Il-76 CANDID

The Il-76 Candid entered service with the former Soviet air force in 1974. The Ilyushin Il-76 transport clearly appears as a military design. Its high wing and strong landing gear give it the ability to operate from airfields with rough or unpaved runways, while its rear loading ramp guarantees easy loading and even air dropping capabilities. The wings are high-mounted, swept-back, and tapered with blunt tips and a slight negative slant. Four turbofan engines are mounted on pylons under and extending beyond wings' leading edges. The fuselage is long, round, and tapering to the rear, featuring a rounded nose with radome on the chin. The bottom portion of nose glassed-in. The tail flats are swept-back, tapered, and high-mounted on a swept-back, with the tapered tail fin forming a T.

IL-76 is intended for landing personnel and transporting cargo and equipment for various purposes. It is the first transport military aircraft with turbojet engines in the history of the Soviet Union. The aircraft is capable of delivering cargo with a maximum mass of 28-60 tons at a distance of 3600-4200 km with a cruising speed of 770-800 km/h (the largest weight of the transported cargo and flight range are associated with the modification).

The aircraft was designed according to the traditional single-body high-wing design for heavy transport aircraft, which has a swept wing and a single-fin T-tail. It has ordinary swept wings and a single-keel plumage in the form of a T-shape. The wing of the aircraft is trapezoidal with a fracture along the trailing edge.

The fuselage of the aircraft has a round shape and is divided into several sealed compartments. The IL-76 cockpit for pilots is located in the upper part, and the navigator's cockpit is located under the cockpit. There is also a cargo pressurized cabin. In military models, a gunner's cabin is provided, equipped with a stern gun mount. The aircraft has three hatches - two in the front and one in the tail. The rear hatch is a cargo hatch and has a three-leaf structure.

The IL-76 airframe has an all-metal semi-monocoque structure. The nose tip tapered. Rear cabin is equipped with two large clamshell doors, and a large scalable cargo hold with built-in loading and unloading ramps. Below the cockpit front pilot cabin there are large observation Windows, below cylindrical radome. The wing does not impede the cabin space, and includes a central wing, both wing panels, and two outer wing panels. For static mass balance ailerons, flaps and two to three edge stitch, there are 16 spoilers. Leading edges of the wings are 10 leading edge sew wings as a whole. Military-style tail turret, later part of the tail of a switch to civilian. Cantilever all-metal flat installation angle can be adjusted at the end of the t-tail, on each side of the rudder and elevator trim tab. Integral fuel tank between the wings and outer wing rear spar before total 81830 litres of fuel. There are 4 plug points under the wing military-style, each of 500 kilograms of bombs, flares, flags hanging elastic.

Power unit are four Soloviev Design Bureau D-301M (Russian code D-30K) turbofan engine, lifting respectively on both sides under the wings, a single thrust 117,600 n. Each engine is equipped with a clamshell-style reverse thrust device. The D-30K is a former Soviet Soloviev Design Bureau (now Russian Perm Aeroengine Research and Production Association) D-30 modifications developed by the former Soviet Union on the basis of the first large ducted turbofan engines. Basic D-30KY in 1974, replacing the HK-8-4 engines on the Il-62M passenger aircraft.

The engines feature fixed inlet cones, 26 inlet guide vanes, and 3 stage axial-flow fans driven by the low-pressure turbine. Material is mainly titanium alloys. Attachment shaft spread after this case is located in the lower part of the engine accessories. 11-stage axial-flow compressor and high-pressure turbine-driven by rectangle spline shaft. Level on the power pack. Rotor blade dovetail Tenon connections, the first 2 levels with partial high collars. In addition to axle, rear receiver, 9~11-rotor blade and disc, 10~11-level outside the stator blades are made of steel, and the remaining structure is made of titanium alloy.

Speed 7900~9600r/min, inlet guide vanes can be rotated by the programmed up to 30� angle. In the transition state, 5th grade and 6th grade deflation. In addition, 1th grade rotor blades surrounded by a perforated wall composed of annular Chamber. The maximum speed of 10900r/min. Ring tube-shaped combustion chamber. 12 flame tube, each flame tube is composed of domed head and 8 welding segments, there is a gap between the paragraphs flow of dilution air for the second unit. In the flame tube Central located a single pre-combustion of swirl-type primary nozzle/nozzle. Outer casing wall and culverts with longitudinal joints in order to approach the combustor and turbine guide vane.

There are 7 IL-76 crew, driver's cabin, co-pilot sat side by side at the front, the pilot in the nose below the glass canopy, two rear cargo sit in the cockpit. Machine is equipped with a night takeoff-landing equipment, including automatic flight control systems and automatic landing system. Nose radome is fitted with large-scale meteorological and terrain mapping radar. Cargo size 20 m X 3.46 m X 3.40 m, capable of carrying 150 heavily armed soldiers, or 120 paratroopers; also shipped a variety of military vehicles or equipment. Cargo-rear clamshell doors and cargo bridge, with loading and unloading Rails, rail width can be adjusted. Cabin top 2 electric cranes, lifting 5,000 kilograms per unit. 2 sets of winches, each pulling force of 3,000 kilograms. These random loading and unloading system shortens the airport loading/unloading time, increases the velocity of the aircraft. Cargo is the hermetic type, 10668 m the pressure altitude to 3000 meters height. When necessary, to the cockpit pressurization.

To adapt to a rough front-line airport runway, IL-76 with the low pressure of landing gear systems, as well as during take off and landing phases before and after flying at low speed provides greater lift flaps. Inside the machine is fitted with a winch, cabin top essential handling equipment such as cranes, Rails, convenient loading and unloading. IL-76 has the ability to into a flying hospital. Is hydraulically retractable tricycle-type multi wheel low-pressure tires landing gear, a total of 20 rounds.

The nose gear for two pairs of wheels, gas-pressurized shock absorbers, tire sizes 1100 mm up to x330 mm, forward revenue within the fuselage. Each of the two main landing gear with 4 wheels, income on either side of the fuselage fairing, income pillar turned around a timing axle, axle parallel to the body axis, perpendicular to the wheel after income and subject to the direction of flight into a 90 �. Tire tire pressure regulation system, flight to 2.6~5.2x105 kPa (2.65~5.3 kg/cm 2) adjustable tire pressure needed. Tire size 1300 mm x480 mm. Hydraulic system includes a servo motor is used to drive the flaps, sewing the wings, landing gear and tail doors, loading platforms, cargo door motors, flight control booster powered by electric pumps, and separated from the Central hydraulic source. After a booster failed, you can manually. Engine-driven electrical system including AC generators and auxiliary power unit driven backup generators, and DC inverter and batteries. On-board power supplies main booster for the flight control system, radio, power supply, electrical equipment and lighting systems.

The aircraft is equipped with a night takeoff-landing equipment, including automatic flight control systems and automatic landing system computers. The nose radome radar meteorological and ground with large graphics. IL-76 fitted with electronic warfare equipment, including radar warning receivers, and chaff-infrared decoy launchers, plug-in electronic countermeasures pods. Several IL-76 were modified with 2 doors equipped with radar target on 23mm self defense gun. Many civilian IL-76 have the artillery system because the Soviet Union/Russia planned that civilian IL-76 would be used by the military during wartime.

The Il-76 is capable of carrying a wide variety of heavy cargoes long distances � hence the strategic airlifter designation. One of the biggest distinguishing features of the Il-76 is its distinct glass nose cockpit, which, in the right light, gives off the appearance of a plane smiling broadly back at whoever may be observing it. This design feature gives the navigator � who is seated in a separate cabin below the flight deck, an unparalleled view of the environment under the plane � something particularly useful during landings. For the Il-76, made to be rugged enough to take off and land on unpaved, dirt or snow-covered runways, good sightlines can be crucial.

Like many Russian aircraft, the Il-76 has its official name, then there's the name given to it by operators. For the Il-76, that name is the 'humpback' or 'hunchback', owing to the distinct placement of its wings � which are situated above the fuselage. NATO�s codename for the Il-76 is the �Candid�, in accordance with the classification system under which cargo transport aircraft all start with the letter "C."

In October 2012, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation signed a contract with the Aviastar plant for the construction of 39 Il-76MD-90A aircraft in the amount of 139.42 billion rubles, or, roughly speaking, 3.5 billion rubles each. for the plane. Let me remind you that at that time the dollar exchange rate was 30 rubles, that is, in a strange way, then the plane cost $115 million But after 8 years, in 2020, the contract is renegotiated, with a reduction in the primary order and for the delivery of only 14 Il-76MD-90A aircraft by 2028! And all because Aviastar critically missed the deadlines for the delivery of aircraft for the needs of the RF Ministry of Defense and there could be no talk of any 39 aircraft, even until 2030. The plant fulfilled its old obligations only in 2022, having delivered 13 aircraft since 2012, or 1-2 aircraft per year.

As part of the Russian Aerospace Forces, as of 2023 there were officially about 130 Il-76 aircraft of various modifications. But not all of them work. In 2019, it turned out that the serviceability of military transport aviation equipment is 60% and continues to decrease due to the lack of routine repairs and a program to modernize existing aircraft, but at the same time, a growing load on vehicles. What is most interesting, instead of solving internal problems with the maintainability of equipment, in 2019 a contract was signed for the repair of 6 Indian Il-78MKIs. The process of carrying out repair work for the Russian Il-76 has not moved to the systemic plane since then. Thus, a fully functioning Il-76 in the ranks of the Russian Aerospace Forces can be an average of 70 aircraft.