IL-112 is a light Russian transport aircraft, which is currently at the design stage. The development is conducted by the aviation complex named after S. Ilyushin.
Development history
Already by the end of the 1980s, the Soviet Army needed a new, more reliable and powerful transport aircraft for the carriage of goods, as well as personnel of the units. The An-12 and An-26 transport planes, which were in service with transport aircraft at the time, were already morally obsolete, which only confirmed the opinion of the military about the new aircraft. However, the difficult situation in the country allowed to start development only in the early 90s.
The development and design of the new aircraft involved the aviation complex named after S. Ilyushin. At the same time, the IL-112 was originally (this is the name the aircraft received) was planned as a medium-haul passenger aircraft, which was to replace outdated Tu-134 and Tu-154 on domestic flights.
It was planned to finance the development of the aircraft through the sale of Bashkir oil, for which the Il-Bashkiria company was created.
Additionally, preparations were made for the serial production of the Il-112 aircraft, which was to begin as early as 1994, at the aviation production association in the city of Kumertau. However, the difficult economic situation in the country dealt a significant blow to these plans, and it was not possible to complete the development and begin mass production of the aircraft. Subsequently, it was decided to start it in Voronezh, at the Voronezh Joint-Stock Aircraft Building Company. And, nevertheless, until the beginning of the 2000s the project was actually stopped.
In April 2004, the project of the Il-112 aircraft won the competition, held by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, on a light transport aircraft. Due to this, the IL-112 began a new life: the construction of its first prototype was planned for 2006, and already in 2007 it was planned to start mass production, which could be 18 cars a year. However, due to the low funding of the project, the timeframe was significantly stretched. Thus, the completion of the assembly of the first four models of the aircraft was planned for the end of 2010 - the beginning of 2011. However, soon the Ministry of Defense of Russia completely stopped financing the project, and the assembly of the aircraft was interrupted.
The situation changed only with the arrival of Sergei Shoigu as Minister of Defense. In 2013, negotiations began between the S.Ilyushin Aviation Complex and the Ministry of Defense, which resulted in the signing of a contract to continue the assembly of the Il-112 aircraft, as well as their refinement. Thus, the latest news as of 2018 is quite optimistic: in the next, in 2018, the first IL-112 is expected to be supplied for state trials, and in 2019 - and the beginning of mass production. How the situation will develop around the IL-112 transport aircraft in the future - time will tell.
Overview of the aircraft and its characteristics
Aerodynamically, the Il-112 is a monoplane of a normal design with a high wing. Chassis - tricycle, located under the fuselage. The Il-112 power plant is represented by two TB7-117CT turboprop engines. The crew consists of two pilots.
The passenger version of the IL-112 will have a passenger capacity of 44 people; the cargo variant will have a carrying capacity of 6 tons.
Flight characteristics of the aircraft IL-112:
- Projection aircraft:
- profile - screw monoplane with high wing straight
- crew - 2 pilots
- passenger capacity - 44 (cargo and passenger version)
- load capacity - 6 tons (maximum load)
- length - 23.5 m
- wing span - 25.7 m
- height - 8.9 m
- curb weight - 15 t
- normal take-off weight - 20.4 tons
- Max. take-off weight - 21 t
- fuel tank capacity - 7900 l
- The main characteristics of the power plant:
- number of engines - 2
- type of engines - turboprop
- engine - TV7-117CT
- power - 2 × 2800 hp
- propeller - single-row six-blade AB-112
- screw diameter - 3.9 m
- thrust - 3 645 kgf
- afterburner - 4 145 kgf
- Fuel consumption - 500 l / h
- maximum speed - 550 km / h
- cruising speed - 480 km / h
- practical range - 1,000 km at maximum load, 3,400 km - 3.5 tons
- distillation range - 5,200 km
- practical ceiling - 7,600 m
- take-off length - 870 m
- path length - 600 m
Prospects IL-112
According to a number of high-ranking military personnel, the Il-112 transport aircraft has quite good prospects in the structure of the Armed Forces of Russia. It should be noted that the main prerequisite for the success of the aircraft is that today the aircraft transport fleet in the Russian Army consists mainly of obsolete An-12, An-22 and An-26, which are gradually being decommissioned. In such a situation, the army is simply in dire need of a new aircraft that will be capable of solving the tasks associated with the transportation of cargo and personnel. Also, we should not lose sight of the high-quality upgrade of Russian aviation, thanks to which we can say with a great deal of confidence that this time the IL-112 will definitely be released and will go into mass production.
The Il-112 also has good potential for various modifications, thanks to which electronic warfare and reconnaissance aircraft, telemetry, aircraft for the needs of the Ministry of Emergency Situations and even air command posts based on it can also be created. Of course, the IL-112 is still ahead of the state testing period, but the main thing is that the model has seen potential, and it has every chance to find its niche in the composition of the Air Force of the Russian Federation.
Conclusion
IL-112 today continues to be actively developed and improved, so that in a few years there is every chance of getting a good and reliable aircraft for the needs of the army. However, the main problem is that the general concept of development 25 years ago may become outdated in the next 10-20 years, which will cause an even greater need to modernize the domestic military transport fleet.
