UPDATE: Manchester Christmas treat.

Advanced Warning for Northern spotters. Manchester will see a special arrival this coming weekend(22nd December). Nope not Santa!!! Its slightly bigger than a sleigh. Thanks to the brilliant AlphaFive we bring you the news. Saturday the 22nd December a Volga-Dnepr IL-76 will land at Manchester International Airport.

Photo Credit : Michael Peter Whiteley (One of our DSA Spotters)

Pictured above is a IL-76 at Doncaster Sheffield Airport earlier this year. This Saturday (22nd) the Soviet Union's Ilyushin designed aircraft will land at ***10:00am ETA***. How many of you spotters will be heading to South Side or the Runway Visitor Park to hear the PC-90A-76 engines roar. Just like one of our spotters heard at Doncaster earlier this year, He captured the departure of the Silkways IL-76. What a shot!!! Even a cheeky Boeing 747 in the background.

Photo Credit : David Garrison Photography

The IL-76TD has a tail loading entrance with expanding loading ramps. The aircraft is also equipped with 2 electric winches and 4 electric hoists. Volga-Dnepr operate 5 modernized

IL-76 in its Cargo fleet. They operate along side other Soviet beasts including the An-124.

Check out this photo of Two Volga-Dnepr beasts sat on the cargo ramp at East Midlands taken by Peter Bowler ( One of our EMA Spotters)

Photo Credit : Peter Bowler

Saturday 22nd December may have been over shadowed by the weeks events at Gatwick but the RVP was chockablock full. The aircraft arrived spot on time. It was met by hundreds of spotters at the RVP and south-side as well as it being live streamed to Avgeeks across the world. The beast was filmed and photographed as she landed at a rather damp Manchester. It was definitely a early Christmas gift for those spotters that braved the winter weather to see the Soviet beauty. Check out the great shots by one of our Photographers, Chris Gurney headed to MAN to capture the IL76.