Ilyushin Il-62 jetliner

East European postcards featuring the Soviet built Ilyushin Il-62 long-range jet airliner, the top two in the Czechoslovak Airlines colours and the third in the very similar East German Interflug scheme.

It was conceived in 1960 by Ilyushin as a successor to the popular turbo-prop Il-18 and with capacity for almost 200 passengers, the Il-62 was the largest jet airliner when it first flew in 1963. As can be seen in the third pic it was powered with two rear mounted twin-paired jets, the only other jet airliner to have this configuration was the Vickers VC10. It entered Aeroflot service on 15 September 1967 with an inaugural passenger flight from Moscow to Montreal. One of four pioneering designs (the others being Boeing 707, DC-8, and VC10), the Il-62 was the first such type to be operated by the Soviet Union and other countries, becoming the standard long-range airliner of the Eastern bloc for several decades.  Production ceased in 1995 with 292 examples having been built. Its safety record compares favourably with the western airliners mentioned above.