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Ilyushin Il-86

Ilyushin · Widebody · Retired

The USSR's first widebody.

Length59.54 m
Wingspan48.06 m
Range5,000 km
MTOW215 t
Typical seats350
Built106
Our numbers

Derived metrics

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

Seats per metre#2 of 35
5.88 seats/m typical seats ÷ fuselage length
Range per tonne#62 of 65
23.3 km/t maximum range ÷ MTOW in tonnes
Span-to-length ratio#46 of 68
0.81 wingspan ÷ fuselage length
Weight per metre#24 of 68
3.61 t/m MTOW ÷ fuselage length
Range in hours#39 of 65
5.3 h maximum range ÷ cruise speed
Weight per seat#21 of 35
614 kg MTOW ÷ typical seats
Sense of scale

How big is it, really?

The Ilyushin Il-86's wingspan, against things you already know the size of.

Ilyushin Il-8648.06 m
Football pitch (width)68 m
Blue whale25 m
New Routemaster bus11.2 m
You (probably)1.75 m
Specification

The numbers

Length59.54 m
Wingspan48.06 m
Height15.68 m
MTOW215,000 kg
Range≈5,000 km
Typical seatsup to 350
Engines4 × Kuznetsov NK-86
First flight22 December 1976
Built106

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

The story

What makes it different

The Il-86 was the Soviet Union's first widebody, and it solved a uniquely Soviet problem: airports without infrastructure. Passengers boarded up the aircraft's own built-in airstairs into the lower deck, hung their coats, stowed their own luggage on racks, then climbed internal staircases to the cabin, no jet bridges, no baggage handlers required.

It carried up to 350 people on trunk routes across the USSR for a quarter century, reliable and universally short on range, its engines were thirsty enough that Moscow to Havana needed multiple stops. Only 106 were built.

Airline service ended around 2011. A few airframes soldier on with the Russian military as the Il-80 'doomsday' airborne command posts, the Il-86's strangest legacy.

Common questions

Ilyushin Il-86, the short answers

How fast is the Ilyushin Il-86?
The Ilyushin Il-86 cruises at about 950 km/h, roughly 513 knots, or 590 mph.
How far can the Ilyushin Il-86 fly?
The Ilyushin Il-86 has a maximum range of about 5,000 km (2,700 nautical miles, 3,108 miles). At its cruise speed that is roughly 5.3 hours in the air.
How many people does the Ilyushin Il-86 carry?
A typical Ilyushin Il-86 carries 350 passengers. Exact figures vary with the operator's chosen configuration.
Is the Ilyushin Il-86 still in production?
Status: Retired. The Ilyushin Il-86 first flew in 1976, and about 106 have been built.
How big is the Ilyushin Il-86?
The Ilyushin Il-86 is 59.54 m long with a wingspan of 48.06 m and a height of 15.68 m. Its maximum takeoff weight is 215,000 kg.
Variants

The Ilyushin Il-86 line

Il-86
The airliner, retired from passenger service around 2011.
Il-80
Airborne command post conversions, a few remain with the Russian military.
Operators

Who flies the Ilyushin Il-86

No current operators, this aircraft's flying days are over. The operators of record are below.

RURussian Ministry of DefenceIl-80 command-post derivatives.≈4
RUAeroflotThe principal operator through the Soviet era and the 1990s.,