THE ILYUSHIN design bureau and the TAPO Tashkent production plant are completing development of a cargo version of the Il-114 regional turboprop.
The freighter will have a door measuring 3.31 x 1.78m in the tail section of the fuselage, and a take-off weight of 23,500kg. With a 6,000kg cargo, the aircraft's range would be 1,000km (540nm).
Genrikh Novozhilov, Ilyushin general designer, says that the cargo variant is being developed at the request of Uzbekistan Airlines, which is operating two Il-114s on general cargo duties - the airliner is not yet certificated to carry passengers.
Certification has primarily been delayed by problems with the Klimov TV-7-117 turboprops and Stupino propellers. Alexander Sarkisov, the general manager at Klimov, says that "...practically all procedures required by the certification regulations have been completed". He is hopeful that the engine will be certificated by 1996.
Ilyushin is considering other solutions to the Il-114's engine problems and has signed a memorandum of understanding with Pratt & Whitney Canada to install PW127 engines on a new model known as the Il-114PC. P&WC president Gilles Ouimet says that if the programme goes ahead, it will be supported by the new P&W/Klimov joint venture.
Source: Flight International
