The Russian heavy transport aircraft Il-76TD-90VD "Artur Chilingarov" successfully completed a mission to deliver important cargo to polar stations in Antarctica. This was announced by the Deputy Chairman of the Scientific and Technical Council, former General Designer of the Ilyushin Aviation Complex, Nikolai Talikov.
According to him, the flight of the transporter to the continent was an unconditional success for domestic aviation.
Flights to drop cargo to polar explorers were made on December 13 and 14. The first flight, scheduled for December 12, had to be postponed due to weather conditions at the drop point. The wind picked up and a blizzard began.
The crews carried out the dropping of cargo to different points inside Antarctica. In each flight, 26 PGS-1500 platforms with 192 barrels of fuel were dropped.
It is very significant that the plane bears the name of the courageous explorer of the Arctic and Antarctic, Artur Chilingarov.
In total, 576 barrels were delivered in three flights. Two flights for dropping were carried out to point FD-83, one flight for dropping was carried out to the Japanese station Dom Fuji. After successfully completing the task, the plane returned to the airfield in Cape Town (South Africa).
