From the inside, the cockpit of the Soviet (Russian) heavy military transport aircraft Il-76, featuring a glazed nose, looks like that of the TIE Fighter from the Star Wars universe directed by George Lucas, The Drive notes, commenting on a recently posted image from the Russian Ministry of Defense …
“The reality is that the similarity between the Il-76 navigator's post and the cockpit of a TIE fighter, interceptor or bomber is not accidental. George Lucas used a huge number of themes and images of World War II to build his one of a kind world – including ships, ”the American edition writes.
The Drive recalls that glazed nose aircraft became widespread after World War II. In particular, such decisions were used both by the coalition of Western countries led by the United States and by the states of the communist system, directed by the USSR.
In November, the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) announced that the new Il-76MD-90A aircraft will be able to lift 12 tons more than its previous version. According to the designer Andrei Yurasov, the carrying capacity of the aircraft has been increased from 48 to 60 tons, the flight range – by 18 percent. As a result of modernization, fuel consumption has decreased by 12-15 percent.
