Many of us, here, have an interest in Ukrainian/Russian jetliners, some of us, more passionate than others (surely more so than yours truly), beyond e.g. the well-known military type planes (MiG/Su etc.), made famous by that "incomparable" DCS platform...(recall the few folks, here,...can count them all on one hand,...🙂..., who, are adventurous enough to get to grips with those remarkable SIMs...kudos to those folks...)...But, I'm here specifically referring to "commercial" and "passenger" airliners. Such Russian/Ukrainian jetliners (e.g. Antonov/Tupolev/Ilyushin etc.) are rather fascinating and unique, in their own rights, from the aviation perspective, SIM or Real...

If I recall correctly, during the early commercial jetliner era, while the Boeing and Airbus types were often seen in western airports worldwide, and frequently featured, too, in aviation magazines, it was not so for such airliners, and, whenever, occasionally, they would appear in western airports, it was considered a rare treat, for the aficionados...(recall seeing pictures with captions such as  "Rare Ilyushin 76 (or Antonov 72) spotted in London Heathrow or New York JFK"). Even today, hundreds of people travel the world just to glimpse "one" particular such plane, the one and only, An-225 Mriya, and, it would have been unthinkable to read, in the news that, it is here in U.S., and, of all places, in "Bangor, Maine", (it was there 2020 August, including other major destinations, in NAR). Once, when I'd posted a few (freeware) An-225 images, here, someone had commented, about having witnessed this "behemoth" lifting off, in close range, in one such airport. We, often, talk of P&W/RR/GE engines, but how about "six" of those massive "Progress D-18T (or Lotarev D-18T)" turbofans (An-124/An-225 being two of the primary applications of the type)...sounding off in unison on a takeoff...

One of the most fascinating things in SIM, is the chance, it affords, for exposure to such Russian/Ukrainian aircraft, there is endless choice for exploration, thanks (mostly) to the freeware contributors. And, I recall my first (such) Payware purchase, not many been available, (SibWings An-2), years ago,...the SIM had felt quite out-of-the-ordinary...🙂...for sure...

Anyway, please find, a few images below, of one large Russian airliner (I caught the file today), the plane was designed and tested in the former Soviet Union, in the 70s...you may guess the model, or look it up on the images...🙂...(per records, it was the world's second four-engined wide-bodied aircraft)...

And, it's winter/snow time in UUEE (Sheremetyevo International Airport)...

Hope you enjoy these few images, below, of this iconic airliner, not usually, seen around here...!

Nice! just downloading it now and I'll see if it ports over to MSFS. It'll go nicely in among my increasing collection of Russian / UKR airports if it does. Thanks for posting!

Beautiful pics! I have always liked this livery!!

It's not a bad looking airliner. Kind of like an A340 with a layer of winter blubber to combat some of the colder destinations! 

and here she is in MSFS -

Cockpit got a couple of problems but may be fixable. Nice to have it available though.

Great shots, P_7878. I flew in the Il-96 a couple of times from Moscow to Almaty and return. We didn't enter her via a gate, but, as she was usually parked on the tarmac, via the huge freight door. We had to walk past all the freight (boy, the freight area alone was huge)  and then used a comfortable staircase to get to the passenger compartment. Very impressive!

Nothing like different Heavy Metal...nice set

A nice airplane but hampered by financial problems of its manufacturer. 

Glad, there are quite a few admirers of this plane, around here, I wasn't expecting that many replies...🙂....thanks folks...!! (And, "Ed", you know...the "passionate" interest in such airliners, part was, reserved for you...🙂...)

Andy: Thanks for getting another home for this jet in MSFS...your images look excellent, as any legacy/ported aircraft always do in MSFS...and, understood, the VC may run into some issues, but, as long as you're able to fly it, as shown, you can have a bit of fun, with it, for sure...

 

On 3/9/2021 at 10:55 AM, Alaska738 said:

Beautiful pics! I have always liked this livery!!

I agree, this "silver" livery has quite an appeal, no matter what aircraft (Russian or Western) the paint is on...but, the other simpler/older, but, more classic (Aeroflot) one also looks good too...(Andy has illustrated it nicely...)

 

On 3/9/2021 at 11:03 AM, HighBypass said:

It's not a bad looking airliner. Kind of like an A340 with a layer of winter blubber to combat some of the colder destinations! 

That's an interesting way to put the comparison,...🙂...Mark...(been many times on A340, but never came close to one of these Russian jets)...

 

17 hours ago, bernd1151 said:

Great shots, P_7878. I flew in the Il-96 a couple of times from Moscow to Almaty and return. We didn't enter her via a gate, but, as she was usually parked on the tarmac, via the huge freight door. We had to walk past all the freight (boy, the freight area alone was huge)  and then used a comfortable staircase to get to the passenger compartment. Very impressive!

Bernd: If I recall correctly, you're one of those such aircraft fans, who, after all, flies around the Il-76 to Paro/Bhutan...🙂...And, I couldn't have told the difference between -86 and -96. Your remark just made me look up a bit. It appears that one of the distinguishing marks, on the -86, are the "rectangular shaped fan exhaust on the side of the nacelles" of these old-fashioned turbofans. We can clearly see them on all the external images, e.g. most clearly on #7 above, the close-up shot of the engines,....(And, btw, very interesting recollections from your (own) Il-96 memories...entering through the freight door, yes, that must have been quite an unique experience...🙂...)...

 

8 hours ago, crosswind said:

Nothing like different Heavy Metal...nice set

Yes, it's certainly "heavy-metal", and it's certainly "different"...🙂...

 

7 hours ago, duesenwerni said:

A nice airplane but hampered by financial problems of its manufacturer.

Agree, with only over 100 units built, it was not a marketing success...but, nonetheless, quite an interesting (and good-looking) one...

 

As wrap-up to this post, please find, below, a sample of liveries of 6 (other) Airlines, other than Aeroflot, that have also flown this Russian Airliner....(pictures over/around Moscow, Sheremetyevo)...Enjoy...!

Edited March 12, 20215 yr by P_7878