Mil Mi-26
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| Mil Mi-26 | |
|---|---|
 A Mi-26TC in firefighter role in action over Athens |
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| Type | Helicopter |
| Manufacturer | Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant |
| Maiden flight | 14 December 1977 |
| Introduction | 1983 |
| Status | Active |
| Primary users | Russian Air Force Aeroflot |
| Produced | 1981 to present |
| Number built | 200 |
| Developed from | Mil Mi-6 |
The Mil Mi-26 (Russian Миль Ми-26, NATO reporting name "Halo") is a Russian/Soviet heavy transport helicopter in service in civilian and military roles. It is the heaviest and most powerful helicopter ever to have gone into production.
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[edit] Design and development
The Mi-26 was designed for military and civil use and intended to be able to lift more than any previous helicopter. The first Mi-26 flew on December 14, 1977 and the first entered service in the Soviet military in 1983.
The Mi-26 was the first helicopter to operate with an eight-blade rotor. It is capable of single-engine flight in the event of loss of power by one engine (depending on aircraft mission weight) because of an engine load sharing system.
While it is only slightly heavier than the Mil Mi-6, it can lift more: 20 tons (tonnes) (44,000 lb).
[edit] Operational history
[edit] Chechen crash and controversy
On August 19, 2002, Chechen separatists hit an Mi-26 with a surface to air missile, causing it to crash in a minefield. A total of 127 Russians were killed in the crash. An investigation determined that the helicopter was grossly overloaded—the helicopter was only meant to carry about 80 troops, while this one was carrying around 150. A 1997 order prohibited the overloading of such flights, but in this case it was apparently not heeded.
In response to this crash, Russian president Vladimir Putin ordered an inquiry into the military's negligence. The commander in charge of the helicopter, Lieutenant-Colonel Alexander Kudyakov, was convicted of negligence and violating flight regulations. The Chechen who shot down the helicopter was sentenced to life in prison in April 2004.[1]
[edit] China's Wenchuan "Quake Lake" Emergency Heavy Lift Operations
As the result of the massive magnitude 8.0 earthquakes that ravaged regions of Sichuan on 12 May 2008, many rivers became blocked by giant landslides, which resulted in the formation of "quake lakes"; massive amounts of water pooling up at a very high rate behind the landslide-formed dams which will eventually crumble under the weight of the ever increasing water mass,[2]endangering the lives of potentially millions of people if the water is to build up, and then break downstream. The most precarious of these quake-lakes is the one located in the extremely diffcult terrain at Tangjiashan mountain, accessible only by foot or air, in which at least one Mi-26 heavy lift helicopter belonging to a branch of China's civil aviation service is used to bring heavy earthmoving tractors to the affected location[3]. This in conjunction with PLAAF Mi-17 helicopters bringing in engineering corps, explosive specialists, and other personnel to join 1,200 soldiers who've already arrived on site by foot. Five tons of fuel to operate the machinery have also been airlifted onto location, where a sluice will be constructed to allow the bleeding off of the bottlenecked water.
[edit] Variants
- V-29 - Prototype.
- Mi-26 (NATO - Halo-A) - Military cargo/freight transport version.
- Mi-26A - Upgraded version.
- Mi-26M – Upgraded version of the Mi-26, designed for better performance.
- Mi-26MS - Aeromedicial evacuation version.
- Mi-26NEF-M - Anti-submarine warfare version.
- Mi-26P - Passenger transport version, with accommodation for 63 passengers.
- mi-26PP - Radio relay version.
- Mi-26PK - Flying crane helicopter.
- Mi-26T - Civil cargo/freight transport version.
- Mi-26TC - Cargo transport version.
- Mi-26TM - Flying crane helicopter.
- Mi-26TP - Fire-fighting version.
- Mi-26TS - Export version of the Mi-26T.
- Mi-26TZ - Fuel tanker version.
[edit] Operators
[edit] Military Operators
Cambodia - 2
Democratic Republic of the Congo - 1
India - 12
Indonesia- Plan to buy Mi-26T for transport aircraft and Mi-26TP for firefighting unit [4].
Laos
Mexico - 1
Peru- 3 in service on the Peruvian Air Force, 2 in storage
Russia - 45
Soviet Union- Airframes were handed over to the successor states.
Ukraine - 17
Venezuela - 3
Democratic People's Republic of Korea - 4
[edit] Civil operators
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- China Flying Dragon Aviation Mi-26T
- Avialift Vladivostok
- UTair Aviation
- South Korea
- Laos
- Peru
- India
- Greece - Mi-26T "firebuster" 16-Sep-2000
[edit] Other
United Nations - temporarily donated by member nations when called for
[edit] Specifications (Mi-26)
This aircraft article is missing some (or all) of its specifications. If you have a source, you can help Wikipedia by adding them.
General characteristics
- Crew: Six – 2 pilots, 1 navigator, 1 flight engineer, 1 loadmaster, 1 radio/electronic systems operator
- Capacity:
- Up to 150 troops, 90 recommended
- 20,000 kg cargo (44,000 lbs)
- Length: 40.025 m (131 ft 4 in) (rotors turning)
- Rotor diameter: 32.00 m (104 ft 11.8 in)
- Height: 8.145 m (26 ft 9 in)
- Disc area: 789m² (8,495 ft²)
- Empty weight: 28,200 kg (62,170 lb)
- Loaded weight: 49500 kg (108,900 lb)
- Max takeoff weight: 56,000 kg (123,500 lb)
- Powerplant: 2× Lotarev D-136 turboshafts, 8,380 kW (11,240 shp) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 295 km/h (160 kt)
- Range: 1,952 km, 1,240 miles (1,080 nautical miles)
- Service ceiling 4,600 m (15,100 ft)
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Walkaround Mi-26 Halo from Monino Museum, Russia
- Walkaround Mi-26 Halo from VAZ Technical Museum, Russia
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