VC 10 and Il-62

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24 years 2 months

Posts: 7,536

After reading the Il-62(one of the most beautiful aircraft in the world) article in the latest issue.....a question came to my mind. In the article it said that the Il 62 was launched just 5 months after the VC 10. So dose this mean the Il 62 has outdone the VC 10?? I think there are just a few VC 10s with the RAF which are operational at the moment and are being faced out. But the Il 62 is still on the strong side. Quite alot of airlines are still using them as there mainstay on long haul routes. Your comments.

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Member for

24 years 2 months

Posts: 1,121

RE: VC 10 and Il-62

Personally I think the only reason the Il-62 is still providing long-haul service is because the airlines cannot afford to replace them. Airlines like LOT have already replaced the Il-62 with the 767, and more will follow.

Have other Eastern bloc nations retired the type? I didn't see the type mentioned in CSA's fleet list so they will have gone the same way as LOT.

Member for

24 years 2 months

Posts: 269

RE: VC 10 and Il-62

The VC-10 (and Super VC-10) were poor sellers because they were designed too closely to the requirements of one airline - BOAC. The Il-62 sold in large numbers primarily to Aeroflot. Back when the Il-62 was introduced, Aeroflot only flew Russian built aircraft and lots of the aircraft were required because they were needed to replace older types and let us not forget the number of routes the airline flew in the former USSR. To suggest it was a vast network is an understatement. Hence why a considerable number of them were built.

As for the VC-10, it was designed with hot and high routes in mind - Take off performance was very impressive. However, it lacked the range to compete with the likes of the 707 and DC-8, and so only a small number were sold. I still think it ranks along side the 757 and 747 as one of the best looking aircraft ever built.