Ilyushin hopes to gain civil certification for the Ilyushin Il-76MF freighter, designated the TF, by year-end, after the completion of flight testing of the military version, targeted at the Russian air force.
The only flying example of the stretched, Aviadvigatel PS-90A76-powered version of the Il-76 transport recently completed its flight-test programme. Trials began in 1995 with 600 flights being undertaken, which included military acceptance trials. This is despite the fact that the air force has not yet decided between the Il-76MF, Antonov An-70 and Tupolev Tu-330 as its future airlifter type.
According to Ilyushin general designer Genrikh Novozhilov, talks on certification of the civil version have been held with Russian airworthiness body AR MAK. Agreement has been reached on the acceptance of results from the flight tests made during military acceptance trials. "This makes it possible to achieve civil certification by the end of this year," says Novozhilov.
The Il-76mMF/TF incorporates a 6.5m (21ft 3in) stretch over the baseline Il-76TD, which combines with the new generation engines to produce a 30-35% improvement in operating economics.
Russian airline East Line has expressed interest in the Il-76TF. Some 30-40 of the 200 Il-76T/TDs in service could be re-engined with the PS-90A76 - a programme that Volga-Dnepr and Atlant-Soyuz have expressed interest in.
Source: Flight International