1:144 Ilyushin IL-86 - Landing Flaps (for Revell / Zvezda Kits)

The first Soviet airbus

The Ilyushin Il-86 was the first wide-body machine of Soviet production. It flew in December 1976, entered regular service in 1980 and in a cabin with two aisles it carried around three hundred fifty people. The boarding was a peculiarity: the aircraft had stairs of its own and a passenger carried his baggage down to the lower deck himself, so that check-in could be managed even at airports without equipment. The four Kuznetsov engines consumed a lot of fuel, though, and the range stayed short, so the type never flew beyond the routes it was built for.

A broad wing and what to do with it

A span of over forty meters tells even in 1:144 – a flap here is as long as the whole wing on a smaller model. That is exactly why lowered high-lift devices pay off most on this type: the silhouette lengthens, a shadow appears under the wing and the machine stops looking like a toy.

The set contains the flaps themselves and the completion of the trailing edge, which is set in after the original strip is removed. Because the surfaces are large, it is good to first go over the dividing line with a thin scribed groove and only then lay on the blade; the cut will not then slip. It is advisable to shim the gap with a thin plastic wedge before gluing, so that the flap does not fall inside. The painting will go more easily on the parts laid out than on a glued-up assembly.

In a collection the machine suits being a counterweight to the Western wide-body aircraft of the same period. Side by side it is clearly visible how differently two schools of design approached the same task: one bet on range and economy, the other on the ability to serve an airport where there was almost nothing.