The Ilyushin Il-114 was first launched in the 1990s as an update to the original Il-14, that sought to replace the Douglas DC-3 and Lisunov Li-2 in the Soviet Union. While the project flopped, Ilyushin will soon introduce a new Il-114-300 and has announced its launch customer.
Il-114-300, A New Russian Airliner
The Il-114-300 will feature:
- 68 seats
- 500 km/h (310mph) cruising speed
- 7,600 meters (~25,000 feet) maximum altitude
- 1,400 km (870 miles) range
The design closely mimics the British Aerospace ATP (Advanced Turbo-Prop).
Former Aeroflot subsidiary Auroa, based in Russia’s Far East Sakhalin Oblast, has agreed to purchase 19 aircraft. Deliveries will begin in 2023. In total, Ilyushin plans to create 150 aircraft.
Right out of the propaganda pages, Rostec (officially, the State Corporation for Assistance to Development, Production and Export of Advanced Technology Industrial Product Rostec) Industrial Director Anatoly Serdyukov boasted about the aircraft during a recent test launch:
“The Il-114-300 turboprop is an extremely demanded aircraft in our country: it is comfortable, reliable and capable of landing even on poorly prepared airfields. It can become the basis for the development of interregional transportation. Our task is to bring it [to completion]. During the [test] flight, the stability and controllability of the aircraft, the operability of systems and equipment, in particular, the power plant, the digital flight and navigation complex, the radio communication system, and so on all worked fine.”
Sergei Yarkovoy, Deputy Director General of Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), said:
“The emergence of an aircraft like the Il-114-300 is extremely important for Russia. It is a fully domestic passenger turboprop aircraft that will be able to provide air mobility to the population in the difficult-to-access regions of the North, Far East and Siberia. Therefore, this program is a priority for us.”
CONCLUSION
The Il-114-100 sold only 20 aircraft in the 1990s. During a time in which Russia looks inward instead of to the west, the Il-114-300 hopes to do better than its predecessor.
image: United Aircraft Corp
Looks like a Sabb 340? Which has been around 25 years.
It is a blatant copy of the BAE ATP – in the 90’s it was nicknamed the ‘ATPski’