The first Soviet designed widebody airliner was the Ilyushin IL-86. First flying on 22 December 1976, it entered service with Aeroflot over four years later on 26 December 1980.
Powered by four Kuznetsov NK-86 engines, the aircraft had a typical range of 4,000 kilometres with a full passenger load. This made it a short to medium range jet, though it was used on long-haul services with fuel stops, such as Moscow to Havana, stopping at Shannon and Gander along the way.
Ilyushin IL-86 Video
Following on from last weeks video about the Tupolev TU-154, we stay behind the Iron Curtain for a look at the Ilyushin IL-86. The video below gives a nice overview of the aircraft in about eight minutes.
Airports in remote areas of the Soviet Union were not equipped to handle such a large aircraft. Passengers were able to board from the tarmac via three seats of stairs into the cargo hold, drop their luggage, then go upstairs into the cabin. Quite unusual!
Aeroflot operated virtually all of the 106 aircraft produced between 1976 and 1991. Just three were exported, to China Xinjiang Airlines, in 1990.
Stringent noise regulations prevented the aircraft flying to most of the world from April 2002, and it was finally withdrawn from service in 2011. Its successor is the Ilyushin IL-96, which will be covered in a future article.
Overall Thoughts
In many ways, the Soviet aviation industry was always behind their counterparts in the USA and Europe. As they introduced the Ilyushin IL-86 in service, the western types were already moving towards widebody twins.
Engine technology always seemed to be the limiting factor in the Soviet Union. Even today, the Russian aviation industry is still struggling to sell their aircraft around the world, with spares support being a major issue.
Have you ever flown on the Ilyushin IL-86? What was it like? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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Featured image by Udo K. Haafke on Airliners.net via Wikimedia Commons.
I flew on an Il-86 from Leningrad to Amsterdam on a student trip in 1989. We boarded via the aft lower stairs, and seats were not assigned! We just sat with our friends. The seat back pockets had souvenir postcards in them, including one of the An-2 biplane 🙂
Always wished I could have flown in an Il-62 (or VC-10).
That sounds like it would have been a lot of fun! Unassigned seating too – something I’ve only recently experienced myself when flying in Ireland. Sounds pretty cool all round there. You can still do an IL-62 in North Korea (so not exactly convenient!) but sadly no more VC-10s, I would have loved to do one of those too. Thanks for the comment!
Flew on one on a school tour to Russia in 1983: LGW-SVO then LED-LGW. Our baggage was checked in in the regular way, but I remember noticing the cloakroom style baggage drop-off area as we boarded. I also remember that instead of an air vent in the panel over the seat, there was a little fan set into the back of seat in front. But the main thing I remember was the take-off from LED. We sat at the end of the runway with the brakes on as the engines got louder and louder and louder before the brakes were… Read more »
That must have been a seriously cool experience! I have heard they had the nozzles in the back of the seat in front. Must have made for some serious seat complexity and infrastructure. You’re right, it was always said that the IL-86 could have had more power, so what you describe makes perfect sense. Quite jealous you’ve got on board these older planes! Thanks again for sharing!
Thanks! I was 17, it was really exciting to travel to what was still the USSR and it was the first wide-bodied aircraft I travelled on, so it was a seriously cool experience as you say! I’m not sure the little fan added a lot to the complexity: I imagine it just needed a power cable at say 12v. But all seats had them, and I remember thinking that was cool, because I had seen photos of 747s which had no airvents over the seats in the centre.
Good point on how it probably worked. I imagine centralised ducted air, which of course it would never need to be. An experience all round!!
I took Il-86 several times: SVX to DME, SVX to KHV and SVO to JFK. The flights to JFK included two stops for refueling: Shannon and Gander. The aircraft was not bad for the time, very spacious inside and pretty reliable. However the engines were lucking power and noisy; on takeoff it gave a sound like multiple frequent explosions and obviously the range was about 4 hours before refueling. Concept “baggage with you” was convenient for major Soviet airports not equipped with air bridges.
You have a good batch of experience on the aircraft. The engines often let down the old Soviet aircraft, which I guess was down to the level of technology and resources. Certainly sounds like an interesting experience from a passenger’s point of view though! Would love to have tried it at some point. Thanks for sharing that!
I flew with this jet from Sotshi to Leningrad (St. Petersbug now) in 1985. For me that was a great experience. Had only flown with DC-9, Super Caravelle and TU-104 😉 before that. Because that was the biggest plane I had flow with, it was totally new experience. It was comfortable and nice, as far as I remember. Climbing to the passenger deck was something new also.
Well, having the DC-9, Caravelle and the TU-104 (!!) are great aircraft to have been on before the IL-86! I have heard about boarding from the ground and having to go up the stairs through the hold. It would have been interesting, that’s for sure. Thanks for the comment, I am jealous 🙂
Thanks! Tu-104 was the plane with which we went to Sotshi week before. That plane was so tightly seated, that back of seat in front of me was literally on my lap. I also remember one more detail from IL-86. I sat on a seat between aisles and each seat had air vent in the back of seat in front. It was quite handy. I had a chance to fly with Super Caravelle from Kajaani to Helsinki, and it was one of the last commercial flights Finnair flew with that. I remember quite slow acceleration compared to DC-9’s. It had… Read more »
Or could it have been some else, because TU-104 should have been removed from service in -85 But I remember it had that “bomber” nose…
It could well have been a TU-134, perhaps!
I think some of the early Douglas DC-8’s had this feature of the air vent in the seat in front. It’s something relatively unusual. Ahh, a trip on a Caravelle would have been lovely. Those windows are really something else. You’re lucky to have been on board so many interesting aircraft!
You’re right, it was TU-134! Anyway, it was near a nightmare… Luckily we had bougt someCognac from airport in Leningrad. It helped a bit.
I bet it did!! 🙂
Flew on IL-86 once from Moscow to Novosibirsk back in 1991. At that time there were no gates and everybody just walked with luggage to airplane across the tarmac to board to lower level using stairs. FA helped to put bags on shelves and then we climbed up to the level with seats. My first impression: high ceiling and huge airy volume like in movie theater! Air vents were in seats in front of each passenger. My row was on top of wing and view was not very good. Service was typical Soviet i.e. functional but rather dry. Flight was… Read more »
I have heard of this boarding method before, where everyone takes the luggage and puts it in the lower hold themselves. That must be quite interesting as it is quite different to how things are in most places. In pictures it looks like there is plenty of room above people. Interesting the air vents were in the seat in front… that is rare! I think that may have also been in the Douglas DC-8 as well. Great that you got to try one – that is excellent! Thanks for sharing your experience, I appreciate it!
Any idea what the Russians did for long distance flights before 1980? Narrow bodies? Foreign planes? Bombers? It would look strange by today’s standards to arrive at an international summit on a bomber, but stranger things have happened.
Yes, they used to use the Ilyushin IL-62, with four engines at the back like a Vickers VC10. That was the main aircraft for long haul, and continued to be for quite a long time. I should do a piece on that aircraft in the future as well. Thanks for reminding me!
I was on a college trip to the USSR in 1985 when we flew this airplane. We flew several planes that trip, but I don’t remember the destination in this plane, though Tashkent was our farthest destination so it was probably the one. We entered from below and walked up through a cargo area where you left your hand luggage. My only other memory is of the trolley used by the flight attendants. All the drinks were served out of glass bottles that clanked as the trolley was moved. What a fascinating trip it was.
That sounds like a real experience you would have had, visiting the USSR in 1985! Sounds like you went all over the place, if you had that many different flights. Glass bottles for the drinks – that’s certainly different today where it’s all plastic or cartons, apart from the cans and wine. I bet you had a wonderful time – I would have loved to have done a trip like that. Thanks for the comment!
Your article caught my attention this morning bringing back old memories. In 1988 my grandmother and I (a 12 year old from California) joined a tour group for a 3 week tour of the Soviet Union (Moscow, Leningrad, and Uzbekistan). I have vivid memories of our flight from Moscow to Tashkent on Ilyushin IL-86. I remember boarding from the tarmac and leaving our larger hand luggage in the cargo hold. I also remember the chicken served at dinner had a tiny feather still attached! I also remember that the Soviets strictly prohibited photography in airports and especially on aircraft. So… Read more »
That sounds like it would have been some trip, for someone in the United States to go to the Soviet Union back in those times. A real experience that would have been quite unusual for the time. Great that you managed to get the IL-86 and experience the boarding from the tarmac and leaving your luggage downstairs in the cargo hold. That’s pretty awesome! That chicken must have been pretty fresh, if it still had a feather on it! Thanks very much for the comment, really appreciate it!