How the engines of an IL-14 came out of retirement after 25 years

If you ever have the occasion to fly from Budapest Ferihegy airport Terminal Two, make sure you leave some time to visit the aircraft museum just off the airport loop-road on the right-hand side. Mind you, if you are used to the pristine exhibits of transport museums in Germany or Switzerland, you will need to relax your expectations somewhat. The aircraft in this little museum show clearly the desperate need for money… On the other hand you will witness something no money can buy: the wonders enthusiastic volunteers can perform.

This is the story of the IL-14 in the park and its left engine which roared back to life last week to commemorate the 66th birthday of Malev, the now defunct Hungarian national airline.
The magic started with this little crew, led by Mr. Endre Zsaludek, transforming the park’s old, military IL-14, tail number 04 into an aircraft with 60’s Malev livery and registration HA-MAL. Mr. Zsaludek is more than just the leader of the group, he is the moving force, the real motivation that makes things happen. Not every member of the group is an aircraft maintenance technician but their love for aircraft has brought them together and made them a team to be envied.

They all contributed in their own way and the results speak for themselves. The IL-14 has become one of the gems in the collection.
But this was not the end of the story… of course.

Members of the group went on to asses the state of their new toy and discovered that the aircraft’s electrical system was still usable. From then on they were obsessed with the idea of starting up the old plane’s right engine. As a museum piece, the aircraft was the property of the Hungarian State and so they had to obtain permission to do this. This was obtained with a little help from Mr. Zsaludek and the project was given the green light. They labored on several fronts simultaneously: the aircraft was put back on its own feet while a group led by Arpad Bekefi went to work on the engine. The wheels were renewed with the help of Aeroplex under the expert eyes of Janos Fekete.
The electrical system was brought back into working condition by Zoltan Ruzsom and Mr. Oldrad, working hand in hand on this vital element of the aircraft.
Of course everyone worked wherever there was a need for manual labor. The group’s spokesman, Richard Virag was also instrumental in bringing the old lady back to its current beautiful condition, he like most others, Arpad Bekefi, Nagy Gabor, Janos Fekete, Virag Richard, Gabor Zacher and Robert Karai, had dedicated practically all of his free time to the project.

8 April 2011 was the great day when the roar of 14 cylinders and 1900 horse-powers shook the ground in the outdoor museum as the right engine of the IL-14 came to life after 24 years of deathly silence.
Since then, such runs were repeated often, to the delight of the visitors.
The left engine was in a seized condition and this was an invitation for the group to try and get it running again. By early spring they managed to turn it over but it was still doubtful whether she would ever actually run. Then disaster struck. Strong corrosion was found on one of the propeller blades of the right engine and it was decided to suspend the shows until it could be replaced. Safety first, like everywhere in aviation.
Since the group did not want museum visitors to be left without the delightful experience of seeing and hearing a running IL-14 engine, they decided to spare no effort in getting the left hand engine operational! They were working practically every day for weeks, checking and cleaning all subsystems, readying them for operation.
Finally, on 25 March 2012 the miracle happened again: the old engine, hesitant at first, came to life in the spring sunshine and after a little while hummed away happily.

The crew stood there, not unlike a bunch of proud fathers, looking at their handiwork. They have worked long and hard but the result was there, all the beautiful nineteen thousand horses of it.
What more could one ask?
(Parts translated with permission from the Hungarian original)
Watch the story of the painting operation here.
Starting the right engine… watch the video here.
Watch the left-engine start video here.