This Day in Aviation History
January 3rd, 1963
First flight of the Ilyushin Il-62.
 
The Ilyushin Il-62 (Russian: Илью́шин Ил-62; NATO reporting name: Classic) is a Soviet long-range narrow-body jet airliner conceived in 1960 by Ilyushin. As successor to the popular turbo-prop Il-18 and with capacity for almost 200 passengers and crew, the Il-62 was the world’s largest jet airliner when first flown in 1963. Being one of four pioneering long-range designs (the others being Boeing 707, DC-8, and VC10), it was the first such type to be operated by the Soviet Union and a number of allied nations. The Il-62 entered Aeroflot civilian service on 15 September 1967 with an inaugural passenger flight from Moscow to Montreal, and remained the standard long-range airliner for the Soviet Union (and later, Russia) for several decades. It was the first Russian pressurised aircraft with non-circular cross-section fuselage and ergonomic passenger doors, and the first Russian jet with six-abreast seating (the turbo-prop Tu-114 shared this arrangement) and international-standard position lights.
 
Over 30 nations operated the Il-62 with over 80 examples exported and others having been leased by Russian-sphere and several Western airlines. The Il-62M variant became the longest-serving model in its airliner class (average age of examples in service as of 2016 is over 32 years). Special VIP (salon) and other conversions were also developed and used as head-of-state transport by some 14 countries. Expensive to operate compared to new generation airliners, the number in service was greatly reduced after the 2008 recession. The Il-62’s successors include the wide-bodied Il-86 and Il-96, both of which were made in smaller numbers and neither of which was widely exported…..
 
Source:
Wikipedia, Ilyushin Il-62: http://gstv.us/2hEbZ31
 
YouTube, МЧС России Ilyushin Il-62M [RA-86570] Engine Start Up, Taxi, and Takeoff: http://gstv.us/2hE0QiR
 
YouTube, Aeroflot Ilyushin Il-62M Promo Film – 1973: http://gstv.us/2hE8GsC
By Classic Airliners & Vintage Pop Culture
 
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Photo from: http://gstv.us/2hE9v4X
 
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