Ilyushin Il-76 (RA-78765)

Why is it that Russian aircraft are so ugly?
Great photo, though!

it's in the eyes of the beholder IMO @Jim. MUCHO MACHO. Looks like it could swallow someone whole!

UGLY?? Impressive equipment!!

Definitely in the eyes of the beholder.

Impressive photo Jeroen.

Looks like a C-141 Starlifter on steroids.

Great photo. Biutiful plane.

Would look great with eyes.

Great head-on shot.

Russ Brown it looks like it already has eyes at the wing roots.

Just plain powerful and multi-functional. Built for function, not looks. The powerful "legs" tell it all. It seems as the grey weather suits the theme of pure functionality.

Russian birds may not be as pretty as those made in America, although they tend to be pretty reliable and designed to be very functional.

Great shot! Agree it is indeed an ugly bird, although impressive in size. Not so sure about reliability of Russian made planes. Last I checked they had a horrible crash record.

They aren't ugly as much as utilitarian. Nothing wasted on looks.

This looks like the plane is saying 'You want a piece of me?'.

And that's a heck of a lot of rubber. Wow...

If you would like to see a "vodka burner" depart Canberra, this is 2:36 of fun.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHM_IiakCTg