The aircraft was developed by Ilyushin, one of the Soviet Union's design offices; announced in 1971, it first flew on 22 December 1976, and entered commercial service in 1980. It was the first wide-body type built in the Soviet Union, and around 120 were built. Initially it was only flown by Aeroflot and, slightly later, China Xinjiang Airlines.
It has good capacity, cargo space and robustness, but since the Soviets at the time lacked any high-bypass
turbofan engine, the aircraft had to use four Kuznetsov NK-86 low-bypass turbofans similar to the NK-8
engines of the Il-62 'Classic' (though of somewhat higher power), which have a high fuel consumption.
These inferior engines severely limited range compared to Western wide-body jets such as the B-747, DC-10 or A300.
Passengers board on the lower deck via the integrated airstairs and stow their own baggage, before proceeding
upstairs to their seats, allowing the Il-86 to operate from airfields without any facilities.
Other airframes of the type have been modified for use in military roles such as airborne early warning
and communications support.
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