After more than a decade of conservation in Voronezh, the Il-96-400T cargo aircraft with registration number RA-96101 made a test flight. From 2009 to 2013, the aircraft was operated by Polet Airlines.
Now the aircraft will join the fleet of Sky Gates Airlines, a subsidiary of Red Wings. The airline already has one such aircraft — Il-96-400T (RA-96103), which began cargo operations in December 2023.
The first prototype of the Il-96T cargo aircraft with tail number RA-96101 was equipped with Collins avionics and American PW-2337 engines, and was built in the spring of 1997 at the Voronezh plant.
At the initiative of Aeroflot, the Il-96T underwent additional certification tests to meet the requirements of the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and became the first domestic commercial jet aircraft certified under American FAR-25 standards. Type certificate A54NM was issued on July 7, 1999.
However, the lack of funds to purchase imported engines and onboard equipment made further production impossible. After being shown at the Paris Air Show in 1999 and at MAKS-99, the RA-96101 was transferred to the plant in Voronezh, where its American engines and avionics were dismantled.
In the early 2000s, an "import-substituted" version of the Il-96T was created, called the Il-96-400T. It was equipped with domestic avionics and PS-90A1 engines with a thrust of 17.4 tons.
The aircraft was re-certified in April 2008, and in the autumn of 2009 it began performing commercial cargo flights with Polet Airlines. Prior to the current flight, the Il-96-400T with tail number RA-96101 had been in conservation for more than 10 years.
Read more on the topic:
Rostec showed how parts for Il-96, Il-76, MS-21 and SJ-100 are strengthened
With a Russian engine: SJ-100 will perform about 200 test flights
Iraero intends to purchase new SJ-100, MS-21 and Tu-214 from UAC
