Mi-26 - the largest helicopter in the world

Welcome aboard the largest commercially available helicopter in the world. You'd be surprised, but if it is placed next to a Boeing 737 airliner, it will be longer! A screw diameter by as much as 4 meters longer wingspan Boeing 737 classic series.

This flying monster can be compared to an ant. Because it is one of the few aircraft able to lift and carry the load, almost equal in weight to itself. And not only raise, but also to transport the 20 tons of cargo to the middle of nowhere - up to 800 kilometers from the base.

Developed back in the mid 70s, this Goliath-workaholic issued so far in different versions - as a military transport, a passenger, civil transport, flying crane, health, etc...

310 MI-26 units issued during these years, operated on the military and the civil service in many different countries - Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Venezuela, India, China and even in Laos and Peru.

The history of MI-26

Heavy Mi-26 helicopter began to develop in the early 70s as a substitute for well-known at the time MI6 record holder. The need to develop a new model was conditioned as the increasing needs of the Armed Forces of the USSR and the Soviet economy. According to the requirements, the new helicopter was to carry loads weighing up to 20 tons over a distance of 500 km, as well as hassle-free to carry out military and civilian tasks at heights of over 1,000 meters above sea level.

Heavy helicopter of the new generation has received the designation Mi-26 (or "product 90") and its preliminary design was approved by the Scientific and Technical Council of the USSR MAP in December 1971 was appointed lead designer O. Bach. Construction of the Mi-26 layout began in 1972, and three years later it adopted the State Commission. By the time ended and most of the work on the design of the machine. Also in 1975 the new lead designer on Mi-26 became V. Shutov.

December 14, 1977 Mr. MI-26 first took to the air, after spending about 3 minutes in the sky. Machine operated by a crew headed by chief test pilot of the company GR Karapetyan.

The first Mi-26 went straight to the Armed Forces of the USSR, and only after a few years began to appear civil modification of the heavyweights

Mi-26T helicopter with tail number RA-06031, which has been prepared by the example of today's story, was released on August 1, 1990. First company-operator acted Aeroflot USSR, which included three years he operated in Tyumen and Nizhnevartovsk. Then in 1993 a long 17 years, the helicopter was in caretaker status in Krasnoyarsk until 2010 UTair airline was acquired, as part of which now operates in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous District of Russia. Place of permanent deployment - Surgut airport.

A civilian version of the MI-26

Civilian version of the helicopter, which received the designation Mi-26T, was launched into production January 12, 1985 .. g demilitarized version differed from the military counterpart above all navigation equipment - it is no release device LTC and pivot systems for small arms. It has been significantly expanded the composition of equipment designed to increase the capabilities of the machine when working with external load.

The chopper was equipped with outer suspension which is able to transport standard sea container without the riggers. Universal roll platform has increased the speed of transport of bulky and long cargoes (such as houses, containers, pipes) on the external load of up to 200 km / hr and reduce the fuel consumption by 30%. In addition, in the arsenal of the Mi-26T includes automatic capture of pipe for use with large diameter pipes and lifters for transporting wood in the mountainous regions.

It is interesting that even before the mass arrival of the Mi-26 into the armed forces and the Aeroflot it was set a number of world records. For example, February 4, 1982 the crew of a test pilot GV Alferov has accomplished the flight in which 25 tons of cargo were able to raise the height of 4060 meters, with 2000 meters the helicopter climbed a flight weight of 56 768, 8 kg, which was also the highest international achievement. That same year, the crew of the Mi-26, led by Irina Kopec found 9 women's world records. When the machine is already being exploited in combat units, military testers broke another record set on the Mi-8 in 1967 August 7, 1988 the crew of test pilots 1st class A. Razbegaevo, Lavrent'ev, honored test navigator and flight engineer Daniel L. A. Burlakov took place on the closed route Moscow-Voronezh-Kuibyshev-Moscow for 2000 km at an average speed of 279 km / h. And on the final stage of the helicopter pilots had to overcome meteofront with strong turbulence and rainfall.

The Aeroflot Mi-26T helicopters began to arrive in 1986. The first copy arrived in Tyumen airline after tests in the State Research Institute of Civil Aviation. Initially, civilian pilots retrained at the Rostov factory, and since 1987 - in Kremenchug School of Civil Aviation. This school received two Mi-26, which until the end of 1989 prepared a hundred commanders, co-pilots, navigators, flight engineers and flight operators. After helicopters flew TBO, they were aimed at Konotopskiy remzavod where are today.

People laborer and record holder

The central part of the fuselage of MI-26 takes spacious cargo compartment with the rear compartment, passing in the tail boom. Cabin length - 12 1 m (with a ladder - 15m), width - 3, 2 m and the height was varied between 2, 95 and 3, 17 m As confirmed mock test cabin dimensions allowed to carry all kinds of mass prospective military equipment before. 20 tons, designed to equip motorized rifle division, such as infantry fighting vehicle, self-propelled howitzer, armored reconnaissance vehicle, and so on. n. Loading technology carried out under its own power through the cargo hatch in the rear fuselage, equipped with two pull-down side doors and lower the ladder with podtrapnikam and. ladder control and flaps - hydraulic.

In the embodiment of the troop carrying the Mi-26 82 68 soldier or parachute. Special equipment allows for several hours converted into sanitary helicopter for transport 60 wounded on a stretcher and three accompanying paramedics. The civilian version of the rear compartment can carry any cargo or equipment. In addition, large loads of up to 20 m can be transported on the external load. Its units were located in the floor of the power structure, so it does not require the dismantling of the system for the carriage of cargo inside the fuselage.

Cargo compartment of the helicopter, in addition to goods, also allows for the placement of additional fuel tanks (pictured), thereby increasing the range of possible MI-26 flight.

The interior of the load compartment is equipped with a set of tooling required for placement and fixation of goods - crane, hydraulics, etc...

When used for civilian purposes can be very useful opportunity fell Mi-26 for delivery of bulky cargo on external sling. Many operations have become unique, gained wide recognition in the world and the most favorable impact on the reputation of the helicopter. One of the first - transportation winter 1986 g. airframe Tu-124SH weight of about 18 m from the airfield Tchkalovsky on campus Shchyolkovo-2 made by the crew led by S. Sugushkinym. In 1988 in the Caucasus, the Mi-26T Kremenchug schools that piloted the OV Marik commander, raised an emergency landing in the mountains at an altitude of 3100 m of the Mi-8 and took him to Tbilisi. operation of aircraft evacuations is also known for the Be-12 from the place of a forced landing in the north of Rostov region in Taganrog. We conducted similar operations abroad. So, interesting work carried out in October 1994, the crew of the Mi-26T Ukhta civil aviation detachment headed by A. Fateev during an expedition to Papua New Guinea. Airmen were assigned to pull out of the swamp American "Boston" and move it to the port of Manang. The aircraft during the Second World War, was a member of the 13th Bomber Squadron US, he was shot down by the Japanese in 1945 and made an emergency landing in the "belly" and is now destined for the Royal Australian Air Force Museum.

The Mi-26 cockpit

The forward fuselage cabin crew is the Mi-26 with the commander's station (left pilot), right-pilot, navigator and flight engineer, as well as the cabin for four people accompanying the goods, and the fifth member of the crew - mechanic. The sides of the cab provided the hatches, blisters to the emergency evacuation of the helicopter, as well as armor plates in the military version of the machine.

electronic and navigation equipment allows the helicopter to perform combat missions in adverse weather conditions and at any time of the day. Its constituent navigation system includes a combined directional system "Comb-2", the flight director instrument panel-77m, electronic range navigation system "Fan-M", altimeter, automatic direction finder, and Doppler velocity and drift angle.

Aerobatic complex helicopter PCI-26-1 consists of four-channel autopilot VUAP-1, trajectory control system, the guiding and damping control load on the external load. The helicopter is equipped with weather radar, communications and television equipment for visual observation of the condition of the cargo.

22 000 horses and 120 meters of the blades

Powerplant Mi-26 comprise two turboshaft engine D-136 production plant Zaporizhzhya Motor-SICH total capacity of 22 thousands of horsepower.

These engines allow to lift the 28-ton machine with 12 tons of fuel and 20 tons of cargo to a height of 6, 5 thousand meters, and move it to a distance of 800 km (fully loaded) up to 2350 km (with stretch).

The engine consumes up to 3,100 kilograms of fuel per hour, and the cost of flight hour is about 600 thousand rubles

Climb to the top. Absolutely incredible kind of huge "nut" with eight 16-meter blades

Even closer.

In order to understand the size of the top "nuts", a photo during engine maintenance Mi-26 technicians Airport

It is equally amazing and the blades of the main rotor. Their 8, each of which has a length of 16 meters.

blades, as metal fingers of a sci-fi robot. The people below look like ants on their background

curved down in a static position, while flying under the influence of various physical forces of the blade are straightened, and sometimes even gets the impression that they bend to the top

In comparison with the main propeller, rudder seems quite small. However its diameter is greater than 7, 5 meters. E. Almost like a three-storey residential building ..

Finally some funny angles with MI-26. Smile heavyweight front.

... and back. Mi-26 present Janus

As I said at the beginning, more than 310 helicopters MI-26 of various modifications were made. Due to the unique, heavy-duty, these are in great demand both in Russia so abroad until now. The largest civilian operator of Mi-26 is a Russian company UTair, which is composed of 25 helicopters of this mark.