Category: Ilyushin IL-86

Soviet Airbuses in China: Xinjiang's IL-86s

24/7/2019

Even when it was first put into service the Soviet IL-86 was hardly a picture of modernity or efficiency, so it is little surprise that on the foreign market it was not a popular choice. Nonetheless, a few aircraft did make it out of the CIS and three ended up with Xinjiang Airlines in China, one of China's first non-CAAC airlines.

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Looking West: Transaero in the 90s

29/4/2016

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Following the collapse of the Soviet Union the various Aeroflot directorates splintered into a diverse array of obscure airlines operating the fragments of the Aeroflot fleet. One airline however started fresh becoming the first truly new scheduled airline in Russia. This was Transaero which would grow into one of the most important and respected airlines in the country with an unusually modern fleet and a fresh image.

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Candid About the Camber: Aeroflot's IL-86 Airbus

8/5/2015

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The Ilyushin IL-86 'Camber' encapsulates a big chunk of what was wrong with the Soviet Union, but also some of the things they did well. As with all Soviet civil aircraft well into the 90s its engines were obsolescent, its performance anaemic, its development protracted, its service entry late and its production far too prolonged and slow. However despite this it had many unique features which adapted it to Russian operations well, was solid, strong, reliable and very safe.

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Obscure Russians 2: Transeuropean Airlines

18/3/2015

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Transeuropean Airlines (Трансевропейские авиалинии) was a charter airline based in Russia. It operated charter flights between Moscow Sheremetyevo and popular holiday destinations, mostly Barcelona and Antalya. The airline was formed in 1996 and by early 1999 the fleet comprised 4 Ilyushin IL-86s and 1 Tupolev TU-154M (RA-85799). The airline had rather grandiosly ordered a pair of IL-96s although they were never delivered. Impressively however the airline did take delivery of a Tupolev TU-204-100 (RA-64018) in May 1999 and had a second on order.

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Soviet Airbuses in China: Xinjiang's IL-86s

Looking West: Transaero in the 90s

Candid About the Camber: Aeroflot's IL-86 Airbus

Obscure Russians 2: Transeuropean Airlines

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