Where modern Russian helicopters?
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Where modern Russian helicopters?

Where modern Russian helicopters?

 

On helicopters "Mi" and "Ka".

The media about helicopters Mi-26, Mi-8 и Mi-24 you just read: outstanding, unsurpassed, unique ..., so it makes sense to look at the projects of the Kamov firm from these points of view. We are accustomed to linking Kamov with coaxial helicopters, which they, the only ones in the world, have managed to bring to perfection. But this is only partially true, since both Nikolai Ilyich Kamov himself and his student Sergei Viktorovich Mikheev did not have a template as such in choosing a scheme, and for a specific project they used the scheme that better suited the task before them. 

In late September, the government began to discuss the issue of overcoming the backlog of domestic heavy helicopter. In early October 1951, Nikolai Ilyich was summoned to the Kremlin, where the meeting was given the task of creating an urgent transport helicopters. ML Miles reported project dvenadtsatimestnogo Mi-4and Kamov is the Ka-14-2 project. The date of creation of helicopters was established in one year. Nikolai Ilyich asked for two years, for which Beria advised him to "turn in the office." 

ML Mil has already laid the foundation for the future project: firstly, the Mi-1 with tail rotor was mass-produced, and secondly, the Americans did well in the Korean war with S-55 I. Sikorsky, who was taken as a model when creating the Mi-4, but made it load-bearing. 

NI Kamov presented the project with the longitudinal arrangement of the rotors, which requires at least twice as much time to implement, as L. Beria, who has the appropriate authority, should be well informed. But NI Kamov's project was handed over to the obliging A.Yakovlev, who promised to do it for a year. It is clear that in one year this project was not carried out, more - when the leading designer IA Ehrlich brought Yak-24 to mind, then Yakovlev refused it altogether under the pretext of congestion by airplanes. And the helicopter turned out to be very good, in particular, with the same rotors had a cruising speed of = 180k / h. (Mi-4 = 135k / h), lifting capacity up to 3t.

Since then, the Mil Design Bureau is such a privileged estate, and KB "Kamov" - on secondary roles, whose outstanding projects are torpedoed in favor of the MVZ helicopters. Today, an exemplary example of this attitude is the replacement of the best Ka-50 percussion helicopter in Army Aviation with a mediocre, and even crude Mi-28N, which lost three times in the competitions to the "Black Shark", but won in the offices of M.O. The occasion was invented by the most naive: "single-seat", when the pilot-operator works automatic and any schoolboy does not hesitate to answer that the automation works better than the person, in this case it is more reliable and operative than the operator and much more grasps the goal. The absurdity of such criticisms is also the fact that the designers of the whole world predict in the future in general the replacement of combat aircraft with crews - unmanned, including helicopters.

The then Minister of Defense was Sergei Ivanov, the commander-in-chief of the Air Force, General V. Mikhailov, and the designers of the MHP organized foul fuss around the “singleness” of the Black Shark helicopter. 

The result of their cabinet "competition" did not keep them waiting long: "Night Hunter", not having time to get used to the units, issued two accidents and two disasters due to a design flaw in which they killed the lives of two Heroes of Russia. Today, these helicopters, in order to avoid the appearance of chips in gearboxes, reduced the power of VK-2500 engines from 2400l.s. to 2200l. each, or in the amount - on 400l.s. 

The conclusion is simple: to immediately stop delivery HV Cable Mi-28N and recover in a series of outstanding Ka-50, that will be true! Link attack helicopters as part of a team Ka-52 and 2-3 «Black Shark" Today is truly the combat and the most productive group!

I remember one moment from the life of the helicopter, I was then a young commander of a MI-4. Helicopter noise off scale for all approvals, as standing in front of the piston air-cooled engine with a capacity of 1700l.s., And the rear is not less noisy main gearbox. In this mosche cruising speed was 135k / hr., And the maximum - 155k / h. (In this case, claims are excluded - the first helicopter!). At this time, in the magazine "Civil Aviation" published an article with a proposal to replace the Mi-4 on Ka-25 civil version for Aeroflot.

A beautiful, aerodynamic helicopter with an aircraft tail unit on the cover photo easily held a minibus on an external suspension weighing 1600kg. This power-sharing helicopter Mi-4 could only envy. And the high-speed characteristics of the proposed Ka-25 for the helicopter of that time also impressed: the cruising speed = 185k / h, and the maximum = 220k / h. Then I had no doubt that in the near future this wonderful helicopter will be used in Aeroflot. But, no, "evil tongues" said that MLMil crushed him with his authority, saying that instead of Mi-4, Mi-8 would be produced. But Mi-8 turned out to be a helicopter class higher and heavier than Mi-4, so it was replaced only by its size. I still regret that I did not have to work on the Ka-25 helicopter.

But along the Messoyakha-Norilsk gas pipeline route, often commissions from 8-12 people on Mi-8 helicopters, when these carriages could be performed on cheaper and more economical Ka-25, but when it comes to personal prestige, the designers of the MVZ have the interests of the state In the account are not accepted! Today's general designer of the MVZ A.Samusenko generally more like an "effective" manager than a designer who has not yet released not one new model and beautifully parasitizes old MIL Mikhail's designs, rearranging fuel tanks or rearranging the rear doors into a ramp on Mi-8, etc.

 

 Mi-38 is a project of its predecessors,

and that of 30 years did not come out in the series.

 

I believe that the leadership of "Helicopters of Russia" without the red tape and bureaucracy should create all the necessary conditions for the early launch of Ka-32-10 in the series and projects Ka and Ka-92-102 give a green light, ceasing to squander public money to "scientific research "the idea that the firm" Kamov "have long held:
"It is deeply modernized Ka-32 is a symbol of the Ka-32-10, and this car drives VC-2500 registered as full-time. "Kamov" have been conducted flight tests of the helicopter "Ka" with engine VC-2500 main gearbox and the current "passes" an increased take-off power from the engines VC-2500. Therefore, "Kamov" is ready to go for installation in helicopters "Ka" of the corresponding class of engines VC-2500 ", - noted the general designer.

Some statistics.
R & D to create new aircraft and helicopters in 2006, the planned costs in the amount of 7,5 bln. Rubles
13.10.2005 Army News

13 May 2014 The development of new high-speed helicopter Russian Federation plans to allocate more than 7,5 billion rubles.
As stated by Deputy Minister of Industry of Russia Yuri Slusar: "It is planned to develop a forward-looking helicopter, which will go on production in 2020 year.

January 19 2016.
Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation Yuri Slusar reported that Russia plans to allocate from the state budget of about 7,5 billion rubles, which will be used to develop long-term high-speed helicopter.

 

As we can see the state money allocated

punctually

and in large quantities in the "R & D"

but modern helicopters NO!

The conclusion here is very disappointing:

or constructors forgot to cost centers

to build new models of helicopters,

or money spent for other purposes ?? 

 

In 1969, the Kamovians proposed for the army aviation a variant of the landing helicopter with the longitudinal arrangement of the main rotors B-50. Swift, rocket-like fuselage with its estimated maximum speed of up to 400 / h. would be very well suited not only for landing, but also for the removal of wounded soldiers, search and rescue crews, including in Syria. After all, for some reason, the High Military, after JV Stalin, with enviable regularity, reject the modern best-in-all technology in favor of the “super modern” old type Mi-8 and Mi-24? 

Lead designer in-50 was Igor Ehrlich that the helicopter Yak-24 has acquired sufficient experience to design in-50 realize that without 7,5mlrd. rub. far evaded "legendary" Mi-8 and the speed and performance!

Secondly, as the commander of the Mi-8 helicopter, the word "outstanding" is not clear to me. During the Soviet times, it was forbidden to fly on the trains in production conditions (IFR). Example. Leningrad is characterized by "rotten" weather, where after repairs we on Mi-8 should go to Norilsk, we have access to flights under the RFP (Flight Rules for Instruments). Judged so that this is an airport for large aircraft, it means that we have to release us, both in Lodeynoye Pole and in Petrozavodsk with weather everything is in order. The dispatcher is signed to us by a mission for departure and we are happy to sit down in armchairs, we request permission to start the engines.

Answer: "Starting forbid! In our production aerouzle Flying helicopter Mi-8 IFR forbidden! " And we went back to the hotel "empty-hlebamshi." Well, what is he outstanding, if he is in a production environment is forbidden to fly on instruments ??? Outstanding he compared to Mi-4, but not pulling on this title compared to the Ka-32, which received type certification under US airworthiness standards FAR-29 still 1998g. Canada, which has not received the Mi-8!

And here's another high draft of "Kamov": in 1975godu submitted to the Commission an option stormtrooper transverse scheme with a pusher propeller In-100.

It was assumed that with a combat load in 3000 kg it will be able to fly at a maximum speed of 450 km / h to a height of 6500 m and have a range of 700 km. The project members were highly appreciated by the members of the commission, but were not accepted for development “due to the unsatisfactory weight and size characteristics of the devices of such a scheme”. 

And find some frankly stupid excuses: Mi-6 -won what a huge deal, worked in Afghanistan and no one had claims to him on the mass-dimensions! But the safety of flights due to the lack of tail rotors in Kamov's projects is much higher than that of Mi-8 / 24 / 28 / 35 helicopters, but such a very important argument does not come from ministerial generals, because they do not show off on tailed helicopters in Real combat situation, and ordinary pilots! And Mi-24 is again working in Syria, and if I understand correctly in this situation, then they do not cope with the amount of work that they put on their shoulders, so they decided to send Ka-52 helicopters to help them.
But the B-100 attack aircraft with a combat load of more than two times more than the Mi-24 and one and a half times faster would be much more productive. 

For designers a cost center for a long time is ripe question: Guys, your money in the "R & D" emit very solid, and where modern helicopters?

 

Vitalii Belyaev for Avia.pro

I completely agree with the author of the article that, as such, modern helicopters are not developed or produced, "Russian Helicopters" trample on the long-obsolete Mil developments. Among heavy helicopters, now the best is the Mi-26, and for a long time this obsolete machine of primitive classical scheme?

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