The airframe improvements included
an additional fuel tank in the fin for
accommodating 1,100 imp gal (5,000 lit), an
APU, plus changes were made to the flight
control system and wing mechanisation
combined with structural strengthening due
to the higher take-off weight. The avionics
suite was also improved to enable ICAO Cat
II landings and the flight desk had a revised
layout. The basic tourist version forward
cabin accommodated 66 seats in six-abreast
with a centre aisle. The rear cabin had 102
more seats, while total baggage and freight
capacity was 1,695cu ft (48m³).
The Il-62M prototype, CCCP-86673,
made its maiden flight on March 13, 1969
and the initial flight-test effort proceeded
smoothly. The go-ahead for serial
production was given in September that
year. The tests showed that the Il-62Mcould fly 4,342nm (8,050km) with a 46,000lb
(20,865kg) payload, while with a 20,000lb
(9,072kg) payload its range was 5,475nm
(10,150km).
The first production Il-62M began flight
testing in April 1972 and its revenue service
with Aeroflot was launched in February 1974.
At last Aeroflot had the definitive long-range
jet airliner it needed for replacing the Tu-114,
free of the range issues handicapping the
baseline Il-62.
Production of both versions – the baseline
and the improved model – ran in parallel
until 1977. The last baseline example was
handed over to LOT in May that year, and
six years later it returned to the USSR to be
passed on to the Soviet Air Force.
The Il-62M was used for some high-profile
propaganda flights, such as that between
Moscow and Seattle in June 1975. The route,passing over the North Pole, was 5,113nm
(9,480km) long and was achieved in less than
11 hours. This was a replication of the flight
of the famous Soviet pilot Valery Chkalov
from 1937, who flew between Moscow and
Seattle on the ANT-25 experimental long-
range aircraft. However, this was not a
realistic commercial flight as had no payload.
Indeed, Aeroflot Il-62Ms would fuel stop at
Shannon in Ireland en route from Moscow to
North and South America.
Another flight in the same Cold War
propaganda series saw an all-female crew
flying non-stop between Sofia, Bulgaria and
Vladivostok, following a 5,411nm (10,087km)
route.
The Il-62MK was an increased take-
off weight version, with a maximum all-up
capacity of 334,000lb (151500kg) tons
compared with 330,000lb (149,685kg) forhttp://www.aviation-news.co.uk 39PILOT’S VIEW
Alexander Petrov is an Aeroflot veteran with 4,000
flight hours on the Il-62 and a wealth of flying
experience under his belt on other airliner and
bomber types such as the Tu-114, Il-18, Il-28 and
Tu-16.
He recalls being at the controls on the Ilyushin’s
flight deck: “In the 1960s, the Il-62 was
considered a technology marvel and I flew it on
long-range routes from Moscow to Vladivostok,
Magadan, Khabarovsk and Kamchatka Peninsula
in Russia’s Far East.
“The aircraft featured excellent in-flight
controllability and stability and we had noticed a
huge difference when comparing it with the other
Aeroflot long-range airliner – the four-turboprop
Tu-114. The Il-62 offered a higher payload, higher
speed and much less vibration and noise. In
addition, the type sported a much better pilot-friendly behaviour on landing approach thanks to
its lower speed – 151kts vs 189kts for the Tu-114.
“Ilyushin designers had implemented a lot of
novelties in the aerodynamic layout such as
the dogtooth discontinuity on the leading edge,
performing the function of an aerodynamic
fence, used for disrupting spanwise flow
to shield the outboard wing section from a
developing inboard stall.
“From a pilot’s point of view, the Il-62 initially
had some issues with the bank stability on
landing, at low speed and high angle of attack.
This had been solved by installing a booster-
operated rudder. The aft centre of gravity [CoG]
was also a headache as the CoG position had
to be monitored all the time not to exceed the
aft limit due to the tail-mounted engines and
the additional fuel tank in the fin [for the Il-62Mversion]. The operation for extending and
retracting the strut used to support the rear
fuselage during loading and unloading was
another never-ending headache for the crew.
“When the number of passengers was low, to
keep the CoG position within the prescribed
limits, they were accommodated in the forward
cabin only. In ferry flights without passengers
onboard, the correct CoG position was
maintained by using 3,000kg of water ballast in a
special tank.
“The Il-62 was a very reliable aircraft and one
of its best features was the automatic flight
control system (AFCS), greatly easing the crew
workload. It facilitated aircraft control during the
entire flight by maintaining the pre-programmed
ground speed, true heading, waypoints and
modes of flight.”Cubana was one of the export customers for the Il-62. AirTeamImages.com/Wolfgang MendorfIl-62M TM-3SUR RA-86559, equipped with a special communications suite, was built in 1992 and remained in the fleet of Rossiya Special Flight
Unit until 2014 when it was handed over to the Russian Air Force. AirTeamImages.com/Alex Snow36-41_jetliners_il-62DC.mfDC.mf.indd 39 03/05/2018 10:11