New helicopter - “way out of losses”?
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New helicopter - “way out of losses”?

New helicopter - “way out of losses”?

“The information that the Kazan Helicopter Plant (KVZ) received a certificate for serial production of the Mi-38 from the Federal Air Transport Agency was distributed on November 19 by the press service of the Russian Helicopters holding.

Kazan Helicopter Plant received a certificate for mass production of Mi-38. According to experts, the price of the car will not exceed $ 20 million, a new helicopter can help the company solve the problem of losses. "

Build, Build and Build!

Our pilots have not seen new items from the cost center since the 80s of the last century, and we must assume that it is with great pleasure that they transfer to the new Mi-38. True, not everyone is lucky with the new helicopter, because the Kremlin managers "did not stand up to the price" and therefore there will be no queues from customers for it!

On Wikipedia, the cost of the Mi-26 is indicated: $ 20-25mln. This means that for transportation of 8 tons of cargo, the customer will use the Mi-26 helicopter, which will carry this cargo in one flight, instead of two flights on the Mi-38, because this option is cheaper!

Another option: to transport cargo in 4t, then for the same reason, instead of the Mi-38, the Mi-172A2 will be ordered.

But the general cost centers call it a helicopter of the 1st century, apparently hence the cost = $ 20 million. And in order for it to correspond to the status of its price, its flight capabilities are overestimated in the descriptions:

Flight range with a load of 5 kg ... 000 km

Flight range with a payload of 3 kg ... 000 km

Flight range with additional fuel tanks and a load weighing 2700 kg ... 1200 km. (Mi-38 russianhelicopters.aero).

So let's check: is it true that the load is 2700kg. at a distance of 1200km. is it the norm for him?

And so, at a distance of = 420 km. he will transport cargo -5000 kg, and at a distance of 900 km. - 3000kg, i.e. for 2000kg. less due to the additional amount of fuel. This means that for 480 km (900 km. - 420 km.) Mi-38 consumes 2000 kg. kerosene.

And at S = 1200km. he will need even more fuel. How much, we think: 1200km - 900km. = 300km.

480km - 2000kg

300km - X.

 X = (2000kg.x300km): 480km = 1250kg. - so much additional fuel must be poured, and accordingly minus the same amount of payload, as a result, at a distance of 1200 km. for the Mi-38 the maximum load will be:

3000kg (900km) - 1250kg = 1750kg. cargo or 17 passengers, but not 2700 kg, prescribed by the designers of the cost center.

More expensive Ka-92 at a distance of 1200km. will carry 3000kg. cargo i.e. 1000 kg more.

“According to Sergei Mikheev, the Ka-92 with 30 shift workers on board could, for example, take off from Murmansk and fly to oil platforms near the Shtokman field, located 635 km away, spending only an hour and a half of flight time (cruising speed 420 km / h). Moreover, if the weather does not allow landing on the platform, then the helicopter could return to the base airfield without refueling ”

So on which of them is the flight at S = 1200km. will be cheaper?

Counting again.

Mi-38 ($ 20 million), Vcr. = 285k / h, flight time = 4h.15m.

Ka-92 ($ 30 million), Vcr. = 420k / h, flight time = 2h 50m.

And so: the Mi-38 is 1/3 cheaper than the Ka-92 helicopter, but it takes an hour and a half more to fly (600 km round-trip), so the cost for the flight time of such a flight will be almost the same. But the Ka-92 will carry passengers by a third more than the Mi-38.

And if you need to carry 60 passengers?

They will be transported by helicopter Ka-92 for 2 flights, and by helicopter Mi-38 for 3 flights, which is more payable to the customer by flight.

But it will be even cheaper if these 60 people are transported by a Ka-102 helicopter in one flight!

By the way, this helicopter will occupy a niche between Mi-8 and Mi-26 not verbally, like Mi-38, but really! And if the government “didn’t put a stick in the wheels” for high-speed helicopter projects, today they would be in iron and there is a great chance that the Ka-92 would be prepared for launch in a series.

In general, we have a strange government: in fact, it turns out that it DOES NOT STIMULATE new developments of our helicopters, but SIMULATES!

But if the Ka-102 project is revolutionary, requiring additional funds and time for its development, the Ka-22 rotorcraft has already been launched into the series and today it can be upgraded in accordance with modern materials, technologies and engines. For example, it was designed for TV-2VK engines with a capacity of 5900 hp each, but due to their unavailability, the series was launched with D-25V engines with a power of 5500 hp each. each and according to Vl. Barshevsky: “The loss of 800 liters. from. equivalent to 2 tons of traction loss ”(Vladimir Barshevsky:“ A look from inside the design bureau ”).

Today we do not have helicopter engines of such power, but there is a TV7-117V with power = 3000l.s. This means that instead of a single D-25V engine, it is possible to install 2 TV7-117V engines, which will significantly increase flight safety and, moreover, these 4 fuel engines consume less than the old two engines. And yet: their total power will correspond to the calculated = 12000l.s. and more than the previous 1000hp, which will add traction to the rotors = 3t. Plus, traction rotors and modern blades will significantly add to this:

“It should be noted that the first experimental metal blades with honeycomb in the Soviet Union appeared at the turn of 1950-1960. Their efficiency reached 0,67-0,68. Later on the Mi-4 they tested the rotor for a rotorcraft with an efficiency of 0,73-0,75. "

Here a similar rotorcraft could well transport goods from the Ukrainka airfield to the Bureisk reservoir area at ~ 10 tons. per flight, being several times cheaper than the Mi-26 helicopter, which transported these cargoes at 13 tons. And in cruising speed, the Mi-26 would be inferior to the modernized Ka-22 by 100k / h, which is again a visible saving of money!

The stagnation of our helicopter aviation began after the launch of the Mi-26 helicopter, i.e. since the 80s of the last century. Do not hinder the development of helicopter technology, then the "ultramodern" Mi-38s would already be working out their resource, and more productive and reliable coaxial Ka-32-10AG and helicopters of the Ka-22 type would be working in full force in the landing troops and the Arctic. The work of super-heavy helicopters would be carried out by transverse helicopters based on Mi-26 helicopters, and instead of the weakly maneuverable and unreliable Mi-28 in Syria, the power-equipped and super-maneuverable Ka-52 and Ka-50 would fight.

Vitaly Belyaev, especially for Avia.pro

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