Ilyushin Il-76

what is it?

The Ilyushin Il-76 (Russian: Илью́шин Ил-76; NATO reporting name: Candid) is a multi-purpose, fixed-wing, four-engine turbofan strategic airlifter designed by the Soviet Union's Ilyushin design bureau as a commercial freighter in 1967, to replace the Antonov An-12. It was developed to deliver heavy machinery to remote and poorly served areas. Military versions of the Il-76 have been widely used in Europe, Asia and Africa, including use as an aerial refueling tanker and command center.

🔎How to recognise it: 4 jet engines · retractable tricycle gear · 50.5 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 750 km/hcruise speed
• range 5,000 kmwithout refuelling
• size 210 tmax take-off weight
• built 950made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 55 years ago, in 1971.
• 🚗Wingspan of 50.5 m: about 11 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🐘Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 35 African elephants (~6 t each).
• 🌍Range of 5,000 km: 28× Amsterdam to Brussels.
• 🏔️Can fly 1.4× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

jet: Gas turbine pushing air out the back (turbofan or turbojet): fast and high-flying.

spec sheet

first flight

1971-03-25

introduced

1974

status

in production

number built

950

role

strategic and tactical airlifter

origin

🇷🇺 Soviet Union

makers

Ilyushin, Tashkent Mechanical Plant, Aviastar-SP

engines

4× Aviadvigatel PS-90A-76 / Aviadvigatel PS-90

crew

5

length

46.6 m

wingspan

50.5 m

height

14.4 m

max take-off weight

210 t

top speed

—

cruise speed

750 km/h

range

5,000 km

ceiling

12,200 m

wings

monoplane

landing gear

retractable tricycle gear

ICAO code

IL76

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.

family