Ilyushin IL-18 (Coot)

History

The 1950s and 1960s were a huge period of development and advancement in commercial/passenger flight. After the end of World War II in 1945, completely new technologies became available for non-military applications, including turbojets and turboprops.

The famous Soviet large aircraft manufacturer Ilyushin delivered one of its most famous products - the Ilyushin Il-18 at this demonstration.

In the mid-1950s, Aeroflot, the Soviet passenger airline founded in 1923, issued a new requirement for budget-friendly aircraft of 75 to 100 seats for its various routes. This work resulted in the Ilyushin Il-18, which earned itself the NATO codename "Coot". The aircraft enjoyed a distinguished service career in the civil and military industries, and contributed greatly to the promotion of Soviet aviation in the 1960s and 1970s. The airframe also goes well beyond its passenger role, it is used for maritime patrols, flight command posts and electronic intelligence (electronic intelligence) activities.

From 1957 to 1985, a total of 678 aircraft were produced at the 30th Moscow Machinery Plant.

Accompanying the new aircraft directive came the development of a completely new turboprop engine. This fell to Kuznetsov and Ivchenko, while Ilyushin and Antonov each focused on the airframe. The Ilyushin Submission became the four-engine "Il-18", and Antonov advanced their four-engine "An-10".

The engine of choice eventually became the Kuznetsov NK-4 series.

The prototype designed by Ilyushin was unveiled in June 1957, tested throughout the summer, and made its maiden flight on July 4, 1957. The Il-18 was chosen to replace the Ilyushin production line of the aging line of the Il-14 aircraft and the initial market form was called "Il-18A", offering 89 seats. The engines of the NK-4 family proved to be so unreliable that they switched to the competing Ivchenko AI-20 only after 20 aircraft had been converted to the original engines. The displacement of the engine then gave rise to the designation "Il-18B", and the prototype of this form flew for the first time on September 30, 1958, becoming the first major symbol of the series.

Then there was the Il-18 "Combi", which combined passenger and cargo functions in one suitable airframe.

The Il-18D features a more powerful AI-20M engine (4,250 hp) and more seats for up to 122 seats, as well as an additional internal fuel tank for longer range. The brand also gave birth to a communication model and made three standards for the Russian government. The Il-18D "Pomor" is a one-off Il-18D model used in fishing.

The Il-18D "Salon" is the VIP shipping version of the Il-18D series.

The Il-18D has a crew of 9 and can carry up to 120 passengers. It is 35.9 meters long, with a wingspan of 37.4 meters and a height of 10 meters. The curb weight is 35,000 kg and the MTOW is 64,000 kg. The top speed is 675 km/h and the cruising speed is 625 km/h.

The range is 6,500 kilometers, and the service ceiling is 11,800 meters.

A pair of Il-18D aircraft as the basis for the Il-18DORR fishery model. The Il-18E was based on the Il-18I, but lacked the increased fuel capacity, so its range was reduced. The Il-18E "Salon" is their VIP model. The Il-18Gr was completed as a modified cargo form.

Like the Il-18D, the Il-18I was equipped with a 4,250 hp AI-20M turboprop engine. The Il-18LL became the flight laboratory test deicing device. The Il-18RT are two Il-18V models equipped with telemetry relays for various tests. The Il-18S is used as a VIP platform, based on the Il-18B product.

The Il-18A, B and V models form various transport forms under the collective name Il-18T. The Il-18TD was a military-oriented transport solution not adopted by the Soviet Armed Forces.

A one-off Il-18 existed in the form of the Il-18USh, which was based on the Il-18V and was used for navigation training but was not widely adopted by the Soviet Air Force.

The Il-18V became the main variant of the aircraft carrier Aeroflot. It is powered by AI-20K series turboprop engines and can accommodate up to 100 passengers. It was put into use in 1961. The Il-18V "Salon" is its VIP form.

The Il-20M "Coot-A" is a NATO-approved platform used by the Soviet Air Force for ELINT and reconnaissance missions. It is also believed to be Il-18D-36 "Bison". Il-20RT is a communications relay platform, while Il-22 "Coot-B" is an air command post. New mission equipment welcomes the Il-22M design. The anti-submarine warfare (ASW) variant is based on the Il-38 "May" of the Il-18 series.

The Il-118 exists only as a proposed upgraded version of the Il-18 product, intended to be equipped with 2 x Lotarev D-236-T propeller engines. as its driving scheme.

The Il-18 has few groundbreaking design features that likely made it a solid aircraft from the start. Its monoplane wing assemblies are straight with truncated tips, each supporting a pair of engines along their leading edges.

Both the main aircraft and the tail are mounted low on the sides of the tubular fuselage. A single vertical tail adorns the rear end of the aircraft. As usual, the cockpit remains above the nose and a fully retractable tricycle landing gear is provided for ground operations.

Circular windows dot the sides of the hull, as do entry/exit and emergency doors.

The operators of the Il-18 line were mainly countries allied with Moscow during the Cold War (1947-1991). These include Afghanistan, China, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Egypt, Poland, Ukraine and others - its reach is very wide and its uptime proves that the product is very reliable and robust, hence its impressive production number and countless operators.

Today (2016) North Korea remains the only well-known operator of this type through its Air Koryo brand. The Russian nuclear power plant MIR (ChK Leninets) is just one example.

Specification

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