Operational History
The first Il-18, equipped with NK-4 turboprop engines, flew on 4 July 1957. On 17 September 1958 the aircraft first flew with the new Ivchenko AI-20 engines. Vladimir Kokkinaki was the test pilot. Between 1958 and 1960 twenty-five world records were set by this aircraft, among them flight range and altitude records with various payloads. In 1958 the aircraft was awarded the Brussels World Fair Grand Prix. In April 1979 a monument was unveiled at Sheremetyevo airport to commemorate this remarkable aircraft.
Seventeen foreign air carriers acquired 125 Il-18 aircraft, seating 100-120 passengers. Some are still in service in Siberia and the Middle East. Several examples manufactured in the mid-1960s were still in civilian use in Africa as at 2012.
An Il-18 (registration DDR-STD) belonging to Interflug and used as a transport by East German leaders, including Erich Honecker, has been converted into a static hotel suite in The Netherlands.
Read more about this topic: Ilyushin Il-18
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