"Everyone wants to transfer to the new Il-76": chief pilot of PJSC Il about Bogatyr Ilyusha

The heavy military transport aircraft of the Russian Air Force IL-76MD-90A at the international arms exhibition World Defense Show in Saudi Arabia is visible from afar. The winged hero stands out among the other boards for some special reason. Foreign delegations come up to him every now and then. They climb the ladder and disappear for a long time into the bottomless depths of the cargo cabin. Why the Russian aircraft is so loved by pilots around the world and what is the uniqueness of the aircraft — in the TASS material

The chief pilot of PJSC Il, Sergey Ivanovich Sukhar, has been familiar with Il-76 aircraft for several decades and knows, without exaggeration, everything about them. "I have been on flight test work since 1991. In 1989, I entered the test pilot school in Akhtubinsk, studied for two years and have been working since then. Until 2005, he served in the army, was a military test pilot. I have been familiar with the Il-76 since 1982. I flew absolutely everything — Il-76 simple, Il-76M, Il-76MD, IL-76TD and so on," says the pilot.

The exhibition takes place 70 km from Riyadh, there are sands around and only occasionally small buildings come across. An attentive eye can discern camels slowly wandering in the distance. The ramp of the aircraft is lowered, and the cargo compartment offers a view of the endless desert. At the exhibition itself, however, there is a revival. The stands of Rosoboronexport and Rostec with Russian defense products traditionally attract huge interest at international exhibitions, which only increased against the background of the special operation in Ukraine. "The attitude towards us here is good, very friendly: both in the hotel and on the territory of the exhibition. They see the Russian flag, they immediately smile, they say: "Putin, Russians," says Sergey Ivanovich.

According to him, visitors note the special beauty of the aircraft. "The hosts of the exhibition and delegations from other countries of the region have already come to us. A lot of people are interested in our aircraft. Firstly, the IL-76 is very beautiful in itself. A big, beautiful plane, everything in it is proportionate, elegant. The painting was chosen successfully, I call it "chameleon". Depending on how the sun illuminates, it changes color slightly. Well, the impressive size: the IL-76 is not the largest aircraft in the world, but it is quite impressive. And this, as a rule, also attracts people's attention very much," says the chief pilot.

The pilot says that often colleagues from other countries cannot resist the temptation and ask them to allow them to sit in the cockpit of the IL-76. "In Riyadh, so far we have not been approached with such requests, but in general it happens. Many people came to us at the Dubai Airshow last year. And, you know, there were even Americans among them. If the Europeans, with whom we currently have relations at a low level, seem to shy away, then the Americans are always smiling. What we think of them, what they think of us, remains with us. And communication is always positive," says Sergey Ivanovich.

To the plane — as to a living being

The first IL-76MD-90A was built in 2011. This is a deeply upgraded version of the IL-76MD. The aircraft received the latest systems and equipment: the flight and navigation complex, transport equipment, and engines were completely updated. Serial production of heavy transporters is carried out at the Ulyanovsk Aviastar-SP enterprise, which is part of the transport aviation division of the United Aircraft Corporation Rostec.

Transferred to the 235th Military Transport Aviation Regiment of the 18th Military Transport Aviation Division of the Military Transport Aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces, the first Il-76MD military transport aircraft built in 2022 at Aviastar-SP JSC (part of the Transport Aviation Division of United Aircraft Corporation JSC) in Ulyanovsk -90A (factory number 0208, registration number RF-78663). Ulyanovsk, 2022.
A source: PJSC United Aircraft Corporation

The flight arrived in Riyadh directly from Ulyanovsk. "The flight time is 5 hours and 10 minutes. The flight was normal," says the chief pilot. Sergey Ivanovich treats his car with great love. "I just love this plane and consider it one of the best. Test pilots always treat an airplane as a living being. As you treat him, so will he treat you. Otherwise, in some difficult situations, the plane will not help you, but you always want to feel supported. Sometimes we even talk to the car," he says.

The pilot explains the popularity of the IL-76 all over the world primarily by its reliability and ease of operation.

In military aviation, all loading and unloading tasks, as well as on-board maintenance, are handled by a crew consisting of six people. As the pilots themselves say, after the modernization, the process has become much simpler. The IL-76 was equipped with automated loading systems, a video surveillance system and a mobile control panel for loading and securing cargo. All these systems have reduced the time for loading and preparing for departure, and the work itself has become much less time-consuming. "Now it has become much easier, there is special loading equipment, everything is moored by the crew, and if any minor malfunctions occur, it is also corrected by the crews," says Sergey Ivanovich.

The principle of the "glass cabin"

The new Il-76 implements the principle of a "glass cabin". The analog instruments in the cockpit have been replaced with a digital field. Now all information is displayed on nine multifunctional screens. Six of them are in the cockpit, two are at the navigator, one is at the flight technician. Each of these screens replaces many analog devices. The use of digital solutions reduces the burden on the crew and makes it possible to receive information promptly.

"The internal contents of the aircraft have completely changed. Only due to the change of mechanical devices to monitors, the cabin became brighter and, I would say, even more spacious. Although the geometric parameters have not changed, but with the backlight of the screens everything looks different. It's like if you screw in a light bulb in a room and hang a chandelier, then everything looks completely different," says Sergey Ivanovich.

The innovations implemented in the IL-76MD-90A make it easier for pilots to control the machine during flight. The use of satellite systems has improved the accuracy of navigation and the accuracy of combat use.

In addition, a video recording system is installed on the aircraft: several surveillance cameras record everything that happens in the cockpit, in the cargo cabin and on the ramp during flight or parking at the airfield. And after completing the task, the pilots can view the recording and make sure that the landing process was successful. At the same time, when watching, they will not have to break away from controlling the aircraft.

"Now there is less burden on the pilot. Here is the monitor — all flight information is on it. On an old plane, the pilot had to allocate a lot of attention. What to watch first, how to watch… Any pilot has an angle of view, frankly, 180 degrees. The pilot must see everything. But here it is easier and, of course, the psychological and moral burden is less. The pilot has been in a state of high efficiency for longer," Sergei Ivanovich notes.

The legendary Il-76 made its first flight more than 50 years ago — back in March 1971. Since then, the aircraft has still remained one of the most efficient and in demand on the world market. About two dozen modifications and two tanker aircraft have been created on the basis of the machine. Since then, no one has been able to surpass this most multifunctional Russian aircraft.

IL-76MD-90A.
Source: UAC

The chief pilot of PJSC Il is convinced that the improvement of the characteristics after half a century has provided the IL-76MD-90A with a long and happy life. "I believe that the aircraft has been provided with another 30 years of life. And according to the experience of operating an airplane, the designated resource of a car is usually about 30 years old, but airplanes have been operating for 50 years. What is wonderful about the figure is that you can sculpt anything from it. The upgraded Il-76 currently meets all the existing world requirements for this type of aircraft in all its characteristics. The only thing that can happen during operation is some changes that can be easily made to the software," Sergey Ivanovich emphasizes.

The famous "bogatyr Ilyusha" was not used in any hypostasis: a transporter, a paratrooper, a tanker, a flying hospital, a search and rescue aircraft. "The plane has proven itself everywhere, whether it's the army, the Ministry of Emergency Situations or civil transportation — the plane is beautiful. I talked to all the pilots, military, civilian, Ministry of Emergency Situations, everyone is delighted with this aircraft. Everyone wants to transfer to the Il-76, to this upgraded model, because it is a cut above," says the chief pilot.

Ekaterina Adamova