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IL-103 want to produce again, but not in the Russian Federation

IL-103 want to produce again, but not in the Russian Federation
Rarely, but it happens: one can say about this aircraft, which almost miraculously got on the conveyor in the difficult 90s, as a successful aircraft. The multi-purpose vehicle, which accommodates, in addition to the pilot, three passengers, is designed for a wide variety of activities: training future pilots, conducting rescue operations, medical care, patrolling, and transporting passengers.


History in brief


The Ilyushin Design Bureau had no intention of building light aircraft. The “smallest” of those previously mass-produced is the Il-2 attack aircraft. However, when the Wings of the Motherland magazine for the 88th year (the month of May) fell into the hands of young specialists of the Design Bureau, the situation changed. Designers were interested in the competition announced on the pages of the periodical. Its essence is the development of a light aircraft project, simple in design, easy to maintain, primarily intended for training young pilots. Ilyushin Design Bureau took part in the competition and its proposal was among the 21 winners selected by the jury.

Ил-103 хотят выпускать снова, но не в РФOne of the areas of use of the aircraft is patrolling in forestry. Photo: YouTube.com

The designers, remembering that they represent a reputable company, took the matter seriously. And first of all, oddly enough for the Land of the Soviets, they turned to the statistics of the United States, where such aircraft, unlike the USSR, were produced in large numbers. The prospect of creating an aircraft “for sale” was considered, so the American requirements for FAR-23 were studied. At that time, new insurance legislation was passed in the United States: now the aircraft manufacturer was largely responsible for the reliability of the aircraft.

Due to changes in US insurance legislation, the production of aircraft of the same class as the IL-103, Piper (in the picture PA-28-140), fell in the 90s from 17 thousand cars a year to 900. Photo: YouTube. com

Against this background, many aircraft turned out to be unsuitable and a "hole" appeared in the market niche of cars designed for 3-5 people. Therefore, the Yakovlevites at the same time began to develop a version of the aircraft for 4-5 passengers. We decided to start with the power plant. By the way, in the future it was planned to produce a twin-engine version.

Engine


Initially, a compact unit with a capacity of 100 "horses" was required. However, at that time in Russia there was simply no such engine: reliable, tested, small and strong. There was an M-14, but it was not suitable for technical parameters. The idea of ​​\uXNUMXb\uXNUMXbinstalling a VAZ automobile unit was also dismissed over time. And in America, the necessary engines were made and moreover for a long time.

The engine and screw are imported. Photo: YouTube.com

I managed to contact the Teledyne company, which agreed to cooperate in the supply of the IO-360ES unit in 210 liters. With.

Later, Teledyne Continental Motors opened its representative office almost at the gates of Ilyushin Design Bureau, on the same street.

They also didn’t bother with the screw and took the Harzel design (USA) tested and certified according to international standards. Why not? We then with the Americans - "friendship, peace, chewing gum!". Main technical data of IL-103:

✅ wingspan, length, height - 10,56, 8 and 3,135 m
✅ empty weight and maximum takeoff weight - 765 and 1460 kg
✅ cruising and maximum speed - 225 and 250 km / h
✅ height - 4 km
✅ range - up to 1070 km (without payload)

These characteristics may vary slightly, depending on the purpose of the aircraft. The manufacturer gives a guarantee: 15 years of operation or 20 thousand landings or 14 thousand flight hours. The layout of the aircraft was first demonstrated to the general public at the MAKS-93 exhibition.

On-board equipment


Two options were offered here. The first involved the installation of Russian avionics. It included: an accelerometer, AGR-29 and US-350, an altitude indicator, a radio control panel, instruments showing the state of the engine, and warning lights.

On the dashboard of the first cars - only the most necessary. Photo: YouTube.com

Approximately the same set of components was contained in the second, foreign version of the avionics from the Bendix King company. Of course, the prices for equipment were quite different.

Salon


To maintain a comfortable microclimate inside the aircraft, an air conditioning system is provided. Its functioning is carried out in three modes: recirculation, heating and ventilation. The same system prevents the windows from fogging up. A pair of ventilation ducts is also installed separately for passengers. The onboard equipment is powered by a DC generator.

The aircraft is adapted for any climatic conditions. Photo: YouTube.com

For emergencies, a backup supply of electricity from batteries is provided. In terms of safety, there are parachutes mounted in the backs of the seats. You can leave the aircraft in the air through the easily opened canopy flaps.

What's next?


In May 1994, test pilot I. Gudkov took to the skies on the first Il-103. In the autumn of the same year, the car was shown at the Farnborough air show, and later at MAKS-95. In the spring of 1996, the device was certified according to Russian standards (according to American standards - at the end of 1998).

The car received a tricycle non-retractable chassis, adapted for operation on unpaved strips. Photo: YouTube.com

During the tests, they landed the plane, simulating emergency situations. For example, with the engine turned off, with a flap not fully open (by 30 °), without ailerons and rudders. Everything went well. In terms of reliability, the testers compared the car with the legendary Yak-18.

Aviation officials from the FAA also became interested in the aircraft (it’s not for nothing that Teledyne opened an office next to the design bureau!). US representatives believed that the project of the new aircraft should form the basis of an agreement on mutual recognition of the certification systems of the two countries. Logically! It was assumed that the Russian market is capable of receiving at least 400 Il-103s, as well as getting to the United States.

Production and sales


In terms of technical parameters, the IL-103 was in no way inferior to foreign vehicles. However, for all the time only 66 units of equipment were produced, which is not at all encouraging. The main buyer is the state. Russia ordered and acquired thirty ships of various versions. All of them were useful for patrolling the country's borders, were used in forestry in terms of control over fire safety.

One of the IL-103s that flew off found an eternal parking lot at the temple (Panteleimonovsky parish, Zhukovsky). Photo: YouTube.com

Four Il-103s were bought by Belarus (one is gone). Of the far-abroad countries, South Korea purchased the largest number of devices (in the summer of 2004): twenty-three copies (the contract was valued at $9 million). This number was due to the desire of the Air Force to replace the morally obsolete T-41D Mescalero trainers. Six more cars were purchased by Peru and three by Laos.

Incidents


There were only five of them (from 2000 to 2016) for 66 aircraft produced. Three of them took place abroad, including Belarus. The main reasons are violations of the flight manual, piloting errors. So in South Korea, an instructor and a trainee died due to incorrect actions when flying an aircraft. The last accident occurred in the Russian Federation, Altai Territory. The pilots were forced to land the car due to interruptions in the operation of the power unit. As it turned out later, the reason is banal: instead of aviation fuel, the tanks were filled with motor gasoline.

Today


The car rolled off the assembly line from 94 to 2007, ten years. Despite the fact that the IL-103 was produced a little, it still went into the series and was in demand. In the Ilyushin Design Bureau there was a conversation about the production of a modernized version of the aircraft. It was planned to install another (possibly Russian) engine, replace part of the aluminum elements of the fuselage, plumage with composite ones. It was even stated that the updated device will be sold for 200 thousand "green".

From the latest news for March 2021, it is known that Rostec, together with the Aviation Complex named after. Ilyushin signed an agreement with the Hungarian Aviation Engineering Zrt on the modernization and licensed production of the Il-103.

It is possible that thanks to Hungary, the IL-103 will again be put on the conveyor. Photo: YouTube.com

First, it is planned to convert all the documentation on the car into a “digit”. The process of improving the technology, its production will be carried out jointly at the enterprise in Pecs (Hungary).

Author:

Photos used: https://youtube.com

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