Ilyushin IL-20M reconnaissance aircraft 1/144 Eastern Express 14489

Ilyushin IL-20M reconnaissance aircraft 
1/144 scale plastic model kit
Eastern Express 14489

Manufacturer: Eastern Express (Russia)
Scale: 1/144
Material: Plastic
Paint: Unpainted, Unassembled, Kit do not contain paints and glue.
Condition: New in Box

The Ilyushin Il-20 was a Soviet prototype for a heavily armored ground attack aircraft to replace the Ilyushin Il-10. It featured a number of innovative concepts including a cockpit mounted on top of the engine, directly behind the propeller, and wing-mounted autocannon that could be adjusted on the ground to fire level or depressed 23° to allow the aircraft to strafe ground targets while remaining in level flight. However it proved to be slower than the Il-10 and its immature M-47 engine proved to be problematic during flight tests in 1948–49 and it was not placed into production. The test pilots called the aircraft the Gorbach(Hunchback).Sergey Ilyushin's concept to meet the 1947 requirement for an aircraft that was to be superior to the Il-10 in performance and firepower was a heavily armored, single-engine, all-metal, low-wing monoplane powered by the newly developed M-47 — also known as the MF-45Sh or M-45Sh — liquid-cooled engine that developed 3,000 horsepower (2,200 kW) at take-off. But the design's most notable feature was the pilot's cockpit which was mounted directly above the engine reminiscent of the Blackburn Blackburn and Blackburn Cubaroo. Furthermore the cockpit was situated directly behind the four-bladed propeller to maximize the pilot's visibility. The windshield extended down to the propeller hub and provided the pilot with a 37° downward field of view; in a medium dive he could view targets directly underneath the aircraft.

As was traditional with Ilyushin's ground attack aircraft the Il-20 used a load-bearing armored shell to protect the pilot and gunner as well as the engine, fuel, lubrication and cooling systems. The thickness of the armor varied between 6 to 15 mm (0.24 to 0.59 in) and weighed a total of 1,840 kg (4,060 lb). The pilot's canopy used armored glass 100 mm (3.9 in) thick for the main windshield and 65 mm (2.6 in) for the quarterlights.

General characteristics

• Crew: 2
• Length: 13.58 m (44 ft 6 5/8 in^[8])
• Wingspan: 15.43 m (50 ft 7 ½ in^[8])
• Height: ()
• Wing area: 44.0 m² (473.66 ft²)
• Empty weight: 7,500 kg (16,534 lb)
• Loaded weight: 9,500 kg (20,950 lb^[8])
• Powerplant: 1 × AM-47 Liquid-cooled V-12, 2,200 kW (3,000 hp)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 515 km/h (278 kn, 320 mph)
• Range: 1,680 km (908 nmi, 1044 mi)
• Service ceiling: 7,750 m (25,430 ft)
• Wing loading: 223 kg/m² (45.6 lb/ft²)
• Power/mass: 0.23 kW/kg (0.14 hp/lb)
  
• Climb to 5,000 m (16,400 m): 8 min