Unreserved rebirth

摘要

With half a century of Russian transport aviation history under its belt, the llyushin 11-76 has become an iconic aircraft. Now,with production starting to pick up pace once again, the new version (designated Ⅱ-76MD-90A or product 476), complete with its raft of upgrades, is likely to see the airlifter continue to be as important in the future as it has been in the past.It was on March 25, 1971, that the llyushin Ⅱ-76 took off for the first time. The brand-new heavy transport aircraft flew from the now defunct Khodynka airfield in Moscow - where the llyushin Design Bureau and its workshops are located, and where the Ⅱ-76 prototype (serial number CCCP-86712) was built.With a minimal reserve of fuel, and after a run-up of only 2,247ft (685m), the aircraft (piloted by the crew of Eduard Kuznetsov) bypassed the Kremlin, located 3.2nm (6km) away, and landed in Zhukovsky,southeast of Moscow, to continue its testing there.