The period after the USSR’s collapse and
the reduced state control saw a sharp rise in
the number of airlines using the Il-62. The
type almost overnight appeared in the fleets
of carriers in the Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania,
Georgia, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. In
Russia, the aircraft was utilised by at least
12 airlines. There were even examples
operated and registered in countries such as
Iran, Zaire, Vietnam and Cambodia.
In the 1990s, running the Il-62 commercially
was still a mildly profitable business thanks to
cheap fuel and the low cost of maintenance
manpower and spare parts. In addition, most
of the operations saw the use of the combi
configuration, where one of the passenger
cabins was loaded with cargo.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s,
however, the Il-62 saw a sharp reduction
of its user base, with the type having been
replaced by much more fuel-efficient airliners
such as the Boeing 757 and the Airbus A310.
While in 1992 the fleet in active operation
accounted for 187 Il-62s and Il-62Ms, ten
years later the figure had diminished to
78, and after another ten years, in 2012, it
fell to only 23, most of which serving with
government air transport operators.
Aeroflot, the biggest operator of the type,
retired the Il-62M in 2002, while RossiyaSpecial Flight Unit (the successor of the
235th Special Aviation Unit) stopped the use
of its VIP-equipped Il-62Ms for head-of-state
transport in 1997, but then continued operating
the type for ten more years, using it for
transporting lower-ranked government officials.
A cargo version of the Il-62M was
developed in 2007. Designated the Il-62MGr,
it was a passenger-to-cargo conversion
offered by the KAPE Kazan plant. The
adaptation was originally developed by
Ilyushin in the 1990s but didn’t find its first
customers until 2007.
It features a maximum take-off weight
increased to 340,000lb (154,221kg) and
a newly added port cargo door. The
cabin floor was strengthened to support a
maximum payload of 80,000lb (36,287kg).
The commercial interest in the Il-62MGr
was very weak, however, and only three
examples are known to have been delivered.
In total, 298 Il-62s and Il-62Ms were
built at KAPE, this figure including three
prototypes, two pre-series aircraft, 97
baseline Il-62s and 187 Il-62M/MKs. A total
of 22 aircraft were lost in crashes.DWINDLING NUMBERS
In early 2018, 55 years after the type’s
maiden flight, only 14 Il-62s remain in activeoperation around the world. The Russian
air force is the largest operator, with six
examples in its fleet, all in the care of the
800th Special-Purpose Aviation Division
based at Chkalovsky airfield near Moscow.
At least one of these Il-62Ms is in a VIP
configuration, while two more are equipped
with the Surgut-T satcom system, used as
back-up command posts and for general
transport duties. The other three are in a
passenger fit, used for personnel transport,
including the support of the on-going
campaign in Syria.
North Korea still has four maintained
in active status. Two of these, registered
P-881 and P-885, are operated by air carrier
Air Koryo and are the only examples used
in the original airliner role. The other two,
P-882 and P-883, are used for government
transport.
Sudan uses its sole Il-62M, the last
machine off the production line, for
government transport. Another African
country, Gambia, uses Il-62 C5-RTG in the
same role.
Two Il-62MGr cargo conversions also
remain in use, with one of these (EW-
450TR) operated by Rada Airlines of
Belarus, while the other example, EX-62001,
is flown by Air Manas of Kyrgyzstan.http://www.aviation-news.co.uk 41The cockpit of Russian Air Force Il-62M TM-3SUR RA-86539 as seen on November 9, 2017. AirTeamImages.com/Artyom AnikeevA fine study of Air Ukraine Il-62M CCCP-86132 which was leased from Aeroflot. Key Collection.36-41_jetliners_il-62DC.mfDC.mfDC.mfDC.mf.indd 41 03/05/2018 18:01