Cheers folks!
Tophe: One more double-decker to come
Ilyushin OKB and the Aerobus Program (Part One)Assuming that most BtS members know almost as little as I did about the Soviet
Aerobus program, a brief digression into the RW history seems warranted here. The Ilyushin Design Bureau (OKB-240) undertook a series of design studies which ultimately resulted in the IL-86. The original OKB-240 take on
Aerobus was a series of enlarged IL-62 '
Ivanushka' derivatives -- including one with a 6.70 m fuselage stretch and another as a double-decker with an upper lobe added to the fuselage.
Also proposed was a straightforward passenger adaptation of the IL-76 cargo jet. This too was to feature double decks - now with drop-down stairs at the rear (fitting with the
Aerobus program approach of having passengers load their own luggage). This concept was then refined by fitting an entirely new, 'wide body' fuselage to the IL-76 wings, Soloviev D-30T powerplants, and tailplane.
(
Top) Ilyushin 'wide body'
Aerobus design study based on the IL-76 wing and engines.
Further OKB-240 design studies fitted a similar 'wide body' fuselage with a low wing and four, paired fuselage-mounted Kuznetsov NK-86 engines similar to the IL-62's arrangement. Other than the powerplants, commonality between this new concept and the in-service IL-62 would be minimal.
(
Bottom) Ilyushin 'wide body' IL-62 derivative (one of many such design studies)
The rear-engine arrangement fit with the preferences of Soviet authorities (which did not favour 'Western' approaches like aero-elastic wings with podded engines). The 'wide body' fuselage matched another desire of the aparatchiks - to rival the anticipated Western Lockheed L1011 and McDonnell-Douglas DC-10. However, for the no-frills
Aerobus approach, further improvements were possible.
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