The Ilyushin Il-14 (NATO reporting name: Crate) is a Soviet twin-engine commercial and military personnel and cargo transport aircraft that first flew in 1950, and entered service in 1954. The Il-14 was also manufactured in East Germany by VEB Flugzeugwerke as the VEB 14 and in Czechoslovakia as the Avia 14. The Ilyushin Il-14 was typically replaced by the Antonov An-24 and Yakovlev Yak-40.

Design and development

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 in 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.

Variants

License-built variants

Operators

The Il-14 operated in the Soviet Union until the 1980s and early 90s, and other nations like Cuba and Vietnam. However, the unlicensed Chinese built Y-6 remained in the People's Liberation Army Air Force as a trainer until the late 1980s.

Military operators

There are no current military operators of the Ilyushin Il-14.

Civil operators

Very few examples remain airworthy, with some still in use for freight duties, and a handful maintained by aviation clubs and enthusiasts. Today only three aircraft remain airworthy in Russia: one, called "Soviet Union" at Gorelovo airfield near St. Petersburg, another, called "Penguin" has performed its maiden flight after restoration on 1.10.2012 and now is based at Stupino airfield near Moscow. The third aircraft, called "The Blue Dream" performed its maiden flight from Tushino airfield to Stupino airfield in May 2014 after more than 10 years repair performed by a team of aero enthusiasts. There was also one Il-14 that was possibly airworthy in the United States, but its registration was cancelled in July 2014.

[1961 photograph of an Ilyushin Il-14 operated by East-German airline

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Specifications (Il-14M)

Incidents and accidents