MOSCOW. April 25 (Interfax-AVN) - Flight tests of the modernized IL-76MD-90 military transport plane may start already in September, Viktor Livanov, director general of the Ilyushin aircraft corporation, said on Friday.
"Two IL-76MD planes organic of regular units of the Russian Air Force's military transport aviation are being upgraded by the Voronezh aircraft building association. The first of them will be ready for its maiden flight in September this year. The tests are likely to end in late 2003 or early 2004," Livanov told Interfax- Military News Agency.
The Air Force has declared its intention to upgrade 10 to 14 IL-76MD planes to the IL-76MD-90 level with replacement of D-30KP engines with up-to-date PS-90A-76 engines, he said.
"However implementation of these plans will largely be determined by the Air Force's financial capabilities as far as terms and number of the planes are concerned. The schedule of supplying upgraded IL-76MD-90s to the Russian Air Force has not yet been finalized," the director general stressed. According to him, the volume of the plane's tests will not be large and will mostly be related to checking the performance of PS-90A-76 engines.
Livanov recalled that after the imposition of tougher requirements on the noise level, IL-76 planes making commercial international flights cannot land at some airfields. The upgraded IL-76 planes will meet current and future requirements on the noise level. At the same time, a higher thrust of new engines provides for better flight and technical specifications of the aircraft.
According to experts, the cost of upgrading an IL-76 plane and fitting it with PS-90A-76 engines amounts to USD14m. The two engines cost USD12m, four pylons cost another USD1m, and operational development requires USD1m.
The Ilyushin aircraft corporation has completed the transfer of necessary design and technical documents to the Ryazan aircraft repair plant, where the IL-76MD planes will be upgraded. The plant has already started working on obtained documents.
The IL-76 planes form the core of the Russian Air Force's military transport aviation and cargo aviation of commercial airlines. The Tashkent aircraft plant in Uzbekistan has manufactured over 900 aircraft of this make.