On Sunday, March 29, a long-range wide-body Il-96 aircraft landed at Vnukovo Airport. The aircraft with tail number RA-96023 belongs to the special flight detachment "Russia".
The plane flew from Washington with stopovers in New York and Casablanca. The total distance of the route was about 15,000 kilometers. That is, in fact, the standard distance of a direct flight increased almost one and a half times.
Il-96 is the key "long-range board" of Russian state aviation. The family's liners are used on long routes, including to North America, Asia and Africa.
Il-96 Characteristics:
- Maximum speed — 900 km/h
- Cruising speed — 850–870 km/h
- Practical ceiling — 13,100 m
- Flight range — up to 9000 km (with maximum load)
Despite its Soviet past, the Il-96 series has not lost the opportunity for innovation to this day. Aviation expert Roman Gusarov stated to "Perviy Technicheskiy" that equipping the aircraft with two PD-35 engines will breathe new life into it, but this will require changing the design of the aircraft.
There were even suggestions to rebuild it into a missile carrier instead of the Tu-95MS.