Il-62 by S.V.Ilyushin (NATO 'Classic')

32k early production Il-62 flying with Kras Air, courtesy of @ Bird Publishing's Ultimate Aviation Marketplace ©

The routine service of the NK-8 powered Il-62 was initiated on 10 March 1967 on Moscow-Khabarovsk and Moscow-Novosibirsk routes, joined on July 14 by Moscow-Tashkent line. The first International service was to Montreal on September 15 same year for Expo'67.

Czechoslovakia became the first non-Soviet Il-62 operator in 1968, followed by other Eastern block countries. Initial production of 6 airframes/year was extended to 10/year in 1969.

Airframe (see description at Il-62 prototypes) life in the standard version was estimated as 25,000 to 30,000 hours, while engine overhaul time was a point of controversy. Declared originally to be 1,000hours with NK-8-3, it was dropped to 300hours and late raised to 3,000hours when NK-8-4 engines were introduced.

Il-62 was severely criticized for its poor operating economics, and in 1970 new Il-62M-200 version was announced. Today, only few aircraft of the original model Il-62 are left, while the more powerful Il-62M remains in service mainly with Aeroflot, Cubana de Aviacion, Domodedovo Airlines and Khabarovsk Air Enterprise.