RuAviation

After more than a decade in storage, the Il-96-400T freighter aircraft, registration number RA-96101, completed a test flight in Voronezh on the 29th of December, 2024. The aircraft was previously operated by Polet Airlines between 2009 and 2013, according to Vzlet magazine.

The aircraft will join the fleet of Sky Gates Airlines, a subsidiary of Red Wings. The airline already operates one other such aircraft, an Il-96-400T (RA-96103), which commenced cargo operations in December 2023.

In the early 1990s, the S.V. Ilyushin Aviation Complex initiated work on a modified version of the Il-96-300 wide-body passenger airliner as part of international cooperation. Initial examples of the Il-96-300 were equipped with PS-90A engines and some pilotage and navigation systems which lacked the required reliability. Consequently, a decision was made to develop a long-range wide-body aircraft with increased passenger capacity, based on the Il-96-300, designated the Il-96M. The powerplant and avionics suite for this modification were intended to be supplied by US companies. Simultaneously with the passenger Il-96M, a cargo variant, the Il-96T, was being developed, fitted with a large cargo hatch on the port side and capable of carrying up to 92 tonnes of cargo over a distance of up to 5,200 km.

The first prototype of the Il-96T freighter, serial number RA-96101, was equipped with PW-2337 engines and Collins avionics, and was built at the Voronezh plant in the spring of 1997. Test pilots Stanislav Bliznyuk and Anatoly Knyshov flew it for the first time on May 16th, 1997. Despite limited funding, testing was carried out quite intensively, and on March 31st, 1998, the Interstate Aviation Committee Aviation Register issued an airworthiness certificate to AP-25 standards.

At the initiative of Aeroflot airlines, the Il-96T underwent additional certification tests to meet the requirements of the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and airframe RA-96101 became the first domestic commercial jet aircraft certified to American FAR-25 standards. The type certificate, A54NM, was issued on July 7th, 1999.

However, a lack of funds for the purchase of imported engines and onboard equipment for production aircraft rendered further production impossible. Following appearances at the Paris Air Show in 1999 and MAKS-99, airframe RA-96101 was transferred back to the Voronezh factory where its American engines and avionics were removed. It became clear that further development of the project would only be possible with the use of domestic components.

In the early 2000s, the idea emerged to create an ‘import-substituted’ version of the Il-96T, named the Il-96-400T. The American PW-2337s were to be replaced with modified Perm PS-90A1s with increased thrust of up to 17.4 tonnes. The imported avionics were also intended to be replaced with domestic equivalents. The modified aircraft made its first flight in March 2008.

In April 2008, the Il-96-400T received a certificate from the Interstate Aviation Committee Register, with the majority of the certification tests being carried out on another similar aircraft, RA-96102. Airframe RA-96101 was scheduled for delivery to Atlant-Soyuz Airlines, however, the carrier abandoned its cargo division. Also in 2008, a planned delivery of the aircraft to AFL-Cargo fell through due to the company’s bankruptcy.

On September 25th, 2009, the Il-96-400T RA-96101 commenced commercial cargo operations with Polet Airlines, where it served until May 2013. During the period from September 2009 to May 2010, the aircraft accumulated 909 flight hours. In June 2013, the aircraft was ferried to VASO, where it was planned to be converted to a passenger variant for Cubana airlines.