Features of piloting silt 62 m. Olympiad in the history of aviation and aeronautics

IL-62 is a passenger aircraft designed for flights on long-distance airlines.

The aircraft was designed for 165 seats, with NK-8 engines. The Il-62 made its first flight on January 3, 1963.

A total of 276 aircraft were produced. The last board was built in 2004 for the government of Sudan.

Dalavia was one of the last companies to operate the Il-62 on a regular basis, which is why Khabarovsk Airport is still associated with this company and Ilami.

A few handsome photos:

Tu-214, although it was a good aircraft, but in terms of flight range to Il. to put it mildly, did not hold out. Khabarovsk crews of the 214s had to fidget in their seats more than once, flying up to Moscow with a minimum amount of fuel left. The usual refueling of the Il-62 was about 72 tons, and the 214th managed the 36th, but back to back. In Il, indeed. it was possible to cram another 10 tons of cargo, and the Carcass flew away with an incomplete load.

... Domodedovo Airlines also constantly flew 62s.

Reverse at a height of 10 meters is a normal practice.

The IL-62 was the first Soviet jet aircraft to use engine thrust reverser.

View from the balcony of the tower to the parking lot.

Very cute muzzle.

Let's move from the city of military glory of Khabarovsk to Krasnoyarsk-Emelyanovo airport and look inside..

Honored veteran and hard worker of Aeroflot and KrasAir airlines! IL-62 RA-86453.

The aquarium in the windows emphasizes in every way that the aircraft was decommissioned back in 2005.

By tradition, I take a seat on the right and see that the co-pilot was in charge of anti-icing systems, headlights and oxygen equipment. And the pedals here are almost automobile.

The number of toggle switches on the flight engineer's panel is uncountable. Their main focus is power supply and lighting. Under the lamp, there are interesting devices for controlling the release / retraction of the landing gear.

The competence of the navigator has no less toggle switches, plus a whole panel of navigation equipment and even his own locator.

Location FAC. An interesting implementation of the steering column with a gearbox, combined with the nose strut control rudder. Two in one!

Unusual after Tupol and fuel gauges on the top panel. Everything is in sight and under the control of the commander.

Despite its considerable size and high takeoff weight, the Il-62 does not have a booster system. The control of the rudders and ailerons is carried out only due to the muscular strength of the pilots or the electric steering machines of the autopilot. This decision became possible due to the above-mentioned features of the weight distribution of the aircraft, in which a large area of ​​the rudders is not required for takeoff and alignment.

On the central panel there are control devices for all 4 engines. In Tupolev, there are only tachometers at this place, the rest is all under the control of the flight engineer. Flaps are released out of sync.

There is a lot of space in the IL-62 cockpit, you can go through and sit in a chair without acrobatic studies, without fear of hitting your head.

A simple economy of flight attendants - control of lighting, boilers and water heating in toilets.

Modest and tasteful. The most favorite photo of spotters.

In the instructions, we are offered to pull the handle, throw out the door and probably go down the rope further.

Infants were offered to be transported in the front row of the cabin in an interesting cradle. I wonder what kind of socket is in the passenger's feet?

Passenger opinions.

“The IL-62 was immediately distinguished by a cozy, soothing interior (not to mention some surprisingly solid, peaceful and noble appearance. The IL-62 has a very correct color scheme for the interior lining in terms of psychological and emotional impact on the passenger and its lighting is done With the option 168-174 of the seat, in which Domodedovo cars mostly flew (132-seat aircraft with business flew in Aeroflot), the pitch of the seats is such that it is convenient to be in them even in a row with a minimum pitch of 810 mm. aircraft for 186 and even more so 195 seats (colloquially - "barn"; the 180-seat Tu-154 is similarly nicknamed) was not widely used, since it worsened passenger comfort and created additional problems for performing a normal flight. This is a legacy hypertransportation of the former Aeroflot in the 1980s.

At this time, our excursion came to an end and we were carried out of the cabin by a wave of holiday guests.

The main landing gear of only 4 wheels versus 6 for the Tu-154. And this is with a greater take-off weight of as much as 65 tons.

Unusual shape of the leading edge of the wing.

It's nice that all the engines are in place, it's not a shame to remove the plugs.

Fashionable at the time, T-tail.

Engine thrust reverser is provided only on the extreme ones.

A design feature of the IL-62 is a small fourth two-wheeled rear landing gear used to prevent the empty aircraft from tipping over when parked. The layout of the aircraft is such that the center of gravity of an empty aircraft is behind the main landing gear.

On this, let me finish a short story about the hard worker IL-62.

And finally, a rare photo from the Vnukovo parking lot.

The reason for the accumulation of IL-62s was the closure of Vnukovo Airport for reconstruction and the release of parking lots No. 34-61 (in those years used for Il-62s of the 206th and 211th LO) for aircraft of other units.

One of the most beautiful aircraft of Sergei Vladimirovich Ilyushin celebrates its anniversary today. The elegant long-haul Liner, the flagship of Aeroflot of the 70s, the IL-62, turned 55...

The Il-62 crew of five - two pilots, a flight engineer, a navigator and a radio operator - was placed in a spacious cockpit, in which all controls were located so that they were convenient to use. The working conditions in such a cockpit contributed to the improvement of flight safety, reducing the number of pilot errors associated with crew fatigue ...

The layout options on the IL-62 differ in the number of seats - 186, 168 and 138. Accommodation also varies in several cabins: 72 passenger seats in the front cabin and 114 in the rear, respectively - 66 and 102. There is also an option - the front cabin for 12 passengers , middle - for 24 and rear for 102 passengers. To speed up the boarding and disembarkation of passengers, two doors were made in the forward and central parts of the fuselage. Up to 23 tons of commercial cargo can be placed in four luggage compartments under the floor of passenger compartments...

The modified Il-62M was operated in many countries of the world: Angola, Hungary, East Germany, China, North Korea, Poland, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Cuba. Foreign airlines were supplied with 51 Il-62M and 30 Il-62 aircraft. Until March 1997, the Il-62M was the main aircraft of the President of Russia.

A total of 289 Il-62 and Il-62M aircraft have been built since 1963 (including modifications). There are 14 machines left in operation today...

Happy anniversary, dear IL-62!
Clear skies and soft landings!

IL-62 - the first Soviet jet intercontinental passenger aircraft. Its first flight took place on January 3, 1963. It was a time when airplanes could create a cult. Flying on the “jet sofa” was a special chic.

Justified expectations

In the early 1960s, there was a rapid development of jet civil aviation throughout the world. Soviet aircraft designers were well aware of the standard international requirements for flight safety, commercial efficiency, comfort and noise level then applied to passenger aircraft in the West. It was important to create a machine that meets all international standards. It was the IL-62 that became the last project of the great designer Sergei Vladimirovich Ilyushin and the last aircraft tested by the legendary pilot Vladimir Konstantinovich Kokkinaki.

beautiful plane

In September 1962, the first Il-62 was brought to the airfield of the Central Airfield. M. V. Frunze. Khrushchev wished to personally get acquainted with the new machine and arrived at the airfield. Ilyushin suggested that everyone get on the plane and inspect it from the inside. N. S. Khrushchev was the first to board. Before he could even take a step, a touching melody sounded in the salon, and the low, penetrating voice of the singer was heard: Khrushchev paused and at the same time, simultaneously with the final words of the verse of the song "... i escorted me to the dawn on the road far away, i gave a towel embroidered for good luck, gave me a share", in front of him the passenger compartments, made in the style "pleasant simplicity". All this made such an impression on Khrushchev that, touched, he said: "What a good, what a beautiful plane."

Il-62 vs Tu-114

The IL-62 replaced its outstanding predecessor, the former flagship of Aeroflot, the Tu-114 aircraft, on long-distance routes. Tu-114 was a turboprop aircraft, their era was coming to an end. Nevertheless, the aircraft was distinguished by the highest reliability and level of comfort. Let's compare the two aircraft in some respects.

Options Tu-114 IL-62
cruising speed true 770-830 800-850
Flight range at full load, km 8800 7800
Number of passengers 138-168 170-220
Average fuel consumption, kg / h 5300 7300

Board number one

Il-62 and Il-62M, one might say, have a happy fate. IL-62M has long been "board number 1". Leonid Brezhnev loved to fly on it. IL-62M met the high requirements of passenger N1. It was a flying house, a cabin aircraft, with offices and bedrooms. Leonid Ilyich was an avid domino player, so after almost every flight he had to polish the table in the main cabin, as it was scratched. In addition to comfort and board games, communication and safety are important for any general secretary - the IL-62 was the first aircraft on which satellite communications were installed.

Connecting the continents

Until the beginning of the 90s, before the Il-96 and foreign Boeing 767 and A310 were put into operation on domestic lines, the Il-62M remained the flagship of Aeroflot and the only long-haul Russian aircraft capable of connecting continents. Il-62M personified reliability, safety and comfort. For a long time, these aircraft were used on external airlines - to Africa, Malta, India, Southeast Asia. Our country is like two continents: IL-62 flew to the Far East and Kamchatka, and there was also a direct flight from Moscow to Tokyo.

They fly for the Ministry of Emergency Situations

Currently, IL-62s are not involved in civil aviation. There are 22 aircraft left in the world: 11 in Russia, 4 in North Korea, 2 each in Ukraine and Iran, and one each in Sudan, Gambia and Libya. The rest of the release is distributed as follows:
crashed - 18 (total accidents resulting in write-offs - 23; see below)
cut into scrap metal - 178
in storage - 64, of which 13 cars as museum exhibits, cafes, restaurants, monuments.
The reliability of the aircraft is evidenced at least by the fact that the Il-62 is still used in the Air Force, the Ministry of Emergency Situations and the Rossiya squadron.

If the transport system is the blood of any economy in the world, then passenger transportation can be called the "plasma" of this very blood. The better, faster and better the state is able to move people across its territory, the fewer “bear corners” remain, the easier it is to establish interaction between the entire state apparatus. This was well understood in the USSR. The result of the work of many design bureaus was the IL 62M.

A breakthrough passenger aircraft at that time proved that the Soviet industry was capable of not only producing military equipment on an impressive scale.

Main characteristics

The aircraft is characterized by rear engines and a special suspension design. It was developed in the legendary Ilyushin Design Bureau and subsequently patented in nine countries. They included Great Britain, Italy, France, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Japan. It is not surprising that the IL 62M became so famous, the star on the fuselage of which was a kind of guarantee of high quality.

The machine is distinguished by an extremely rational distribution of masses, due to which its mass is almost identical to aircraft with engines under the wing. A distinctive feature of the IL 62M, the characteristics of which we are considering, is an unusual, stepped realization of the leading edges of the wings (in the form of a beak). This made it possible to provide the aircraft with excellent stability, including critical angles of attack. The wing was also made using the latest caisson technology, which involves cheap pressing. This made it possible not only to facilitate, but also to significantly strengthen the entire structure.

The plumage is made according to the T-shaped scheme, and its weight and size characteristics are much less than almost all analogues. Despite some shortcomings of this approach, this implementation made it possible to significantly improve the controllability and reliability of the new machine, from the design of which unnecessarily bulky and far from always reliable solutions were removed.

Fuel tanks are located on the entire wing span, including the center section. 62M is unique at least in that it allows you to take off with one failed engine. The car can fly and land, generally having two failed motors. Multiple redundancy of all systems, borrowed from space and military technology, makes it possible to increase the reliability of all avionics by an order of magnitude.

Reasons for developing a new machine

The growth of cargo and passenger traffic in the USSR falls on the second half of the 50s, when aircraft with gas turbine propulsion systems began to be put into operation. These machines made it possible to transport a large amount of cargo at a time, and this could be done in the shortest possible time. This was the reason that from 1950 to 1959 the volume of these cargo transportations increased tenfold at once.

It is not surprising that economists and civil aviation specialists almost immediately received an order to create a cheap and unpretentious aircraft as soon as possible, allowing the transportation of people and goods within the territory of the entire Union.

Successes of Ilyushin Design Bureau

Only the Ilyushin Design Bureau by that time already had sufficient experience and resources, and therefore it was its specialists who were the first to start designing a new type of aircraft. Already in 1960, Ilyushin himself turned to the USSR government with a proposal to create a machine, which would later receive the name IL 62M. It was supposed to equip the aircraft with RD-23-600 engines, the development of which was carried out under the guidance of the talented S.K. Tumansky.

Estimated characteristics

At first, the designers assumed that the aircraft could carry from 50 to 150 passengers. The range was planned to "fit" within 4500-8500 km. The designers wanted to place the engines in the tail section. In general, the IL-62M prototype was supposed to be based on the IL-18 concept. Also inspired by the French car "Caravel" with its stabilizers at half the height of the keel.

Since even the tentative concept of the future IL 62M was well developed, the Council of Ministers of the USSR quickly accepted this proposal. The resolution provided for the development of an aircraft that could fly a distance of at least 4,500 km in economy class, while having 165 passenger seats. It was also envisaged the creation of a "luxury" car of the first class. Its flight range was already 6700 km and 100 ... 125 seats for passengers, respectively. At the same time, the design bureau under the leadership of Kuznetsov was instructed to create a new NK-8 engine.

Layout Features

For the first time in the history of the entire Soviet aircraft industry, a scheme with a tail engine was chosen. This was not done by accident. The fact is that as a result of using such a design solution, it was possible to obtain a "clean" wing with excellent aerodynamics. These characteristics were vital for the aircraft, which was supposed to be released even on long-distance air routes of the country.

In addition, such a scheme suggested mounting more reliable and simple. Considering that the engines were located at a considerable distance from the tanks, the safety of passengers increased sharply if for some reason a fire broke out. In addition, which is also extremely important in long-haul flights, the noise level in the passenger cabin was significantly reduced, and the negative impact on the aircraft structure of the outgoing jet stream formed by extremely high-temperature gases was reduced to almost zero.

Since the power plants were located as close as possible to the longitudinal axis of the fuselage, it was possible to minimize the extremely dangerous yaw effect that occurred when one of the engines failed. Finally, the same scheme involved the rejection of an unnecessarily large tail, which made it possible to significantly reduce the total mass of the machine (theoretically).

Today we can say with confidence that the creation of TU passenger aircraft is not least the merit of the Ilyushin Design Bureau. It was the specialists of this design bureau who, for the first time in the domestic aircraft industry, not only embodied a new development concept in metal, but also brought it to perfection.

Disadvantages of the new layout

But the tail-engined variant also had disadvantages, some of which were quite significant. Firstly, the mass of the aircraft eventually increased, as it was necessary to additionally strengthen the entire tail section. In addition, the wings were no longer unloaded by the engines (they make it possible to reduce stresses in the material).

Secondly, due to the location of the engines so far, it was necessary to significantly lengthen the entire fuel equipment, which negatively affected the overall reliability of the design. Finally, due to the “pressing” of the engines on the tail, the entire alignment of the aircraft changed dramatically, which also caused many problems for both the designers and the pilots who operated this aircraft.

Why was this scheme adopted anyway?

It's all about balancing the positives and the negatives. When the engineers examined in detail the draft diagrams of the IL 62M, the characteristics of which turned out to be breakthrough for their time, they nevertheless made a positive decision to put into production exactly the version with the rear engine. In fairness, it should be said that this happened after a tense debate. And the specialists can be understood: in order to implement this scheme, many difficult layout issues had to be resolved.

So, especially for the IL 62M (the Ministry of Emergency Situations especially appreciated this), a unique navigation system was created that allows you to fly and land the aircraft in the most adverse weather and meteorological conditions. For the first time, a completely automatic control system was used, which, even today, is not something ordinary for aircraft of this size and carrying capacity. The highest reliability and unpretentiousness are the main distinguishing features of the IL 62M. The USSR (86513 board is one of the few sad exceptions) once again managed to create a really simple but excellent car.

Basic performance characteristics

• Full wing span, meters - 43.2.
• The total surface area of ​​the wing, m² - 279.55.
• The maximum length of the fuselage, meters - 53.12.
• The main length of the hull, meters - 49.00.
• The average height of the hull, meters - 12.35.
• Wing sweep, degrees - 32.5 ° (line 25% of chords).
• Maximum flight range, kilometers - 10,000-11,050.
• Maximum flight weight, tons - 161.6 (165/167 for modifications).
• Chassis base, meters - 24.48.
• Maximum chassis track, meters - 6.8.
• Cruising speed - 850 km / h.
• Speed ​​​​maximum - 870 km / h.
• Height ceiling, kilometers - 12.

How do cars with the “M” index differ from their predecessors?

These aircraft, which are a modification of the simple Il-62, have D-30KU turbofan engines. They are much more economical and better comply with international environmental regulations. The keel and stabilizers of these machines were given the best form in terms of aerodynamics. By installing a new reversing device, engineers were able to significantly reduce air resistance in flight. By increasing the capacity of the onboard fuel system, these machines can make longer flights.

Some of the flight equipment was also replaced, more electronics were added to the aircraft design. In addition, due to numerous requests from pilots, a modern air conditioning system was added to the cockpit. It made it possible to significantly reduce the degree of fatigue of pilots during long flights, especially on international routes.

Finally

The machine has been repeatedly tested for compliance with all international standards. Until now, IL 62M, whose interior is familiar to many natives of the USSR, is operated both domestically and on international lines. For the first time in the history of domestic civil aircraft construction, most of these aircraft were made for export, and some countries preferred to rent these aircraft for their domestic transportation. Such is the history of the IL-62M aircraft.

Developer: OKB Ilyushin

A country: USSR

First flight: 1963

Type: Long-haul passenger aircraft

In the 1960s, Aeroflot was in dire need of a new long-haul jet passenger aircraft. According to its technical and economic indicators: speed, range, transport efficiency, reliability and comfort, it had to be at the level, and if possible even higher, of modern foreign liners of this class, such as DC-8 or Boeing-707 ". Moreover, in addition to general requirements, it is necessary to ensure safety in the event of an engine failure in flight, and most importantly, in the event of an unexpected entry into a zone of powerful atmospheric turbulence, which has repeatedly led passenger aircraft to sad consequences.

The Il-62, the first civilian jet aircraft in the Design Bureau of S.V. Ilyushin, became such a machine, although the experience in creating the Il-22 heavy jet combat vehicle dates back to 1947. Actually, the Il-62, built in 1963, was the last aircraft for Sergei Vladimirovich. In the late 1960s, S.V. Ilyushin, due to his health, handed over design work to the design bureau and testing of the Il-62 aircraft to his successor and first deputy general designer, Genrikh Vasilyevich Novozhilov. Since 1970, G.V. Novozhilov, with the retirement of Ilyushin, headed the company and was appointed general designer.

It must be said that from the end of the 1950s to the beginning of the 1960s, the cars of the first generation of Tupolev jet passenger aircraft, although to an incomplete degree, nevertheless satisfied Aeroflot by providing it with high-speed jet liners Tu-104, Tu- 124 and Tu-134. But in the same period, the need for air traffic increased 10 times! The flight performance of these once remarkable machines, as well as the small number of long-haul Tu-114s (only 32 copies were built), could no longer qualify for top-class aircraft. Their time is running out...

To create a high-speed long-haul jet liner in the early 1960s, favorable results of developments in aviation science also appeared. New advances have been made in a more rational aerodynamic configuration of the aircraft, which ensures flights at high cruising speeds. The design of a particularly strong caisson wing with tanks-compartments for fuel has been developed. Engines were built - reliable in operation, providing a significant increase in traction. Unique successes have been achieved in the development of flight-navigation and radio communication equipment, which have made it possible to conduct reliable aircraft navigation day and night at various geographical latitudes. And in 1960, the Ilyushin Design Bureau received flight technical requirements from the management of Aeroflot for the long-haul passenger Il-62.

Calculations, aerodynamic studies on models of the future aircraft made it possible to find a rational wing shape in plan, which has an optimal combination of aerodynamic, strength and weight parameters. Particular attention was paid to the characteristics of the aircraft in the region of large (critical and supercritical) angles of attack, which affect flight safety in a turbulent atmosphere.

In the layout of the wing and the entire aircraft, it was possible to successfully combine high performance characteristics that determine the level of safety. This was achieved by a special aerodynamic layout of the wing and a carefully worked out system of its interaction with the empennage and engine nacelles, as well as a number of design solutions that made it possible to use direct manual control on the aircraft. It is very important that the control is not booster, but manual: it is reliable, structurally simple, increases crew confidence, requires minimal maintenance and significantly reduces the cost of the aircraft.

By the way, the work on the topic “Flight” played a big role in the creation of an integrated system for automating the control and piloting of heavy passenger vehicles. For their implementation, a special Il-18 aircraft was equipped, which became a flying laboratory. These experiments made it possible to drastically shorten the time for creating and implementing a fundamentally new automatic control system for heavy passenger aircraft. The self-propelled gun system installed on the Il-62 has become the first domestic redundant system with increased reliability and safety required for operation under landing minima of categories II and III. It was reinforced with experimental equipment that allowed automatic landing of heavy aircraft.

The Ilyushin Design Bureau, together with TsAGI, in the development of the Il-62 project, conducted a large series of laboratory tests for strength and endurance, including a full-scale aircraft with imitation of the full range of loads, which made it possible to pre-determine the centers of fatigue failures and ensure structural strength throughout the entire life of the machines . And this is very important. After all, it was precisely because of the underestimation by British experts of this specificity in the constructive provision of the endurance of their first jet passenger aircraft, the Comet, that several accidents happened on it.

Of course, the aft installation of engines is obviously associated with certain weight costs. However, due to fundamentally new decisions taken in the design of the Il-62, it was possible to create a design with aft engine installation, which, in terms of weight efficiency, is almost not inferior to the power plant of foreign Boeing-707 and DC-8 aircraft. The high weight efficiency of the IL-62 is also characteristic. This aircraft, with slightly larger wing and fuselage dimensions, has a lower pure weight than the British Super VC-10 aircraft of the same type, and, accordingly, a greater carrying capacity, that is, a greater weight return.

Lockheed chief engineer Robert Ormsby, after a thorough acquaintance with the aircraft, held a press conference, where he said: "IL-62" is a well-crafted, practical design. This is one of the well-designed aircraft. The Russians, of course, have a well-deserved pride in their aircraft, and it is worth it. "For the Il-62, only a high horizontal tail arrangement was possible. And this, in the end, made it possible to find the optimal location of the engine nacelles, providing a significant reduction in the noise level in passenger cabin.

In order for the aircraft scheme to become truly perfect, it took a lot of work. A large number of layouts of wings, empennage, engine nacelles and their mutual arrangements were considered - investigated in all kinds of static and dynamic tests. Many hundreds of hours of testing in wind tunnels were spent only on working out the “beak” (influx) ...

As you know, the swept wing, along with positive qualities, also has an undesirable property: it worsens lateral controllability, especially at high angles of attack. Here, the designers, taking this into account, developed a special influx in the form of a “beak” on the leading edge of the IL-62 wing. This, combined with a special selection of profiles and geometric twist, made it possible to achieve good transverse moment characteristics over the entire range of angles of attack, not excluding supercritical ones. Moreover, in cruising modes, the influx does not impair the characteristics of the wing. It is chosen so "cunningly" that it begins to act only at those angles of attack that exceed its value in cruising modes, generating a powerful whirlwind, as if performing the functions of an aerodynamic partition.

Scavenging models in wind tunnels showed that the aircraft has a large margin of lateral stability even at supercritical angles of attack. He is not afraid of meeting with a zone of active air turbulence. By the way, foreign aircraft of a similar scheme also had to solve this problem. But it was solved in a more complicated way: a bulky unit was introduced into the control - a “steering wheel pusher”, which turned on when a sharp vertical flow occurred.

In the layout of the aircraft with engines in the rear fuselage, the location of the main supports was important. Takeoff and landing characteristics and weight efficiency largely depended on their correct placement. The mass of the engines located in the rear of the fuselage shifts the center of mass of an empty aircraft back. But as luggage and passengers are loaded, the center of mass moves forward. This "centering difference" of a loaded and empty aircraft can reach a large value. If you place the main legs of the Il-62 in the usual way (the center of mass of the empty aircraft is in front of them), this will lead to excessive removal of the legs of the aircraft back relative to the center of mass of the loaded aircraft. And this, during takeoff and, especially, during front centering, will require a significant pitching moment from the horizontal tail to lift the car off the ground.

For many similar foreign aircraft, this problem was solved by increasing the area of ​​the horizontal tail and elevator, which leads to a significant increase in the weight of the structure and, of course, a decrease in the economic performance of the aircraft. On the Il-62, they acted differently: the main supports were placed in front of the center of mass of an empty aircraft. This greatly reduced the offset of the main supports in relation to the center of mass of the loaded aircraft and eliminated the inevitability of creating a powerful pitching moment for lifting the aircraft.

But for parking and taxiing an empty aircraft around the airfield, a special tail support is arranged, which is removed after loading is completed. This simple device made it possible to reduce the area of ​​​​control surfaces and dispense with boosters (there are, for example, 17 of them on the English VC-10!), Place all the main equipment in the tail section, near the engines, and greatly simplify the take-off technique.

This is very important, first of all, for flight safety. After all, the IL-62 has a simple, reliable, boosterless control system. Only on the rudder there is a single damper-booster to reduce the load on the pilot's pedals. However, when the booster is turned off, the efforts on the pedals, according to the pilots, are quite normal. The elevator is equipped with two trimmers, and the rudder and ailerons are equipped with spring servo compensators. Il-62 is the only heavy jet aircraft in the world with manual boosterless control.

When designing the Il-62, all possibilities were found to reduce the weight of the structure. Take, for example, the transition made from the equipment of the DC electrical system with a voltage of 27V to the AC electrical system with a voltage of 220V. So, the electrical system operating at three-phase alternating current, including generators and consumers, turned out to be much more reliable, and most importantly, it lightened the aircraft design by 600 kg.

The layout of the aircraft with the location of the engines on the aft fuselage has a number of significant advantages compared to placing them on pylons under the wing. This arrangement made it possible to have a "clean wing" with high aerodynamic quality, as well as a freer device for effective wing mechanization. The engines are close to each other and the failure of any of them will not affect the load on the control of the aircraft. The pylon, which has a significant area, unloads the stabilizer, which, like the keel, can be made smaller in size.

Due to the rear location of the engines in the cabs, the noise level has decreased. The engines are further away from the fuel tanks and the potential for fire on board is greatly reduced. Damage to engines during a rough landing of the liner is almost eliminated. However, this scheme also has disadvantages that the designers took into account when developing the project. The absence of engines on the wing reduces the unloading of the structure in flight, which required some increase in the weight of the wing. The shift back of the center of mass somewhat complicates the layout of the aircraft. The nose of the machine, fuel lines and engine control are significantly lengthened.

Especially for the Il-62, N. Kuznetsov's design bureau created the NK-8 turbofan engine with an initial thrust of 9500 kgf, and then in the NK-8-4 version increased to 10500 kgf. One of the characteristic features of the engine was that it had a very low specific gravity, which was achieved by the extreme simplicity of its design and the widespread use of titanium alloys. Another advantage of the engine is its high reliability. And another feature: for the first time, all the main units were located in the lower part of the engine, which greatly simplified access to them during maintenance and repair.

But even this was not enough. The Ilyushins found the best way out - to replace the engines with more powerful and economical ones. For this purpose, a new bypass engine D-30KU designed by P. Solovyov with a take-off thrust of 11000 kgf, low specific fuel consumption and a new reversing device was chosen. The fact is that the D-30KU has a high bypass ratio - 2.33 instead of 1 for the NK-8-4 installed on the operated Il-62. Despite the large diameter of the new engines, they were able to accommodate them in nacelles, with little to no increase in their midsection. At the same time, the aerodynamic shape of the nacelles was improved, which had a positive effect on cruising flight modes. For the first time in our country, the Il-62 used an engine thrust reversal system, which made it possible to land in adverse weather conditions, on wet and icy runways. With the use of reverse, the distances of the aircraft run were significantly reduced.

At the air parade in Domodedovo in July 1967, the Il-62, piloted by the crew led by the chief pilot of the Design Bureau V. Kokkinaki, demonstrated all its undeniable advantages. The plane, which landed in front of the stands, showed not only movement forward, but also reverse. "This property was also useful in practice. On the first flight in the USA, the Il-62 landed at New York's Kennedy Airport. Dozens of correspondents impatiently besieged the plane. IL-62 was duly appreciated in the American press.

It was a funny incident when flying back home. Passengers and crew took their seats in the aircraft, which stood close to the airport building with its nose and was connected to it by a covered corridor. A small tractor pulled up to the plane to tow it to the runway, but the towing device was not the right size for our plane. To the surprise of those present, the commander of the Il-62 crew asked to drive the tractor aside, started the engines, turned on the reverse thrust of the reverse and gave "reverse". So I made it to the runway.

When creating the Il-62, special attention was paid to ensuring flight safety in accordance with existing international standards. The aircraft, if one of the engines failed on takeoff, depending on the circumstances, could stop taking off and stop within the runway, or continue it with a climb. This is ensured by engines with a sufficient power reserve and a reversing device, as well as by the fact that the rudders and ailerons have an increased reserve of areas and deflection angles, and the brakes have a large impact force.

If one or even two engines fail on the route, a safe flight to the nearest alternate airfield is possible. Moreover, the reserve power reserve of the engines is such that go-around and re-landing approach is possible in case of failure of not only one, but also two engines.

In the event of a passenger cabin depressurization to protect passengers, pilots will be able to descend from maximum cruise altitude to a safe altitude of 4000 m in just 3 minutes. These parameters are in line with international standards. And in a critical situation after landing, to leave the aircraft, passengers and crew have at their disposal special on-board equipment - emergency hatches, inflatable ladders, rafts, emergency lighting.

What are the design features of the aircraft? Il-62 is a monoplane with a low swept wing, with a stabilizer placed on top of the keel, engines mounted on pylons in the aft fuselage and with a conventional tricycle landing gear. There is also an additional tail support.

Fuselage - monocoque type, elliptical section. The layout options on the IL-62 differ in the number of seats - 186, 168 and 138. Accommodation also varies in several cabins: 72 passenger seats in the front cabin and 114 in the rear. Accordingly - 66 and 102. There is also an option - the front cabin for 12 passengers, the middle one for 24 and the rear for 102 passengers. Up to an altitude of 7200 m, the pressure in the cabins is constant and equal to the earth. And at an altitude of 13,000 m, the pressure corresponds to barometric pressure at an altitude of 2,400 m. The fuselage also houses a cabin for five crew members, a buffet-kitchen, a wardrobe for 130 seats in the rear of the fuselage, five toilets, front and rear service compartments. Under the floor are four luggage compartments.

Wing IL-62 - three-spar, monoblock design, reinforced with panels of pressed blanks. Transverse power set - riveted beam-type ribs. The nose and tail sections of the wing are standard riveted construction. The rudders and ailerons have two trim tabs. To create a steep gliding mode and reduce the landing run, in addition to flaps, spoilers are also used. The installation angle of the stabilizer is changed by means of an electromechanism, which has two motors for reliability.

The fuel of the aircraft is located in the wing, in seven tanks-compartments. Four tanks are main and three are additional, and from the latter to the main fuel is pumped by electric pumps. Each engine has its own consumption compartment with two electric pumps. An additional drainage system is available for draining tanks on steep gliding and in case of emergency emergency descent. There is also an emergency fuel drain system using seven electric pumps that can operate in forced mode. Drain pipes have an outlet at the end fairings of the wing. Fuel tank capacity - 100 thousand liters.

The chassis of the IL-62 consists of two main pylons with four-wheel bogies, a front pylon with two wheels and an additional tail pylon. The front support is steerable and the wheels on it are brake. The wheels of the main support are equipped with powerful disc brakes. In addition to the main one, there is also an additional emergency braking system.

The hydraulic system of the aircraft consists of the main and auxiliary networks. The main hydraulic network provides cleaning and landing gear, front support rotation control, main and parking brake systems, control of spoilers and windshield wipers.

During the flight, the anti-icing system protects the wing tips and plumage, air intakes, engine coques, front windows of the cockpit and air vents from icing. This system also protects the intakes of air conditioning radiators in the wing root. At the same time, the anti-icing devices of the wing, plumage, air intakes and engine cowlings are air-thermal, and the front windows of the cockpit and vents are protected from icing by electric heating.

The main sources of electricity are four alternating current generators. The DC system is powered by the main system through the rectifier units. Auxiliary power units with two generators are also installed - one direct current, the other alternating current. The engines are started with compressed air from the TA-6 onboard turbine unit, which is located in the fuselage. When the aircraft is on the ground, TA-6 generates electricity to power the onboard network and to supply fresh air to the cockpit and cabins.

The development of new NK-8 bypass turbofan engines for the Il-62 was carried out simultaneously with the development of the aircraft design. At the same time, in order to reduce the time of test flights, they designed the production of three prototypes at once. At the first stage of testing, special attention was paid to the behavior of a heavy machine with boosterless control.

In aerodynamic terms, many expected problems had to be solved here. Time was running out, so they accelerated the construction of one aircraft at first, which was temporarily equipped with AL-7 turbojet engines designed by A. Lyulka, somewhat less powerful than NK-8. This machine first took to the air in January 1963. Several flights were made on it, checking stability, controllability and all takeoff and landing characteristics.

The second Il-62, already with upgraded NK-8 engines, made its first flight in April 1964. On this machine, they worked out the power plant and checked the interaction of all aircraft systems and on-board equipment. And finally, the third prototype with NK-8 engines took off in July 1965. This aircraft became the standard for serial production. He was presented for state tests, which were successfully completed in the middle of 1967. At the same time, along with state tests, operational tests were carried out on four serial machines. After their completion, in September 1967, passenger transportation of the new long-haul airliner was opened on Aeroflot routes.

The debut of the new liner was quite successful. In the English magazine "Airplane" in August 1968, the flight on the Il-62 on the route Prague - London was commented as follows: "After starting, the noise from the engines was almost inaudible. The takeoff lasted only 35 seconds. During the flight, the aircraft showed exceptional stability and stood like a rock, showing absolutely no tendency to oscillate, which is inherent in large machines, especially with a long forward fuselage.

The operation of the air brakes and flaps was almost not felt, and only a slight knock was heard when the landing gear was extended at a fairly high speed when flying near Watford. But this knock was much weaker than, for example, similar Boeing aircraft. Gliding and landing speeds were so slow that it seemed like the plane was literally floating in the air for some time.

I would especially like to note the weight ratio of the aircraft. It is characterized by the highest weight return and the lowest value of the relative weight of the airframe. The IL-62 would certainly have had worse performance than the DC-8 and the Boeing 707 (with equal weight return of the structures) if they had not found a fundamentally new scheme of landing gear, due to the location of the engines at the rear of the fuselage.

This led to an improvement in a number of properties of the aircraft, but at the same time, to a heavier structure. At the same time, the weight of not only the fuselage, but also the wing not unloaded by engines, increases. But the amount of weighting was reduced to a minimum by introducing a new landing gear system into the design. The high weight efficiency of the IL-62 design was achieved only with a comprehensive analysis of various schemes, layouts, strength and weight at all design stages.

After successful state tests in 1967, the Il-62 began to carry out passenger transportation on the Moscow-Khabarovsk and Moscow-Montreal routes. This was practically the first time that the regular operation of a new type of aircraft was simultaneously launched on domestic and international routes. This can be regarded as complete confidence in the absolute reliability of the new high-speed airliner, which has become the flagship of Aeroflot. The hardest part was getting permission to fly in the US, especially due to noise restrictions. But the IL-62 fully met all the standards of international flights. A number of companies, without hesitation, purchased this excellent liner. And Air France, KLM, Jal leased aircraft for long-term operation.

It was interesting to get a first-hand opinion about the Il-62 aircraft - the capabilities and features of this now legendary machine. The merited pilot of the USSR Alexander Petrov, who flew 4 thousand hours on the Il-62, tells. And he has something to compare with: before that, the experienced pilot piloted the Il-28, Tu-16, and then the Il-18 and Tu-114. Here is what he said: “First of all, it should be noted that the IL-62 in the early 1960s was literally a miracle of technology. I had a chance to fly on it from Moscow to Vladivostok, Magadan, Khabarovsk, Kamchatka. These were grandiose flights in a great circle: from Domodedovo, taking into account the wind, they took a course not 70-80 degrees, but only 15, rushing along the route not immediately to the Pacific, but first to the Arctic Ocean and then only from Tiksi they went east . The pilots joked: every curve is shorter than a straight line ...

The car behaved excellently - handling and stability in flight are excellent. First of all, we felt a significant difference compared to the long-haul Tu-114 - more weight return, more speed, less shaking and noise. "Battleship" Tu-114 was still a very noisy car. Four theaters of 15,000 hp each with multi-blade coaxial six-meter propellers pretty much “threshed” the air and created a powerful vibration. Il-62 is easier to manage than Tu-114. On the latter, for example, on landing when leveling at a speed of about 350 km / h, there was not enough strength to “pull” the car out of the glide angle and only the trimmer rescued. And landing on the Il-62 is smoother and at a lower speed - 280 km / h.

At that time, creating the Il-62, the Ilyushin team followed an unbeaten path, and many issues had to be resolved for the first time. Take, for example, this outlandish aerodynamic "beak" on the leading edge of the wing - this is an original way to protect against pressure flow from one part of the wing to another. The Tu-104, for example, has aerodynamic ridges installed for this. But the IL-62 was equipped with a special "beak" or, as the pilots said, "dragon's tooth".

In technical terms, it brought a lot of trouble to the production workers: additional problems with technology, riveting, layout of wing units and highways. And here is another misfortune: at high angles of attack, especially at low speed during landing, the plane was very unstable in roll. For this case (low speed and high angle of attack), the designers still had to equip the only booster device on the rudder. The rear centering of an unloaded aircraft required special attention. The trend towards it was determined by the rear location of the engines (2800 kg each), the rear additional 7th tank in the keel of the Il-62M. Hence the need for a rear tail support and the "headache" in the constant care of its "release-retraction" positions.

And in order to balance some weight discrepancy between individual parts of the structure, the main supports had to be pulled back, and the chassis base of the IL-62 turned out to be too large - 24.5 m, and the nose was very long. There were times when there were few passengers on the flight, we tried to seat them in the front cabin. And if it was necessary to carry out ferry routes, then in order to maintain operational balance in the nose of the aircraft, a special tank weighing 3 tons was filled with water. The IL-62 was equipped with first-class navigation radio and flight equipment. Somehow, in the cockpit, we were not too lazy to count all the instruments, light bulbs, displays, buttons - it turned out to be more than 500.

At the calculated altitude, the aircraft developed a significant ground speed, practically equal to the speed of the earth's rotation. So, for example, on a flight from Kamchatka to Moscow, the time difference between which is 9 hours, approximately the same time was spent on the route. So, having taken off from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky at 12.00, at the same time, at the end of the route, we ended up at the airfield in Domodedovo.

Il-62 is an exceptionally reliable aircraft. For us, the most difficult landing point was Avachinskaya Bay in Kamchatka, or rather, the Yelizovo airfield. Here, errors in the landing calculation are unacceptable. We worked out the following method: we approach from the side of the ocean at an altitude of at least 2800 m. In practice, the tops of the volcanoes below us are only 300-400 m away. So we go almost to the distant drive, and then an intensive descent and landing.

More than once the plane rescued us in the most difficult, extreme circumstances. Once we were flying from Khabarovsk, and on the way to Domodedovo the weather deteriorated sharply: fog, visibility was only 60 m. From the checkpoint they suggested that we go to alternate airfields, according to our long-haul scales - Leningrad or Kiev, since Vnukovo and Sheremetyevo were also closed. We inform the checkpoint that we do not have enough fuel for this and ask permission to land at Domodedovo. The dispatchers hesitated, and after a pause: “Make a decision yourself ...”

We plan by touch. We passed the long-range drive on calls for 200 m, we are going to the nearest one ... Of course, we will go out on it, but will we hit the runway exactly on target? After all, visual control is completely absent. And it is useless to go to the second round in this situation... We are concentrated to the limit... Here is the bell - we are passing the neighbor. The radio altimeter shows only 60 m ... A little more ... And here is the strip, it is slightly at an angle. Parry the demolition, sit down. Our backs are, of course, wet...

And once, in 1972, things were more abrupt: when landing in Novosibirsk, the left landing gear did not extend, did not lock. You can understand the state of the crew here: after all, there are passengers in the cabin ... We checked the light bulbs with the control buttons - they work, they didn’t burn out. So, after all, the leg did not stand on the lock. Reported to the flight director. The answer is a painful silence. Then the command: in order to avoid a fire, run out of fuel, and make an emergency landing on the right and nose landing gear. We make a decision - to land on a runway with a large flight in order to avoid a collision with the aircraft parking lot. For forty minutes we walk over the airfield, we work out fuel. And then the passengers realized that things were not going well. Now the most important thing is not to start a panic on board.

The stewardesses do their best to calm the passengers... But we understand: if there is no fire when the left plane is lowered at the end of the run and hits the concrete, then the destruction of the aircraft is almost guaranteed. So the mood of the crew is gloomy. And what it should be like when you mentally say goodbye to life ... And then the incredible happened! Just before leveling, turn on the reverse thrust. From sharp braking, the two-ton trolley of the left leg, by inertia, extended the rack and snapped it into the lock. And again - a soft landing, instead of a disaster ... The main advantage of the IL-62 is that it used an automated control system for self-propelled guns. Even on such gigantic routes as Moscow-Khabarovsk, the pilots, as they say, do not even touch the rudders and units with their fingers. From takeoff to landing, everything will be done for them by the self-propelled guns, into which all ground speed, true heading, all turning points and flight modes are entered in advance. Without pathos I will say: for pilots, their favorite aircraft is like a living being. Even today I remember my IL-62 as a good friend.”

The Il-62, as well as other aircraft of the Design Bureau, embodied high technical and economic indicators, obtained primarily due to high aerodynamic perfection and a large weight design culture. The aircraft fully complied with the world technical and economic level. In this, first of all, the merit of the creative team of developers. No wonder a group of design engineers of the Design Bureau was awarded the Lenin Prize. Here are the main creators of the legendary liner: S.V. Ilyushin, G.V. Novozhilov, Ya.A. Kutepov, D.V. Leshchiner, V.I. Smirnov, V.I. Ovcharov, V.M. Sheinin.

Over the years, about 250 Il-62 and Il-62M aircraft have been produced. 80 of them served in the airlines of Hungary, Poland, Angola, China, North Korea, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Romania and other countries.