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Aviation History
1997
1997 - 1106.PDF
AIR TRANSPORT DE-ICING FOR THE IL-114 AN INNOVATIVE feature on the II-114 is its de-icing system, which is based not on the traditional hot-air method, but on a pulse-wave technology which causes the ice to lose its grip on the airframe and fall away. The system, now patented in 14 coun tries with others pending, was developed by an Ilyushin team led by Dr Igor Levin in the 1960s. Levin calculated that up to 25% of the power needed to keep an Ilyushin 11-18 or 11-62 functional was being used to provide hot air for de-icing. In 1961 he began to develop a way to break ice on thin-walled surfaces, so that air flow will remove it from the aerofoil. An II-18 was used for the first testsThe new system weighed in at It, and yet the energy required to de-ice the aircraft fell to around one-six-hundredth of that needed before. On the 11-18 the tests were conducted at altitudes from 3,2 50 - 24,000ft in outside air temperatures (OAT) of- 6°C to - SOX and with icing intensities of 0.3 to 2.3mm per minute. The system was found to work efficiently, and with none of the interfer ence with electronic systems that were, and can still be, evident on other de-icers. The new system was found to be increas ingly effective as ice thicknesses built up. Its production was recommended and it was installed on the production 11-38 maritime-patrol aircraft. Later tests on an early Ilyushin 11 -76 led to the second- generation system being installed on all production Ilyushin Il-86s - an aircraft with an exceptional safety record. The development of new materials and microchips, which includes the fixed elements plus the cables, has resulted in a third-generation system for the II-114, which weighs in at just 16kg. The system now consists of light patches which are fixed to the leading edges at points proved in tests to be ice gathering. It is electrically activated, requiring just 200W power. The system is linked to the aircraft's flight-data recorders and has thus been fully analysed during the II-114 test programme down to temper atures of-44°C and, in older service air craft, down to -58°C. These tests have been scrutinised by the Nil WS (the Russian Air Force's research body) and by the GosNII GA (Russia's civil aviation research institute). With 18 years operational experience on the 11-86, and over 25 years on the H-38, the "new" system has a good track record. Dr Levin has now set up his own company, Impulse, to design, develop and market the new system. The first cargo version IL-114Tat Zbukovski ^ur the roll. It took about three times the normal ground run, and the engineer, working from the manual, reduced the power of both engines after lift-off. The aircraft stalled at 125ft (40m) and hit die ground 40m from the runway, killing seven of the nine on board. Contributory fac tors included a lapse of more than three months since the captain had flown an II-114, and it was the flight engineer's first flight on the type. Nikolai Talikov describes the accident as a tragedy for Ilyushin. "We lost seven excellent people, plus a development aircraft, and the accident caused the Russian Government to stop funding the programme. The limited money we were getting went elsewhere, which means that Ilyushin has had to fund the pro gramme itself since then, with only the Tashkent aircraft-production factor)' [TAPO] as a partner," he says. Talikov describes TAPO as "the strongest" aircraft-production factory in the former USSR, with total output of the Ilyushin 11-76 freighter now "over 900 units". WORKING TOWARDS CERTIFICATION By November 1996, says Talikov, the flight-test programme was 92% complete, with only the flight-navigation-equipmenttestsremainingto be done. A total of 87 reports remained to be approved before Russian certification could be issued. Of these, 40 were already agreed with the certification authorities, 20 have since been submitted, and the remaining 27 are under preparation. "So far," says Talikov, "the flight- test programme has shown the need for only minor changes. Allowing for the normal delays in the Russia of today, we expect certification to be secured in mid-1997," he adds. TAPO has now completed eight production II-114s. Ilyushin is flying three of these, plus the remaining prototype. On the development and test programmes, two are being flown with Uzbekistan Airways on the pre-certification operational trials - Russian certification requires one year's operational experience on non-passenger flights (cargo services) before the issue of full certification. Three aircraft are parked at the factory awaiting customers. The An-24 was developed as part of a family - apart from the passenger aircraft, the An-2 6 is a 6t payload freighter, the An-30 is a surveyor and the An-32 is a "hot-and-high" freighter. Talikov plans to develop a similar range from the II-114. The first new version, the 11-114T freighter, had its first flight from the production factory's airfield at Tashkent on 14 September, 1996, before being flown to Zhukovsky Aerodrome near Moscow to join the flight-test programme. The I1-114T should receive certification shortly after the standard version, which is expected to be cleared on 25 April. BUDGETARY DIFFICULTIES Ilyushiri has offered 17 versions of the II-114 for civil and military roles, but budgetary difficul ties will prevent many of these from being built. Versions include aircraft capable of the roles of surveillance, maritime-patrol and "hot-and- high" operations, as well as various equipment options. These include replacing the Novikov TV-7-117S turboprop engines, designed and manufactured in Russia, with either Pratt & Whitney PW12 7s or Allison engines, and offer ing AlliedSignal and Rockwell-Collins avionics. To replace the ageing Antonovs, Talikov sees a need for 25-50II-114s by 2000, with a further 75 to 150 in each of the next two five-year peri ods and a further 100-200 by 2015. "One-third of these will be II-114Ts," he says, "designed to take all modern cargo-loading mediods." He says that more than 500 airlines have been set up in Russia, with perhaps 200 more in the other former Soviet republics. "Traffic has fall en, however, to just 30% of Soviet levels and most carriers have no money for new aircraft, even if they want them. With each II-114 cost ing $9-10 million, it is not difficult to see that what is needed is some way to lease and/or finance the aircraft. Ilyushin and Tashkent are examining ways to deal with this - possibly by setting up a leasing company," says Talikov. He adds: "Tashkent can produce seven to eight aircraft a month, if the demand is there. We don't see much prospect of selling the II-114 in the West.. .so we will concentrate on our tra ditional markets of the CIS, Eastern Europe and Asia, where we are still welcome. Bulgaria, for example, is interested in the aircraft. We are conscious that we need to improve our delivery times and our product support. Ilyushin and Tashkent are working intensively on these mat ters and we will advise of our progress in due course," Talikov concludes. J 62 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 23 - 29 April 1997
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