Heavy transport aircraft are dual-use items. Both the national economy and the army need them, and sometimes it is impossible to carry out humanitarian operations without them. It is difficult today to imagine helping a distant country that has become a victim of natural disasters (earthquakes, floods or volcanic eruption) without a huge flying hospital or airship that can deliver tens of tons of food, equipment and medicines in a matter of hours. Yes, 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-sixth", which has 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 were designed by the design bureau of O. K. Antonov. This team has created many very successful and reliable aircraft that have become the "workhorses" of Aeroflot and the Air Force, among them there are champions in terms of size and carrying capacity. But at the end of the sixties, due to the changes taking place in the worldpolitics, there was a need for means of delivering a large amount of equipment and people over long distances. Not only that, it had to be done quickly. The 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-tonnage jet aircraft. The project was entrusted to the design bureau. S. V. Ilyushin. So in the early 70s this swift and beautiful giant appeared - Il-76.
"Older" and his brothers
The machine was so successful that various modifications (more than two dozen in number) of various purposes were built on its basis: from ordinary transport vehicles to flying training space centers. The medical version of the "Scalpel MT" accommodates 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 conducts reconnaissance of the tactical and strategic situation in a wide border zone. The top-secret A-60 is a carrier of laser beam weapons. There is a variant of a flying tanker. Both polar and fire variants have been created. The IL-76 is recognizable, it cannot be confused with any other aircraft, those who are in trouble are waiting for it, and the ill-wishers of our country know that if Candida appeared in the sky (this is how NATO aviation specialists classified them, the word means “sincere”, or "straightforward"), then things get serious. Such a strong man really does not need any tricks.
Each time the modifications concernedupdating avionics, increasing the power of the power plant, the use of additional equipment. The last and deepest of them received the Il-76MD-90A index. The characteristics of this aircraft fully comply with the latest requirements regarding efficiency, noise, environmental friendliness and safety, and outwardly it is difficult to distinguish it from the prototype, which turned out to be so successful conceptually that, obviously, this aircraft will have a long heavenly fate.
The first roll-out to the test airfield of the aircraft of the new modification took place in 2011. Initially, its name corresponded to the number of the "product", and sounded like "IL-476". The Il-76MD-90A appeared a little later, in September 2012, when a military-style light gray test model took off from the runway of the factory airfield near Ulyanovsk.
Main external differences
Aircraft of the IL-76MD modification in the first post-Soviet years were built at the Tashkent Aviation Plant named after. V. Chkalov, however, economic difficulties hindering the development of the Uzbek engineering industry prompted Russian customers to look for production facilities in their country. They were found in Ulyanovsk, at the Aviastar plant.
Changes in the design, despite the resemblance to the previous model, there have been quite serious. A specialist will immediately distinguish the IL-76MD-90A by the new elongated wing. The landing gear has also undergone a modification, they are designed for 60 tons of payload plus the weight of the aircraft itself, refueled, in addition, they are designed with a serious marginstrength. The requirements are high, since one of the given technical conditions was to create the possibility of operating the transporter not only on concrete, but also on unpaved runways.
The fuselage, including the glazing of the pilot's and navigational cockpits, remained practically unchanged from the outside. Another thing is the equipment hidden under the skin.
Engines
First of all, the efficiency of aviation technology depends on the engine. The Il-76MD-90A aircraft is equipped with four turbojet PS-90A-76 (in honor of which it received its additional indices 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 takeoff will increase significantly. In flight mode at cruising speed, 3300 kgf is sufficient, and during landing braking, a reverse thrust of 3600 kgf can be created. Kerosene consumption is reduced by 12% compared to the previous model and is 0.59 kg/kgfh in specific terms. Thanks to the new power plant, it was possible to bring the main parameters of the Il-76MD-90A aircraft into line with international environmental and economic standards. The characteristics of the aircraft fit into the ICAO standards.
More than a hundred thousand liters of aviation kerosene can hold fuel tanks.
Cargo Bay 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 ability to quickly load them andunloading after landing. The cargo cabin of the Il-76MD-90A is equipped with two winches, developing a force of up to 3 tons, with which you can bring non-self-propelled equipment into it. Any object weighing up to ten tons is lifted with the help of four telphers. The ramp of variable angle of inclination will provide the entry of larger loads, up to thirty tons. If equipment with a caterpillar-type undercarriage is delivered, then its smooth running is facilitated by trappers. It is also possible to install four roller monorail tracks, which are used for landing or loading sea or air pallets and containers.
Cargo cabin
Parachute landing is carried out through the ramp, and the IL-76MD-90A can - depending on the equipment option - have a single- or double-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 single-deck version involves the deployment of personnel in the amount of up to 145 people (paratroopers in full gear - 126), the double-deck version - up to 225. The air hospital can take on board 114 wounded.
To transport people in the cabin, side and center seats are installed.
When converting to a flying firefighting vehicle, tanks for water or special extinguishing agents are installed in the cargo hold.
Pilot cabin
The crew workspace, well-designed for previous models, is further improved inergonomics of the Il-76MD-90A. Photos of the cockpit show liquid crystal displays (there are eight of them), which replaced the pointer devices - "alarm clocks". Control panels with joystick handles have a highly intelligent functional content. The traditional successful glazing, which provides excellent visibility for pilots and navigators, is complemented by the effect of a “transparent cockpit” 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 and navigation system.
Dome
Modern navigation instruments have taken over many of the functions that were previously performed by navigators and pilots. Flight planning, course plotting, fuel consumption calculation and other operations on the Il-76MD-90A aircraft are performed automatically. But that's not all. The Kupol complex corrects aircraft location data, manages landing approach (if the airport has equipment corresponding to the second category of ICAO) and even assesses the meteorological situation, giving the crew recommendations for optimizing the piloting process. The system also warns of aircraft flying on close and oncoming courses, warning against the possible danger of a collision. The help of the "Dome" during the landing is invaluable, especially in the absence of visual control.
Technical data
IL-76MD-90A, the photo of which is striking in size compared to a car or other aircraft, takes off fromsurprisingly short stripe. He only needs 1.7 km. The run-out during landing can be reduced to 960 m due to the operation of the engines in reverse mode. The speed in flight can reach 800 km / h. The non-stop range depends on the mass of the cargo. The transporter can deliver a weight of 50 tons to 5 thousand kilometers, and 20 tons - to 8.5 thousand km.
Now about the dimensions that the Il-76MD-90A aircraft has. The technical characteristics correspond to the dimensions: the diameter of the fuselage section along the midship frame is approximately 5 meters, the length of the aircraft is 46.6 m, the span of the planes is 50 m, the height (with landing gear) is about 15 meters.
Chassis
The chassis is also impressive, capable of withstanding up to 210 tons (this is how much an Il-76MD-90A aircraft can weigh). Photos taken from the ground during takeoff allow us to judge their overall design and the elegance with which they fit into niches located along the side fuselage influxes. There are five racks: one bow and four main ones. On each of them there are pneumatic wheels of impressive size, arranged in a row, four per axle. The design of the chassis, in general, repeats the technical solutions of the Il-76, except that the increased load associated with an increase in payload and fuel, as well as the possibility of operation from problematic airfields, required strengthening of all elements.
Prospects
Heavy aviation equipment, both due to its high cost and due to the specifics of its application, as a rule, is not produced ingigantic quantities. However, the aircraft fleet, inherited by the Russian Air Force from the USSR, is gradually developing its motor resource. The usual service life for this type of aircraft is three decades, so the leadership of the departments concerned is the time to think about how many Il-76MD-90A aircraft will be needed. The characteristics of this transporter fully meet the requirements of the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, and Aeroflot, even taking into account the future. Serial production began in 2012, three copies were built. If the initial need was estimated at 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.
