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Ilyushin Il-62

Ilyushin · Narrowbody · Nearly retired

The USSR's intercontinental jet.

Length53.12 m
Wingspan43.2 m
Range10,000 km
MTOW165 t
Typical seats186
Built292
Our numbers

Derived metrics

Computed by aircraft.fyi from the core specification — see how we calculate these.

Seats per metre#22 of 35
3.50 seats/m typical seats ÷ fuselage length
Range per tonne#34 of 65
60.6 km/t maximum range ÷ MTOW in tonnes
Span-to-length ratio#45 of 68
0.81 wingspan ÷ fuselage length
Weight per metre#31 of 68
3.11 t/m MTOW ÷ fuselage length
Range in hours#17 of 65
11.1 h maximum range ÷ cruise speed
Weight per seat#11 of 35
887 kg MTOW ÷ typical seats
Sense of scale

How big is it, really?

The Ilyushin Il-62's wingspan, against things you already know the size of.

Ilyushin Il-6243.2 m
Football pitch (width)68 m
Blue whale25 m
New Routemaster bus11.2 m
You (probably)1.75 m
Specification

The numbers

Length53.12 m
Wingspan43.20 m
Height12.35 m
MTOW (Il-62M)165,000 kg
Range (Il-62M)≈10,000 km
Typical seatsup to 186
Engines4 × Soloviev D-30KU, rear-mounted
First flight3 January 1963
Built292

Compare it

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Last verified: 2026-07-14 · Spot an error? business@luck.fyi

The story

What makes it different

The Il-62 gave the Soviet Union its first true intercontinental jet — Moscow to Havana, New York and Tokyo — with all four engines clustered on the rear fuselage under a T-tail, the largest aircraft ever built in that configuration. So tail-heavy was the layout that it parked leaning on a deployable fourth leg under the tail.

It was engineered with remarkable simplicity — manual flight controls operated by aerodynamic tabs, no hydraulics needed — and served as the long-haul flagship for more than a dozen national carriers. 292 were built.

It has nearly vanished: North Korea's Air Koryo keeps the last passenger examples airworthy, alongside a couple of Russian state machines — flying museum pieces from 1963 still crossing continents.

Common questions

Ilyushin Il-62 — the short answers

How fast is the Ilyushin Il-62?
The Ilyushin Il-62 cruises at about 900 km/h — roughly 486 knots, or 559 mph.
How far can the Ilyushin Il-62 fly?
The Ilyushin Il-62 has a maximum range of about 10,000 km (5,400 nautical miles, 6,215 miles). At its cruise speed that is roughly 11.1 hours in the air.
How many people does the Ilyushin Il-62 carry?
A typical Ilyushin Il-62 carries 186 passengers. Exact figures vary with the operator's chosen configuration.
Is the Ilyushin Il-62 still in production?
Status: Nearly retired. The Ilyushin Il-62 first flew in 1963, and about 292 have been built.
How big is the Ilyushin Il-62?
The Ilyushin Il-62 is 53.12 m long with a wingspan of 43.2 m and a height of 12.35 m. Its maximum takeoff weight is 165,000 kg.
Variants

The Ilyushin Il-62 line

Il-62
The original, 1963.
Il-62M
The definitive longer-range version — most survivors.
Operators

Who flies the Ilyushin Il-62

The top 2 operators by fleet size, of ≈2 worldwide — the rest are aggregated below. Counts marked ≈ are approximate, verified 2026-07-14.

KPAir KoryoNorth Korea's flag carrier — the last passenger Il-62s in the world.≈2
RURussian state operatorsA couple of government and military machines linger.≈2