The Hurel-Dubois HD.31, HD.32, and HD.34 were a family of civil aircraft produced in France in the 1950s, based on Maurice Hurel's high aspect ratio wing designs.

Tests with the Hurel-Dubois HD.10 research aircraft had validated Hurel's ideas about the practicality of such wings, and the French government agreed to sponsor the construction of two prototypes of a medium-range airliner utilising this same principle. These aircraft, the HD.31 and HD.32 were conventional designs in all respects other than their unorthodox wings, and differed from one another only in their powerplants, although both were later converted to use the same engines. The twin-tails originally fitted were also later replaced by a large single tail fin assisted by smaller auxiliary fins. With their new engines and tails, they were redesignated HD.321.01 and HD.321.02. Apart from the HD.34 survey aircraft, all had fixed, faired tricycle undercarriages.

Two HD.31s were ordered by the French government but only one was built, the Wright Cyclone-powered HD.31 F-WFKU flew on the 27 January 1953. The company then produced a Pratt & Whitney R-1830-92-powered variant, the HD.32. Other than the engines it was the same as the HD.31. Keeping the original twin tails of the prototype the first HD.32 flew on 29 December 1953. The engines were changed to 1525 hp Wright 982-4 engines and to counter the increased power the twin fin was replaced by a single one and the type was redesigated the HD.321. The second HD.32 which first flew in February 1955 was also modified to HD.321 standard.

Air France originally placed an order for 24 aircraft in November 1953 to use as feederliners, it was followed by an order for four for the Institut Géographique National and four for Aigle Azur. With these orders discussion took place with SNCASE to build and market up to 150 aircraft. None were actually built for Air France or Aigle Azur but the IGN continued to be interested in an aerial photography variant to replace the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress the company was then using. Eight aircraft were ordered by the IGN, based at Creil airfield to the north of Paris. The aircraft's wing design made it ideal for long-duration, low-speed flight, ideal for aerial photography and survey work. These machines were designated HD.34 and were fitted with an extensively glazed nose and an offset retractable nosewheel. They flew with IGN between the late 1950s and mid 1970s. A single example remains airworthy, operated by the Association des Mécaniciens-Pilotes d'Aéronefs Anciens.

The Aeronatique Naval evaluated the HD.31 and the company proposed an anti-submarine warfare variant to meet a requirement for 100 aircraft but nothing materialised.

Variants

HD.31 - prototype with Wright Cyclone C7BA1 radial engines (one built)
HD.32 - prototype with Pratt & Whitney R-1830 radial engines. (two built)
     HD.321 - prototype with Wright Cyclone 982 engines and single fin. (two converted from HD.32 by replacing                        twin fins with a single central and two small auxiliary fins)
     HD.324 - turboprop version with Rolls-Royce Dart engines. (not built)
HD.33
     HD.331 - projected militarised version for use as troop transport or air ambulance. (not built)
HD.34 - aerial survey version for IGN. (eight built) Retractable, offset nosewheel.
HD.35 - a proposed anti-submarine variant for the French Navy, not built.
HD.37 - a proposed car-ferry version, not built.

HD.31

HD.32 

HD.34

The Ilyushin Il-114 (Russian Илью́шин Ил-114) is a Russian twin-engine turboprop airliner, designed for local routes. Intended to replace the Antonov An-24, it first flew in 1990. A total of 20 Il-114s have been built.

In June 1986, the Ilyushin OKB began work on a replacement for the Antonov An-24, large numbers of which remained in service with Aeroflot. The Soviet Ministry of the Aviation Industry set down requirements for the An-24 replacement, including the ability to carry 60 passengers over a range of 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) at a speed of 500 kilometres per hour (310 mph), while using much less fuel than its predecessor and retaining the ability to operate out of poorly equipped airfields with unpaved runways. Development of the new aircraft was expected to be relatively simple, with the first flight programmed to take place in 1989, with service entry in 1992.

Ilyushin's design, the Il-114, is a low-wing, twin-turboprop monoplane, with an airframe constructed mainly of metal, with composite materials used for non-structural parts. The aircraft is powered by two Klimov TV7-117S turboprop engines, driving six-bladed propellers. The undercarriage is a retractable nosewheel undercarriage, while double-slotted trailing edge flaps are fitted to the wings. Unlike previous Soviet airliners, which had a large flight crew, the Il-114 is flown by a crew of two, who are provided with electronic flight instruments. Up to 64 passengers are accommodated in the aircraft's cabin, with passengers' baggage carried in compartments at the front and rear of the cabin, rather than under the cabin floor.

For more information on the development and design, operational history and variants including an Arctic version, click here.

Il-14 was also manufactured in East Germany by VVB Flugzeugbau, in Czechoslovakia as the Avia 14. The Ilyushin Il-14 was typically replaced by the Antonov An-24 and Yakovlev Yak-40.

The Il-14 was developed as a replacement for the widespread Douglas DC-3 and its Soviet built version, the Lisunov Li-2. A development of the earlier Ilyushin Il-12, (that first flew in 1945), the Il-14 was intended for use in both military and civil applications. The Il-12 had major problems with poor engine-out behaviour. Also, it had less payload capability than was originally planned (although the Il-12 was intended to carry 32 passengers, in service it only carried 18, which was uneconomical).

The development into the Il-14 was a vast improvement over the Il-12, with a new wing and a broader tailfin. It was powered by two 1,400 kW (1,900 hp) Shvetsov ASh-82T-7 radial piston engines. These changes greatly improved aerodynamic performance in engine-out conditions.

Total production of the Il-14 was 1,345 aircraft: 1,065 in Moscow (Moscow Machinery Plant Nr.30) from 1956 to 1958 and Tashkent (Factory Nr.84) from 1954 to 1958. Licensed production of 80 in East Germany by VEB Flugzeugwerke Dresden (FWD) from 1956 to 1959 and 203 in Czechoslovakia by Avia, Prague, from 1956 to 1960. It was rugged and reliable, and thus was widely used in rural areas with poor quality airfields.\

The type was also used by the East German aircraft industry as a test aircraft for the horizontal stabilizer of the Baade 152.

There were 14 variants and 11 Licence built variants. Details can be found here.

The Il-18 was one of the world's principal airliners for several decades and was widely exported. Due to the aircraft's airframe durability, many examples achieved over 45,000 flight hours and the type remains operational in both military and (to a lesser extent) civilian capacities. The Il-18's successor was the long range Il-62 jet airliner.

For more information on the design and development, operational history, and details of the 35 variants, click here.

Specifications are for the model Il-18D

As successor to the popular turboprop Il-18 and with capacity for almost 200 passengers and crew, the Il-62 was the world's largest jet airliner when first flown in 1963. One of four pioneering long-range designs (the others being Boeing 707, Douglas DC-8, and Vickers VC10), it was the first such type to be operated by the Soviet Union and a number of allied nations.

Over 30 nations operated the Il-62 with over 80 examples exported and others having been leased by Soviet-sphere and several Western airlines. The Il-62M variant became the longest-serving model in its airliner class (average age of examples in service as of 2016 is over 32 years). Special VIP (salon) and other conversions were also developed and used as head-of-state transport by some 14 countries.

To read the full story of the Il-62, click here.

The Ilyushin Il-86 (Russian: Илью́шин Ил-86; NATO reporting name: Camber) is the USSR's first wide-bodied aircraft and the world's second four-engined wide-bodied aircraft. Designed and tested by the Ilyushin design bureau in the 1970s, it was certified by the Soviet aircraft industry, manufactured and marketed by the USSR.

Developed during the rule of Leonid Brezhnev, the Il-86 was marked by the economic and technological stagnation of the era: it used engines more typical of the late-1960s, spent a decade in development, and failed to enter service in time for the Moscow Olympics, as was originally intended. The type was used by Aeroflot and successor post-Soviet airlines and only three of the total 106 constructed were exported. In service, it gained recognition as a safe and reliable model with no fatal incidents during three decades of passenger-carrying operations.

At the beginning of 2012, only four Il-86s remained in service, all with the Russian Air Force.

Many airports had terminals too small for "aerobuses". In the West, the solution to this involved constructing greater airport capacity.[11] By contrast, Soviet aviation research institutes addressed ways of increasing passenger throughput without the need for additional airport capacity.

Many Soviet airports also had surfaces too weak for "aerobuses". The Soviet solution again favoured adapting aircraft to existing conditions, rather than reconstructing airports. The aerobus thus had to match the ground loadings of existing airliners. This called for complex multi-wheel landing gear.

The Soviet solution to the airport capacity issue involved passengers loading and unloading their own luggage into and from the aircraft. This was eventually called "the luggage at hand system" (Russian: "система «багаж с собой»"; transliterated: "sistyema bagazh s soboy"). Soviet aviation journalist Kim Bakshmi described it (at its ultimate) thus: "One arrives five minutes prior to departure, buys oneself a ticket on board the aircraft, hangs one's coat next to the seat and places one's bag or suitcase nearby.".

Taking suitcases into the cabin, as in trains, was studied, but necessitated a 3 m fuselage extension with a 350-seat capacity. To avoid this, passengers were to deposit their luggage in underfloor compartments as they entered the airliner. Thus the aircraft had the unusual feature of three airstairs entering the aircraft at the underfloor level, one in front of the wing and two behind.

For more information on the development, design and operational history, click here.

The Ilyushin Il-96 (Russian: Илью́шин Ил-96) is a Russian quadjet long-haul wide-body airliner designed by Ilyushin in the former Soviet Union and manufactured by the Voronezh Aircraft Production Association in Russia. It is powered by four high-bypass Aviadvigatel PS-90 two-shaft turbofan engines.

It was first flown in 1988 and certified in 1992. In June 2005, the Volga-Dnepr Group signed a 15-year financial agreement with Ilyushin Finance Corporation (IFC) to take delivery of two new-build Il-96-400T aircraft, to be operated by Volga-Dnepr's subsidiary AirBridge Cargo. The first was due to have been delivered in late 2006.

The Cuban Government newspaper Granma announced on 3 January 2006 the first official flight of the Cubana Il-96-300, from Havana to Buenos Aires, Argentina.

On 11 August 2009 Russian Minister of Industry and Trade Viktor Khristenko announced that manufacturing of the Il-96-300 would cease. In particular, the Il-96-300 had been deemed inferior to counterparts from Boeing and Airbus, and the manufacturer could not arrange commercially viable mass production, making only one aircraft per year. The Il-96-400T cargo version was to remain in production.

On 9 October 2015, it was announced that an updated version of the Il-96 may be produced. This decision was taken due to the current diplomatic situation between Russia and the West, and the dependency of the Russian aerospace industry on Airbus and Boeing. In September 2017, the Vice President of Russia's United Aircraft Corporation Aleksandr Tulyakov announced the start of development of the 250–280 seat, wide-body long-haul aircraft in partnership with Chinese builders. The aircraft is to be a development of the Russian-designed IL-96 and will be assembled in China. A new engineering center will be built in Russia to undertake technical and electronics production.

The Ilyushin Il-96 is a shortened, long-range, and advanced technology development of the Soviet Union's first widebody airliner, the Ilyushin Il-86. It features supercritical wings fitted with winglets, a glass cockpit, and a fly-by-wire control system. The basic Il-96-300 is equipped with modern Russian avionics integrating six multi-function colour LCD displays, inertial and satellite navigation systems, and a Traffic Collision Avoidance System (including mode "S"). It allows the airplane to be operated with two crew members. The avionics correspond to modern requirements on international routes in Europe and North America (RNP-1) and allow navigation and landing under ICAO CAT III/A conditions. The Il-96 is offered in three main variants: the Il-96-300, Il-96M/T and Il-96-400.

The Il-96-300 has a standard passenger capacity of 262 seats in a two-class configuration with 18 seats with a seat pitch of 54 inches (140 cm) and 244 seats with a pitch of 32 inches (81 cm), of which typical seating is 3-3-3 (layout), but low density seating is possible with 2-4-2 (layout). Galleys are positioned on the upper deck, and the lower deck can accommodate 18 LD-3 containers and crew rest areas.

For details of variants and sub-variants, click here.

Specifications below are for the Il-96-300 model.

The initial design started in 2006 and detailed design was ongoing in 2011. After delaying the scheduled introduction from 2012 to 2020, Irkut rolled out the first MC-21-300 on 8 June 2016 and first flew the aircraft on 28 May 2017. It has a carbon fibre reinforced polymer wing and is powered by Pratt & Whitney PW1000G or Aviadvigatel PD-14 turbofans. The standard MC-21-300 has a capacity of 132–163 passengers in a two-class configuration and 165–211 in a single class, and a range up to 6,000–6,400 km (3,200–3,500 nmi). It will be followed by a shortened MC-21-200 version. By July 2018, it had received 175 firm orders and recorded nearly 150 intentions.

In Russian: МС‑21 "Магистральный Самолёт 21 века" – "Magistralny Samolyot 21 veka" translates as "mainline aircraft of the 21st century".[9] It is marketed in the West as the MC-21, despite the aircraft's original Russian model name being МС-21, which transliterates as MS-21.

The fuselage of the MC-21 is mostly made of lightweight aluminium–lithium alloy, which accounts for 40% of the airframe's structural weight.[57] It is 11 cm (4.3 in) wider than the A320/C919 and 27 cm (11 in) wider than the 737, for a 61 cm (24 in) aisle allowing passing others or a trolley. Its 79.25 t (174,700 lb) MTOW is the same as the almost 5 m (16.5 ft.) shorter A320neo, and is 3 t (6,600 lb) lighter than the almost 3 m (9.8 ft) shorter 737-8, for similar two-class layouts of 162 to 165 while the 737-8 and A320neo have 200 nmi (370 km) more range. The MC-21 is a low-wing cantilever monoplane with a composite structure, a tricycle landing gear, powered by two wing-mounted turbofan engines and with a 3.81 m (150 in) wide cabin.

In 2013, Russian deputy premier Dmitry Rogozin indicated that it will be designated Yak-242 once it enters serial production, the name of a 1990s proposal of an aircraft of similar size. In 2014, Oleg Demchenko, the president of Irkut at the time, also preferred the Yak-242 name, claiming it would better reflect the design bureau behind the aircraft, however he has also said that any of these renaming decisions would be after the aircraft first flight and certification work.

For details of the design, development and variants, click here.

Specifications below are for the standard MC-21 300 model.

The Junkers G.38 was a large German four-engined transport aircraft which first flew in 1929. Two examples were constructed in Germany. Both aircraft flew as a commercial transport within Europe in the years leading up to World War II.

During the 1930s, the design was licensed to Mitsubishi, which constructed and flew a total of six aircraft, in a military bomber/transport configuration, designated Ki-20.

The G.38 carried a crew of seven. Onboard mechanics were able to service the engines in flight due to the G.38's blended wing design, which provided access to all four power plants.

The first Junkers prototype—3301 and marked as D-2000—first flew on 6 November 1929 with four gasoline engines: two Junkers L55 V-12 engines and two 294 kW L8 inline-6 engines, with a total power rating of 1470 kW (1971 hp). The Reich Air Ministry purchased the D-2000 for demonstration flights, and took delivery on 27 March 1930. In flight tests, the G.38 set four world records including speed, distance and duration for airplanes lifting a 5000 kg payload. On 2 May 1930 Luft Hansa put the D-2000 into commercial service for both scheduled and chartered flights.

Structurally the G.38 conformed to standard Junkers' practice, with a multi-tubular spar cantilever wing covered (like the rest of the aircraft) in stressed, corrugated duraluminium. The biplane tail, found in other large aircraft of the time, was intended to reduce rudder forces; initially there were three rudders with only a central fixed fin. The undercarriage was fixed, with double tandem main wheels that were initially enclosed in very large spats. The wing had the usual Junkers "double wing" form, the name referring to the full span movable flaps which served also as ailerons in the outer part.

On 2 February 1931 the Leipzig-based Junkers' yard re-engined the D-2000 with two Junkers L8 and two L88 engines, giving a total power rating of 1764 kW (2366 hp) and increasing passenger capacity from 13 to 19.

During its early life the G.38 was the largest landplane in the world. Passenger accommodation was sumptuous by today's standards and was meant to rival that found on the competing Zeppelin service offered by DELAG. The plane was unique in that passengers were seated in the wings, which were 1.7 m (5 ft 7 in) thick at the root. There were also two seats in the extreme nose. The leading edge of each wing was fitted with sloping windscreens giving these passengers the forward-facing view usually available only to pilots. There were three 11-seat cabins, plus smoking cabins and washrooms.

In design terms the G-38 followed the blended wing body design pioneered by Louis de Monge, later followed by Vincent Burnelli in his UB14 and later CBY-3 designs, and even later considered by both NASA and Boeing as an alternative to traditional tube and wing aircraft configurations.

Only two units were built. For operational history, click here.

The Junkers Ju 52/3m (nicknamed Tante Ju ("Aunt Ju") and Iron Annie) is a transport aircraft that was designed and manufactured by German aviation company Junkers.

Development of the Ju 52 commenced during 1930, headed by German aeronautical engineer Ernst Zindel. The aircraft's design incorporated a corrugated duralumin metal skin as a strengthening measure, which was very unusual at the time. The Ju 52's maiden flight was performed on 13 October 1930. It was initially designed with a single engine, however, it was produced in quantity as a trimotor. The primary early production model, the Ju 52/3m, was principally operated as a 17-seat airliner or utility transport aircraft by various civil operators during the 1930s. Following the rise of Nazi Germany, thousands of Ju 52s were procured as a staple military transport of the nation. The Ju 52/3mg7e was the principal production model.

The Ju 52 was in production between 1931 and 1952. In a civilian role, it flew with over 12 airlines, including Swissair and Deutsche Luft Hansa, as both a passenger carrier and a freight hauler. In a military role, large numbers flew with the Luftwaffe, being deployed on virtually all fronts of the Second World War as a troop and cargo transport; it was also briefly used as a medium bomber. Additionally, the type was deployed by other nation's militaries in conflicts such as the Spanish Civil War, the Chaco War, and the Portuguese Colonial War. During the postwar era, the Ju 52 had a lengthy service life with numerous military and civilian operators; large numbers were still in use by the 1980s. Even in the 21st century, several aircraft have remained operational, typically used for purposes such as heritage aviation displays and aerial sightseeing.

The Ju 52 had a low cantilever wing, the midsection of which was built into the fuselage, forming its underside.[9][1] It was formed around four pairs of circular cross-section duralumin spars with a corrugated surface that provided torsional stiffening. A narrow control surface, with its outer section functioning as the aileron, and the inner section functioning as a flap, ran along the whole trailing edge of each wing panel, well separated from it. The inner flap section lowered the stalling speed and the arrangement became known as the Doppelflügel, or "double wing". The outer sections of this operated differentially as ailerons, projecting slightly beyond the wingtips with control horns. The strutted horizontal stabilizer carried horn-balanced elevators which again projected and showed a significant gap between them and the stabilizer, which was adjustable in-flight. All stabilizer surfaces were corrugated.

The Ju 52 featured an unusual corrugated duralumin metal skin, which had been pioneered by Junkers during the First World War; the corrugation served to strengthen the whole structure over a smoother approach. The fuselage was of rectangular section with a domed decking, comprising a tubular steel structure that was entirely covered by the corrugated metal skin. A port-side passenger door was placed just aft of the wings; this entrance also acted as a loading hatch for freight, the lower half functioning as a platform to ease cargo movements. The cabin had a dimensional capacity of 590 cubic feet, and was lined with numerous windows stretching forward to the pilots' cockpit. The main undercarriage was fixed and divided; some aircraft had wheel fairings, others did not. A fixed tailskid, or a later tailwheel, was used. Some aircraft were fitted with floats or skis instead of the main wheels.

A total of 4,845 aircraft of all variants was built.

For details of the development, operational history and 28 civil and 21 military variants, click here.

The Junkers Ju 60 was a single engine airliner built in prototype form in Germany in the early 1930s. It was designed to meet a requirement issued by the Reichsverkehrsministerium (Reich Transport Ministry) for a German-built equivalent to the Lockheed Vega with which to equip Deutsche Luft Hansa. The result was a sleek, cantilever monoplane of conventional configuration, with wings skinned in the corrugated duralumin that had been a hallmark of Junkers designs up to this time, although this would be the last Junkers aircraft to have this feature. The main units of the tailwheel undercarriage were retractable.

The Ju 60 was evaluated by Deutsche Luft Hansa against the Heinkel He 70. With the latter able to demonstrate a top speed 75 km/h (47 mph) better than the Ju 60, development of the Junkers design was halted before the third prototype had been completed. The two examples that had already been constructed eventually saw service with the Luftwaffe as liaison aircraft until 1942. The work done on the design would later form the basis of the Ju 160.

The Junkers Ju 90 was a 40-seat, four-engine airliner developed for and used by Deutsche Luft Hansa shortly before World War II. It was based on the rejected Ju 89 bomber. During the war, the Luftwaffe pressed them into service as military transports.

The Junkers Ju 90 airliner and transport series descended directly from the Junkers Ju 89, a contender in the Ural bomber programme aimed at producing a long-range strategic bomber. This concept was abandoned by the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM, Reich Aviation Ministry) in April 1937 in favour of smaller, faster bombers. Design was headed by Ernst Zindel.[1] Development was headed by Professor Herbert Wagner.

The Junkers Ju 90 was a four-engine all-metal, low-wing aircraft fitted with twin end-plate vertical stabilizers. The wings were built around five tubular girder spars covered with a smooth stressed skin. The leading edge was quite markedly swept, the trailing edge almost straight. The Junkers "double wing", a full-span movable flap/aileron combination, was fitted. The tail units on the prototypes used the traditional Junkers corrugated skin, the only part of the aircraft to do so, abandoning the exposed corrugated skinning on later Ju 90 production models for the Luftwaffe. The fins and rudders, the latter with prominent horn balances assemblies, were placed at the end of the tailplane; this latter carried the elevators separated by a gap, forming another double wing. These components were as used in the Ju 89.

The new fuselage was of oval cross-section, covered by stressed smooth duralumin skin. On the first four Ju 90As, five pairs of rectangular windows were on each side, each double pair lighting a divided-off section of the cabin containing eight seats in facing pairs on either side of a central aisle. The Ju 90B, whose prototypes were the Ju 90 V5 through the Ju 90 V10 aircraft, adopted round fuselage portholes. The Ju 90 V11 became the definitive Ju 290 prototype with smaller, rectangular fuselage windows.

The Ju 90B series were visually distinctive because of their oval tail fins. The Ju 90 V6 was withdrawn from test flights, and rebuilt as the Ju 390 V1 prototype. The Ju 90 V9 was also withdrawn and rebuilt as the Ju 390V2, later redesignated in October 1944 as the Ju 390A-1. The Ju 90 V10's rebuild into the Ju 390 V3 bomber prototype was commenced, but was scrapped at the factory in June 1944. The Junkers firm was paid compensation for seven Ju 390s under construction, when Ju 390 orders were cancelled.

For more details of design and development, military and civil, click here.

The Kalinin K-5 was an airliner produced in the Soviet Union in the 1930s, built in larger quantities than any other Soviet airliner of its time, with some 260 aircraft constructed. It was a conventional, high-wing, strut-braced monoplane with a fully enclosed cabin and cockpit, and followed the general pattern developed by Kalinin in his earlier designs, though on a larger scale.

Kalinin had first considered an airliner for 10-12 passengers as early as 1926, but it was not until Ukrvozdukhput expressed interest in such a machine late the following year that work on the design began in earnest. The prototype was ready by mid-autumn 1929, and first flew on October 18 with Mikhail Artemevich Snegirev at the controls. Safety trials for the State Commission commenced on 30 May 1930, and were passed successfully.

Ongoing problems with the aircraft's Gnome et Rhône-built Bristol Jupiter engine resulted in the second prototype being powered by a Pratt & Whitney Hornet instead. This machine undertook further testing and a number of promotional flights before series production of the K-5 commenced. Early production examples were used on trial services between Kharkiv and Moscow, Mineralnye Vody, and Baku. Problems with the Bessonov M-15 engines became quickly apparent, with frequent failures and operational lifespans measured in only dozens of hours. K-5 operations were suspended by the Inspectorate of Civil Aviation until the issues were resolved.

Kalinin turned to the Shvetsov M-22 as an alternative powerplant. While reliability increased, this engine installation also created more drag than the M-15 had, and performance decreased accordingly. State Acceptance trials carried out in May–June 1932 confirmed the reliability of the engine with 550 takeoffs and landings and 2,000 steep turns, but found that the payload capacity was now unacceptably low. By this time, however, the M-15 had become reliable enough for restrictions to be lifted and K-5 production resumed, and eventually about 100 K-5s were fitted with this engine. The reliability of the revised M-15 design was vindicated by a gruelling flight through the Caucasus on 25 June 1933.

Eventually, the Mikulin M-17F provided the definitive powerplant for the K-5, offering an increase in power and performance over the M-15, but decreasing the aircraft's payload and range due to its greater weight. The new engine also required strengthening of the wing design; the first K-5 fitted with this engine suffered structural damage during flight tests due to the increase in engine power.

The K-5 was widely used by Aeroflot, displacing German-built Junkers F 13s and Dornier Komets in regular service. The first scheduled route flown by K-5s was Moscow-Kharkov, followed by services between Moscow and Sverdlovsk, Tashkent, and Arkhangelsk. They remained in service until 1940, becoming the backbone of Aeroflot's domestic operations.

The K-5 was also used by the Soviet Air Force as a transport aircraft, operating in this capacity until 1943.

The Kharkiv KhAI-1 (ХАІ-1) was an airliner produced in the Soviet Union in the early 1930s, unusual in that it was designed (and the prototype built) by students. An exceptionally clean design, the KhAI-1 was the first European passenger transport aircraft to feature retractable undercarriage, and boasted a top speed better than the fighter aircraft in service at the time. Some 40 KhAI-1s were operated by Aeroflot, but while a dedicated military version, the KhAI-1VV was developed and flown in prototype form, this did not enter production.

The project was the brainchild of Iosif Grigorievich Nyeman, then head of aircraft construction at the newly formed Kharkiv Aviation Institute. Deciding to provide students with practical, hands-on experience, he divided the students into two teams, each assigned to designing an airliner making use of cheap, easily obtained materials. One team, led by L. D. Arson, was to work on a design incorporating modern techniques and design features designated KhAI-1, while the other, led by A. Eremenko, was to work on a more conservative design designated KhAI-2. The challenge was laid down in May 1931, and the timeframe specified was that the better design would need to be completed and ready for construction by February the following year. The whole venture was to be supervised by the Ukrainian branch of OSOAVIAKhIM.

Soon, Nyeman selected the KhAI-1 as the design to proceed with. This was a low-wing, cantilever monoplane with a streamlined fuselage of oval cross-section, and retractable undercarriage. Construction was to be wood throughout, with fabric-covered control surfaces. The students were re-organised into ten teams of five to seven members each, and set to work on the detailed design of the aircraft's components and structures. The plans were completed on time, and in March 1932 work began at the Kharkiv Aviation Factory, then home to the design bureau of Nyeman's old mentor, Konstantin Alekseevich Kalinin. Construction of the prototype was undertaken by the students themselves, under the supervision of factory personnel, and was complete within 180 days. The aircraft first flew on 8 October at the hands of Boris Kudrin, with Nyeman on board as a passenger. The aircraft's high speed and good handling quickly became apparent, and following factory trials, the prototype KhAI-1 was flown to Moscow on 17 February 1933 for state acceptance trials, making the flight from Kharkiv in record time. These tests were completed by June, with test pilots I.F.Petrov and P.I.Stefanovskii confirming the aircraft's excellent performance, and recommending it for Aeroflot service, offering as it did a 50% increase in speed over the standard Kalinin K-5 airliner of the day. Nyeman was awarded the Order of the Red Star for the project.

With the KhAI-1 ordered into series production, Nyeman initially requested that this be undertaken at the Kharkiv Aviation Factory, but this facility was gearing up to produce the Kalinin K-7 bomber and therefore lacked the capacity. Instead, production was assigned to the Gorky Aviation Plant (Zavod 21) which was concluding Polikarpov I-5 production. Production examples differed from the prototype in having a larger rudder, enlarged baggage compartment, revised undercarriage with oleo struts, and lighter wheel brakes, The passenger cabin was also revised, with additional sound-proofing and ventilation, and the addition of a lavatory. A revision of the general structure produced a weight saving of 125 kg (275 lb) and an increase in top speed from 292 km/h to 319 km/h (182 mph to 199 mph). However, only three aircraft were built here before the facility was needed to build the Polikarpov I-16 and KhAI-1 production was shifted to Zavod 43 in Kiev, where the rest of the aircraft were built. The first of these flew in November 1934, and airline service trials commenced the following April

.

The Soviet Air Force soon expressed interest in the design as an alternative to the Polikarpov R-Z then replacing the Polikarpov R-5 in the reconnaissance-bomber role. A single prototype was built of a KhAI-1VV (for Военный Вариант - Voennii Variant - "Military Variant"), armed with a rear-mounted machine gun, and bombs carried in internal racks. While performance was impressive, the bomb-release mechanism proved troublesome, and as development dragged on, the Air Force gradually lost interest.

Following service trials between Moscow and Kyiv, the KhAI-1 was introduced on a regular Aeroflot service in early 1936 between Moscow and Sevastopol. Two accidents occurred during early service. In one, an outer wing panel broke soon after take-off, and in another, an undercarriage strut collapsed on landing. These events led to a review of the design by OKO, leading to general strengthening that added so much weight to the aircraft that one passenger seat had to be sacrificed. Production in Kiev had been suspended during this review, but was soon recommenced. Aeroflot continued using the type on passenger and mail routes until 1940 between Moscow and Kharkiv, Moscow and Minvody, and between Rostov and Krasnodar.

Variants

KhAI-1 - Passenger transport
KhAI-1B - (a.k.a. KhAI-1VV), Military variant for bomber training, of which two were converted from KhAI-1, with a 200 kg bomb load, as well as one fixed and one moveable machine-gun.

The Lasco Lascoter (sometimes spelt Lascota) was a 1920s Australian 6-seat passenger and mail carrier aircraft built by the Larkin Aircraft Supply Company (Lasco) at Coode Island, Victoria. It was the first Australian-designed and built airliner to be granted a Certificate of Airworthiness.

The Lascoter was a high-wing monoplane with a tubular steel structure, featuring a tailwheel undercarriage and a fully enclosed cabin for the passengers and the pilot. It flew for the first time on 25 May 1929; despite being damaged in a landing accident at Coode Island in May, it received its Certificate of Airworthiness on 22 July 1929. It was then put into service with Australian Aerial Services, an airline owned by Lasco, and used on an air mail route between Camooweal, Queensland and Daly Waters, Northern Territory. The Lascoter was used by Australian Aerial Services and its successors until being withdrawn from use in 1938; it was scrapped during World War II.

It was followed up with the tri-motor Lasco Lascondor (also frequently known by the misspelling "Lasconder") was a 1930s Australian 8-seat passenger and mail carrier aircraft built by the Larkin Aircraft Supply Company (Lasco) at Coode Island, Victoria. It is claimed to be the first multi-engined aircraft designed and built in the Southern Hemisphere.

Development of the Lascondor began in June 1928, concurrently with the company's Lascoter;[ the two aircraft had 90% commonality of structural parts.[ Like the Lascoter the Lascondor was a high-wing monoplane with a tubular steel structure, featuring a tailwheel undercarriage and a fully enclosed cabin for the passengers and the pilot. A major change was the Lascondor's three Armstrong Siddeley Mongoose engines instead of the Lascoter's single more powerful Siddeley Puma engine. The Lascondor also had greater fuel capacity and a slightly longer fuselage with a redesigned cabin to accommodate an extra row of seats. In addition, while the Lascoter had two sets of flying controls in the cockpit the Lascondor had only one to allow for another passenger seat, giving an overall capacity of seven passengers and one pilot.

Specifications below are for the Lascoter.

Lascoter.

Lascondor

The Latécoère 28 was a long distance monoplane aircraft designed and produced by the French aircraft manufacturer Latécoère.

First flown in 1927, it had a fixed tailwheel undercarriage and an enclosed cockpit for its crew of two. When configured for airline use, the Latécoère 28 could accommodate up to eight seated passengers. It was produced in both land and floatplane configurations, being marketed towards the civilian market both as a mail plane and passenger airliner.

During its operating life, the Latécoère 28 became the main-stay of Air France's predecessor, Aéropostale, which heavily used the aircraft during the 1930s in its efforts to establish intercontinental air mail services and support French colonialism and French cultural influence during the Interwar period.[citation needed] Its pilots included famous poets and French men of letters, such as Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and Jean Mermoz, along with numerous veteran pilots from the First World War.

The Latécoère 28 was a development of the Latécoère 26. A total of about fifty aircraft of several versions were produced between 1927 and 1932. The seaplane version, the Latécoère 28-3, was the first to make a postal delivery crossing of the South Atlantic when Jean Mermoz flew from Dakar to Natal in 21 hours and a half aboard the Comte-de-La Vaulx (prototype n° 919) on 12 May 1930. [1] Unfortunately, the plane was lost at sea during the return flight (with no loss of life, nor of mail). 

Early examples had been furnished with Renault 12Jbr engines; however, all use of this powerplant was quickly substituted for by Hispano Suiza 12, which waw capable of providing up to 500 hp (370 kW). The floatplane version was equipped with the Hispano Suiza 12Lbr, which could generate to up 650 hp (480 kW). 

The Latécoère 28 was a long-range high-wing single-engined monoplane. The fuselage, which was highly streamlined and largely supported by light-metal tubing, was internally divided into three sections, each with its own distinct structure and function. The main landing gear comprised two independent wheels mounted on axles joined to the fuselage and supported by elastic struts that incorporated shock absorbers. The recoil from landing was absorbed via a light-metal strut in the plane of the axle, supported at one end by the axle's bend and hinged to the fuselage at the other end; atypically strong carbon-injected steel, which was hardened and tempered after machining, was used. A hinged elastic tail skid was also used to dampen the landing forces.

The first aircraft were used by Aéropostale on the African mail routes connecting Casablanca and Dakar. The aircraft also inaugurated a Paris-Madrid service. The Latécoère 28 became famous in South America because of the regular mail service it performed between France and Argentina, amongst other destinations. This aircraft's introduction made it possible to send a letter from Paris to Santiago de Chile in what seemed then like an astonishingly short four days. Previously, the mail steamships had taken weeks or months. 

The Latécoère 28 was also operated in a military capacity. Venezuela purchased three aircraft for use as bombers while the French government supplied several to the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War.

For more details on the design, and the 11 variants, click here.

The Let L-610 is a prototype aircraft for the Czech civil aircraft manufacturer Let Kunovice made in 1988–1997.

In the late 1970s, after the success of the LET L-410 twin engine turboprop, the Soviet airline Aeroflot requested that LET design a replacement for the Antonov An-24 aircraft.

LET's L-610 was designed as a twin engined turboprop aircraft powered by the new Czech engine, Walter M602, with a seating capacity of 40. Flight testing was delayed by engine development taking longer than airframe development. Eventually the 1,358 kW (1,822 shp) turboprop engines were finished and the aircraft first flew on 28 December 1988. No aircraft was ever delivered to any commercial customer, although one aircraft was shown in Aeroflot markings during the Paris Air Show in the 1990s. One Let 610 M was delivered to the Czech Air Force,[1] to support manufacturer's certification and test flights process.

After the Soviet collapse LET tried to westernize the plane in order to widen the aircraft's sales appeal. The result was a new model, known as the L-610G, which had General Electric CT7 engines, Rockwell Collins Pro Line II digital EFIS, weather radar and autopilot. The L-610G prototype flew its maiden flight on 18 December 1992; four years after the L-610M.

During the time that the now-defunct Ayres Corp. owned LET, the aircraft was also known as the Ayres L-610, and for a time was marketed as the Ayres 7000. The customer for the Ayres 7000 was to have been City Connexion Airlines before bankruptcy problems sidelined the program.

On 29 August 2019, the UGMC subsidiary, the Ural Works of Civil Aviation and the Russian regional Polar Airlines signed an agreement to supply ten L-610 aircraft from 2023 to 2025 as part of the regional aviation development program of the Russian Federation. The signing took place at the international aerospace forum MAKS 2019 in Moscow.

Variants

L-610M
Basic variant with Walter M602 engines.
L-610G / Ayres 7000
Variant with General Electric XT7-9D engines.
L-610 MPA
Proposed Anti-submarine warfare variant.

Lockheed built 856 in numerous models—all with the same triple-tail design and dolphin-shaped fuselage. Most were powered by four 18-cylinder Wright R-3350 Duplex-Cyclones. The Constellation was used as a civil airliner and as a military and civilian air transport, seeing service in the Berlin and the Biafran airlifts. The Constellation series was the first pressurized-cabin civil airliner series to go into widespread use. Its pressurized cabin enabled large numbers of commercial passengers to fly well above most bad weather for the first time, thus significantly improving the general safety and ease of air travel. Three of them served as the presidential aircraft for Dwight D. Eisenhower.

In 1939, Trans World Airlines (TWA), at the instigation of major stockholder Howard Hughes, requested a 40-passenger transcontinental airliner with a range of 3,500 mi (5,600 km). TWA's requirements led to the L-049 Constellation, designed by Lockheed engineers including Kelly Johnson and Hall Hibbard. The Super Constellation has a longer fuselage.

There are currently only two airworthy Super Constellations in existance. One is sponsored by the Swiss watchmaker Breitling, and the other is operated by the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society (HARS), out of Illawarra Regional Airport near Wollongong, Australia. Following its restoration, it was painted in pseudo-Qantas livery including the Qantas logo on the tail, (with the usual Qantas lettering along the fuselage and on the wing-end fuel tanks replaced with the word "CONNIE") and registered as VH-EAG. It appears at airshows around Australia. "Connie" was originally a military C-121 model before restoration.

For more information on the Constellation, and civillian and miltary variants, click here.

The specifications below are for the L-1049 Super Constellation.

The Lockheed L-1011 TriStar, commonly referred to as the L-1011 (pronounced "L-ten-eleven") or TriStar, was the third wide-body airliner to enter commercial operations, after the Boeing 747 and the McDonnell Douglas DC-10. The airliner has a seating capacity of up to 400 passengers and a range of over 4,000 nautical miles (7,410 km). Its trijet configuration has three Rolls-Royce RB211 engines with one engine under each wing, along with a third engine center-mounted with an S-duct air inlet embedded in the tail and the upper fuselage. The aircraft has an autoland capability, an automated descent control system, and available lower deck galley and lounge facilities.

The L-1011 TriStar was produced in two fuselage lengths. The original L-1011-1 first flew in November 1970 and entered service with Eastern Air Lines in 1972. The shortened, longer range L-1011-500 first flew in 1978 and entered service with British Airways a year later. The original-length TriStar was also produced as the high gross weight L-1011-100, up-rated engine L-1011-200, and further upgraded L-1011-250. Post-production conversions for the L-1011-1 with increased takeoff weights included the L-1011-50 and L-1011-150.

For details of the development, design, operational history and seven variants, click here.

The specifications below are for the original L-1011-1 model. 

First flown in 1957, it was the first large turboprop airliner built in the United States.

With its unique high power-to-weight ratio, huge propellers and very short wings (resulting in the majority of the wingspan being enveloped in propwash), large Fowler flaps which significantly increased effective wing area when extended, and four-engined design, the airplane had airfield performance capabilities unmatched by many jet transport aircraft even today—particularly on short runways and high field elevations.

Jet airliners soon supplanted turboprops for many purposes, and many Electras were modified as freighters. Some Electras are still being used in various roles into the 21st century. The airframe was also used as the basis for the much more successful Lockheed P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft.

For the full Electra story, click here.

The Lockheed Model 9 Orion is a single-engined passenger aircraft built in 1931 for commercial airlines. It was faster than any American military aircraft of that time. Designed by Richard A. von Hake, it was the last wood aircraft produced by the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation.

The Orion was the last design using many identical elements from the Lockheed designs preceding it. It primarily used all the elements of the Altair, but included a forward top cockpit similar to the Vega, plus the NACA cowling introduced in the Air Express. Lockheed used the same basic fuselage mold and wing for all these wooden designs (the Explorer wing was unique), hence the close similarities between them. The Orion featured an enclosed cabin with seating for six passengers. The Orion received its Approved Type Certificate on 6 May 1931.

Gerard F. Vultee was Lockheed's chief engineer in 1928 through 1931 and was involved in the designs of all the Lockheed variants of that time and specifically designed Charles Lindbergh's Sirius.

Although designed with the passenger market in mind, its speed made it a natural for air races. The first Bendix race of 1931 had a showing of two Orions, three Altairs and one Vega in a race that had only nine aircraft competing. On 11 July 1935, Laura H. Ingalls flew a Lockheed Orion, powered by a Pratt & Whitney Wasp engine, from Floyd Bennett Field to Burbank, California, establishing an East-West record for women. Two months later she flew it back to set a West-East record.

The first Orion entered service with Bowen Air Lines at Fort Worth, Texas, in May 1931. Northwest Airways, later renamed to Northwest Airlines, operated the plane from 1933 to 1935. American Airways, itself also renamed to American Airlines in 1934, operated several 9D Orions. Many safe miles were flown in airline service and the headlines won by a few expert speed pilots proved the advanced design and reliability of the Orion. Those that went into airline use as a passenger transport had their lifespan limited, however. In 1934, the Civil Aeronautics Authority issued a ruling prohibiting further use of single-engined passenger aircraft from operating on all major networks. It also became mandatory to have a copilot and therefore a two-seat cockpit arrangement on all such flights. The requirements of the ruling brought an end to the "Orion" as a passenger-carrying airlines airplane. They were then used for cargo or mail carrying or sold for private use and charter. Because the aircraft had a complicated wood construction and needed to be sent back to Lockheed in Burbank California to be repaired, they were often disposed of after any type of significant accident. At least 12 of the used "Orions" were purchased for service in the Spanish Civil War and destroyed in use.

In 1935, a single Model 9 Orion was modified by Lockheed as a news camera plane for the Detroit News. To work in the role, a pod was built into the front leading edge of the right wing about eight feet out from the fuselage. This pod had a glass dome on the front and mounted a camera. To aim the camera the pilot was provided with a primitive grid similar to a gunsight on his windshield.

The Orion Explorer was a modified 9E. It had a damaged wing replaced with the wing of the Explorer 7 after a crash, and was fitted with a 600 hp (447 kW) Pratt & Whitney Wasp S3H1 engine. Fixed landing gear and later floats were also fitted. It was used by Wiley Post and Will Rogers for a round-the-world flight attempt, but both men died when the aircraft crashed in Alaska on 15 August 1935.

Variants

Orion 9
14 built, 410 hp (306 kW) Pratt & Whitney Wasp A or 420 hp (310 kW) Pratt & Whitney Wasp C
Orion 9A Special
one aircraft with 450 hp (336 kW) Pratt & Whitney Wasp SC engine
Orion 9B
two aircraft supplied to Swissair, 575 hp (429 kW) Wright R-1820-E engine
Orion 9C
redesignated Altair DL-2A
Orion 9D
13 built[1]
Orion 9E
three aircraft with 450 hp (336 kW) Pratt & Whitney Wasp SC-1 engine
Orion 9F
one executive aircraft with a 645 hp (481 kW) Wright R-1820-F2 engine
Orion 9F-1
one executive aircraft with a 650 hp (485 kW) Wright R-1820-F2 engine
UC-85
one Orion 9D to USAAF in June 1942
Orion-Explorer
modified Orion 9E, 600 hp (447 kW) Pratt & Whitney Wasp S3H1 engine

Number built    35 or 36

The Lockheed R6V Constitution was a large, propeller-driven, double-decker transport aircraft developed in the 1940s by Lockheed as a long-range, high-capacity transport and airliner for the U.S. Navy and Pan American Airways. Only two of the aircraft were ever built, both prototypes. Although these two planes went into service with the Navy, the Constitution design ultimately proved underpowered and too large for practical airline use at the time. Although the Martin JRM Mars flying boat had a slightly longer wingspan, the Constitution remains the largest fixed-wing aircraft type ever operated by the U.S. Navy.

The Lockheed Constitution began life in 1942 as a joint study by the U.S. Navy, Pan Am, and Lockheed. The design requirements, initially designated Lockheed Model 89, called for a large transport aircraft to improve upon the Navy's fleet of flying boats. Pan Am was involved in the study because such an aircraft had potential use as a commercial airliner. This transport would carry 17,500 lb (7,900 kg) pounds of cargo 5,000 miles (8,000 km) at a cruising altitude of 25,000 feet (7,600 m) and a speed greater than 250 mph (400 km/h). The aircraft would be fully pressurized and large enough so that most major components could be accessed and possibly repaired in flight. For instance, tunnels led through the thick wings to all four engines.

The aircraft was designed by a team of engineers led by Willis Hawkins and W.A. Pulver of Lockheed and Commander E. L. Simpson, Jr. of the Navy. The name Constitution was given to the project by Lockheed president Robert E. Gross.

The Constitution design had a "double bubble" fuselage, the cross section of which was a "figure eight". This unorthodox design, originally created in 1937 by Curtiss-Wright's chief aircraft designer George A. Page Jr. and first introduced with the Curtiss C-46 Commando, utilized the structural advantages of a cylinder for cabin pressurization, without the wasted space that would result from a single large cylinder of the same volume.

The original contract from the Bureau of Aeronautics called for 50 Constitutions for a total price tag of $111,250,000. On VJ Day, however, the contract was scaled back to $27,000,000 for only two aircraft.

FGor the operational history of the two units built, click here.

The Martin 4-0-4 was an American pressurized passenger airliner built by the Glenn L. Martin Company. In addition to airline use initially in the United States, it was used by the United States Coast Guard and United States Navy as the RM-1G (later as the VC-3A).

When production of the earlier Martin 2-0-2 was stopped due to problems with wing structural failure the company decided to re-wing an improved version (which had already flown as the Martin 3-0-3). The new aircraft was the Martin 4-0-4. It had structural changes to the wings, pressurization and was lengthened slightly to take 40 passengers. Like the earlier 2-0-2, the 4-0-4 was a cantilever monoplane with a standard tail unit (cantilever tailplane and single vertical stabilizer). It had an airstair in the lower tail section for passenger boarding and disembarkation, retractable tricycle landing gear and was powered by two Pratt & Whitney R-2800-CB16 radial piston engines.

First deliveries in 1951 were made to Eastern Air Lines (EAL), which had ordered 60, and Trans World Airlines (TWA), which had ordered 40. The only other new aircraft from the production line were delivered to the United States Coast Guard which had ordered two as executive transports with the designation RM-1G later changed to RM-1 and then in 1962 to VC-3A. In 1969 they were transferred to the United States Navy and were withdrawn from use by 1970. A total of 103 aircraft were built at the Glenn L. Martin factory in Baltimore.

For more information on the operational history of the 4-0-4, click here.

The DC-10 was intended to succeed the DC-8 for long range flights. It first flew on August 29, 1970; and was introduced on August 5, 1971 by American Airlines.

The trijet has two turbofans on underwing pylons and a third one at the base of the vertical stabilizer. The twin aisle layout has a typical seating for 270 in two classes. The initial DC-10-10 had a 3,500 nmi (6,500 km) range for transcontinental flights, and the -15 had more powerful engines for hot and high airports. The -30 and -40 models had higher weights supported by a third main landing gear leg for an intercontinental range of up to 5,200 nmi (9,600 km). Based on the -30, The KC-10 Extender is a U.S. Air Force tanker.

A design flaw in the cargo doors caused a poor safety record in early operations. Following the American Airlines Flight 191 crash (the deadliest US aviation accident), the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded all U.S. DC-10s in June 1979. In August 1983, McDonnell Douglas announced that production would end due to a lack of orders, as it had a widespread public apprehension after the 1979 crash and a poor fuel economy reputation. Design flaws were rectified and fleet hours increased, for a safety record later comparable to similar era passenger jets.

Production ended in 1989, with 386 delivered to airlines along with 60 KC-10 tanker aircraft. It was succeeded by the lengthened, heavier McDonnell Douglas MD-11.

For more detais of the development, design and variants, click here.

The specifications below are for the DC-10-30 model.