Il-18 / Il-20 / Il-22 | |
---|---|
A Russian Air Transport Il-18 | |
Role | Turboprop airliner and reconnaissance aircraft |
National origin | Soviet Union |
Manufacturer | Moscow Machinery Plant No. 30 |
Designer | Ilyushin |
First flight | 4 July 1957 |
Status | In limited service |
Primary users | Aeroflot Soviet Airlines (Historical) Rossiya (Historical) Air Koryo |
Produced | 1957–1985 |
Number built | at least 678[1] |
Developed into | Ilyushin Il-38 |
The Ilyushin Il-18 (Russian: Илью́шин Ил-18; NATO reporting name: Coot) is a large turboprop airliner that first flew in 1957 and became one of the best known Soviet aircraft of its era. The Il-18 was one of the world's principal airliners for several decades[citation needed] and was widely exported. Due to the aircraft's durability, many examples achieved over 45,000 flight hours[citation needed] and the type remains operational in both military and (to a lesser extent) civilian capacities. The Il-18's successor was the longer-range Ilyushin Il-62.