FLUG REVUE first flight gallery: Ilyushin IL-76TD-90VD

First Flight Gallery: Ilyushin IL-76TD-90VD

Read the original first flight press release:

FIRST MODERNISED IL-76 EQUIPPED WITH NEW ENGINES SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETES INITIAL TEST FLIGHT

Moscow, August 9th, 2005. – Volga-Dnepr Group has confirmed that the first new-build IL-76 cargo aircraft designed to meet International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) noise and emissions requirements has successfully completed its initial test flight at the TAPO plant in Tashkent on August 5.

The 50-tonnes capacity freighter, equipped with new PS-90A-76 engines and new generation avionics, completed a 30-minute test flight at an altitude of 700 metres, piloted by a crew led by Dimitij Komarov.

Alexey Isaikin, President of Volga-Dnepr Group, said: “The first flight of the IL-76TD-90VD is the result of a 4-year project that utilised the combined work of the professionals of Volga-Dnepr Group, Ilyushin Aviation Complex, TAPO and Perm Motor Plant within the framework of the national 'IL-76 modernisation' project.”

Assembly of the first IL-76TD-90VD aircraft has been financed by Volga-Dnepr through its own resources and investment from Russian and international financial institutions.

“The aircraft has been born again thanks to new engines and new digital avionics and will now be able to continue to serve our customers for as long as another 20 years. Practically, the modernised aircraft will be the only civil aircraft in the world in the 30-50 tonnes market segment capable of transporting oversize cargo to any airport,” added Andrei Pakhomov, General Director of Volga-Dnepr-Leasing.

Notes – IL-76:
The IL-76 is highly respected as one of the most capable aircraft to ever be operated by both Russian and foreign cargo carriers. Its success is based on the unique services provided by IL-76 operators as well as its economic efficiency. Not requiring any additional airport loading equipment, the self-sufficient IL-76 is able to operate to and from airports with poor infrastructure in markets such as the CIS, Asia, Africa and Latin America.

The IL-76 offers unique aircraft performance characteristics and occupies the niche of large aircraft capable of carrying payloads of up to 50 tonnes of cargo, including outsize loads. The aircraft has no serious competitors and accounts for more than 60% per cent of all Russia's airfreight revenues.
In these circumstances, Volga-Dnepr Group, Russia's leading air cargo carrier, is taking decisive steps to modernise the IL-76TD freighter by re-engining the jet with PS-90A-76 engines and equipping it with upgraded avionics.

As a result of the project, the IL-76TD-90VD, a new upgraded version of the ageing IL-76, will meet all the ICAO regulatory requirements.

As a part of Volga-Dnepr Group's long-term development strategy, in February 2004 Volga-Dnepr-Leasing was established. The main task of the new company is the consolidation of management and financial resources aimed at successfully implementing the IL-76 modernisation programme and managing this large-scale project.

Notes – Volga-Dnepr Group:
Volga-Dnepr Group is the market leader in the global movement of heavyweight and outsized air cargo, controlling 54 per cent market share in 2004. Among its permanent customers are such companies as Lockheed Martin, Exxon Mobil, Alcatel Aerospace and many other top global businesses that see Volga-Dnepr as an integral part of their logistic chains.

Volga-Dnepr has a fleet of ten AN-124-100s, three IL-76s and six YAK-40s. Its scheduled cargo airline business, AirBridge Cargo, also operates two Boeing 747-200s. Volga-Dnepr Group employs more than 1,500 people of 20 nationalities.

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Last updated 12 August 2005

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