HAV - presumably with the tech stop in Murmansk.
In approximately the middle of this page, it reads 19h40min for the flight from SVO to HAV - presumably with the tech stop in Murmansk.
Yes indeed. Not only do they run the major Irish airports, but from being pioneers in the duty-free business they have various overseas interests, and doubtless arising from contacts made in those days the duty free outlet at St Petersburg airport has long been a joint venture between Russian interests and Aer Rianta, trading as "Lenrianta", and the shopping bags are branded as such. I've never noticed if this applies to any of the Moscow airports.
http://bs-adviser.ru/en/klientyi/lenrianta.html
http://bs-adviser.ru/en/klientyi/lenrianta.html
I remember particular night flight from Prague to Cairo in January 1984 with IL-62. When I watched to the east I saw flashes on the horizon which seemed to me as an artillery fire in Lebanon at the time.
My parents (who worked at embassy in Cairo) remember a stressful take off from Beirut on an IL-62 under mortar fire. CSA was one of the last carriers which utilised that airport.
IL-62 was a magnificent airplane especially when I compare it with IL-18 which was rather standard for us at the given time.
My parents (who worked at embassy in Cairo) remember a stressful take off from Beirut on an IL-62 under mortar fire. CSA was one of the last carriers which utilised that airport.
IL-62 was a magnificent airplane especially when I compare it with IL-18 which was rather standard for us at the given time.
I'm always surprised at those who say the Il-62 was a copy of the VC-10, Tu154 was a copy of the Trident (or 727 - take your pick), but never say that the DC8 "must have been" an espionage copy of the 707, DC9 "must have stolen the One-Eleven drawings", and similar.
Fact is that for a four-engine long haul jet aircraft, there are only a limited number of options. Engines closer to the centreline gives less chance of an engine failure getting out of control, as 707/DC8 operators, especially on training flights, found out only too well. The Soviets never did a jet with wing-mounted engines until the Ilyushin 86 widebody came along in the late 1970s, so going for fuselage mounted engines should not have been that much of a surprise.
Fact is that for a four-engine long haul jet aircraft, there are only a limited number of options. Engines closer to the centreline gives less chance of an engine failure getting out of control, as 707/DC8 operators, especially on training flights, found out only too well. The Soviets never did a jet with wing-mounted engines until the Ilyushin 86 widebody came along in the late 1970s, so going for fuselage mounted engines should not have been that much of a surprise.
even ants need some lovin'
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Can't resist this little ditty which might possibly have been on Pprune sometime in the past:
I thought I saw a VC10
But it was just an optical Ilyushin!
I thought I saw a VC10
But it was just an optical Ilyushin!
I remember seeing a VC10ski landing at Paya Lebah airport in Singapore sometime in 1973 and was struck by the sheer noise of the beast both on landing and take-off when compared by the comparative quietness of a British Caledonia VC10 flight landing 15 minutes later.
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the engineers at Vickers apparently saw no problem with tail tipping during loading and offloading unlike their Soviet colleagues.
Even the initial Il-62 with the NK-8s engines wasn't a slouch; despite the simple wing it gave DC-8-6x weights out of a runway shorter than that aircraft or a 707-320B, falling neatly between those types and the lighter-still Super VC-10.
Edit: oblig. Flight data tables, from back in the day when they published useful stuff like this
http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchi...0-%203230.html
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Per Jörg Thiel's book on the type, range of tailplane travel for trimming was from -1 to -10 degrees. Could be used for take-off and cruise.
Additionally the elevators had trim-tabs but he doesn't clarify which was the primary timmer ( I assume the overall tailplane ).
Interestingly some Il-62s had a rear ventral escape hatch, which you can just see in some photos on the starboard side under the engines. Also illustrated on some safety cards such as the IDG Airlines one here:
http://my-safetycard.de/pics/thumbs/15428.jpg
as exit E
Additionally the elevators had trim-tabs but he doesn't clarify which was the primary timmer ( I assume the overall tailplane ).
Interestingly some Il-62s had a rear ventral escape hatch, which you can just see in some photos on the starboard side under the engines. Also illustrated on some safety cards such as the IDG Airlines one here:
http://my-safetycard.de/pics/thumbs/15428.jpg
as exit E
Partly because the Il-62 has its wing mounted farther forward, so is more prone to tipping. The trade-off being a significantly small tail and lower cruising drag
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Had three or four IL-76s on a daily basis flying a few hundred yards off my balcony in 2009 / 2010 out of Muscat.
Will dig out a video later on.
In the meantime, this is one of my favorites:
Will dig out a video later on.
In the meantime, this is one of my favorites:
