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Ilyushin 18
Every now and then, I can offer
the impossible. In Eastern Europe I'm known as 'the
man with the cam'. Anyway, this was something that
took my fancy.
First a little history. While
we were messing around building large aircraft. That
allowed windows to fall out at 35,000 feet, and subsequently
made everybody experience zero gravity, until meeting
the man upstairs with the big white beard. The Russians
were building solid reliable Ilyushins. Ok, it helps
if you occasionally change the tyres. Designed at the
height of the cold war in the 1950's. The Il-18 (I)
was first tested incredibably in 1946, but was abandoned
Il-18 (II) or 'Moskva' or 'Coot' as it was better known
first took to the air 4th July 1957, and went into general
service April 1959.
Incrediblably the Ilyushin broke
25 world records. Among these was flight range, altitude
and various payload records. For its day it was so advanced,
in 1979 we in the west awarded the Ilyushin 18 'Brussels
World Fair Grand Prix'. In all only 719 were built,
and after the Russians had worn these out they were
sold to countries like Afghanistan, cuba and George's
best friend North Korea who used them. So next time
you see an unusual car driving through the streets of
Cuba, and the front of the car looks like a cockpit...
It probably is.
Anyway, the one available has
been standing for some twenty years and used as a restaurant.
Condition is surprisingly clean and tidy. As a guess
this is probably more airworthy than Ilyushins used
with some operators. There appears to be no bad smells
from damp. And the super structure looks relatively
free from corrosion. However, I am not an expert, so
please view that as lay mans advise.
What do you get? As usual I take
care of logistics, transport and paperwork involved
with the sale. What you have to do is agree a price
with me and tell me where you want it. I will do all
the rest.
I am able to put you in contact
with engineers who will advise and if you want restore
the 'Mosky' to its hey day glory of transporting, CCCP's
top brass.
Please click  here to view ACTUAL
Ilyushin
Specifications
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