Heavy combat helicopters are designed to transport people, weapons and its use. They have a serious reservation, high speed. But for civilian purposes, they are not suitable: too large, expensive and difficult to manage and operate. Even during the Cold War, foreign manufacturers began to create light helicopters, in Russia this business went with some lag.
The development of light helicopters in Russia
Domestic companies are inferior to foreigners in the field of creating light helicopters. But the Russian Helicopters holding does not agree with this position and is taking active steps to change. The Ka-226 military light helicopter, which was developed for India, was converted into a civilian one, and the first orders for the Ka-226T have already been completed. The take-off weight of such a machine is 3600 kg. Gazpromavia ordered 18 vehicles to patrol the gas network. They requested a separate modification of the Ka-226TG for flights in difficult climatic conditions of the Far North. Ka-226TG can fly in the dark and in fog, has an additional fuel tank, which increases the flight range without refueling.
In Tomilino there is a plant with a capacity of up to 20 cars per year. Configured to release AW139, a 6.4-ton helicopter designed to carry passengers. It is planned in the future to supply such helicopters throughout Russia and the CIS countries.
Also, Russian Helicopters continue active cooperation with AgustaWestland, which contributes to the development of helicopter industry. Light helicopters of the world will not remain without the Russian flag in their ranks.
Ansat
Partnership with foreign companies is good, but I would like to have my own light Russian helicopters. One of them is Ansat (translated from Tatar as “simple”). This is a light multi-purpose helicopter, designed and assembled at OJSC Kazan Helicopter Plant.
The first Ansat was launched in 1999. Despite the name, the story of its development is not so simple. This is the first Russian helicopter equipped with an electro-remote control system. After being released into production, the car was delivered to the Ministry of Defense and to South Korea, and it was there that an accident occurred that led to the death of the pilot. The reason recognized EDSU. After that, the designers carried out work to improve this system, the civilian version was released with a hydromechanical control system - Ansat-1M. Police and forest services continue to use Ansat for their needs. And for Korea, a special modification of Ansat-K, that is, Korean, was released.
The helicopter has two turboshaft engines and a maximum take-off mass of 3.3 tons, with its own weight of 1-1.3 tons, it can carry 9 people. To facilitate the construction, modern technologies and materials, including composite ones, were used. Despite all the difficulties, by 2018 the Ministry of Defense plans to purchase up to 40 such helicopters with an average cost of 101.4 million rubles.
However, there is not only a military, but also a passenger, transport, administrative version, for rescuers, doctors and training flights. This is a full-fledged light multi-purpose helicopter.
"Golden eagle"
In recent years, the American company "Robinson Helicopter" has been the leader among suppliers of light helicopters , but the domestic company Berkut Aero LLC is going to move the leader with its brainchild. Due to the use of modern technologies and materials, and other design solutions, the Berkut light multi-purpose helicopter is 2 times cheaper than its foreign counterparts. The plant in Togliatti has the capacity to produce 15 helicopters per month.
It is available in two trim levels with different engines of 147 hp. and 150 hp, has two rotors. This solution allows to reduce the diameter of the screws and the total length of the machine due to the absence of a tail rotor. Although it is easier to fly a coaxial helicopter and it is more resistant to bad weather, its center of gravity is shifted up and the height of the car is increased.
The flight range of the Russian Golden Eagle VL is 600, and the Golden Eagle VL-M has 850 km. Takes off at a speed of 5.8-6.2 m / s. The flight ceiling of the machine is 3000 m. The mass of an empty helicopter is less than half a ton (this is the lightest Russian helicopter), and the developed speed is up to 170 km / h. It can be used for both civilian and rescue purposes and for patrolling territories.
Extreme Helicopter
There are helicopters that seemed to be created only for entertainment. These are the lightest helicopters in the world. That was the idea behind the creators of AirScooter II. This is the lightest single-seat helicopter made of high-strength materials.
They tried to make it as simple and straightforward to manage. He has two coaxial screws that rotate in different directions and are responsible for lifting and maneuvering. Instead of the chassis or runners, two floats are used, which allow a safe landing on water and on the ground.
Especially for the AirScooter II, a four-stroke engine was developed. To the right of the pilot is a fuel tank of 18.9 liters, which allows you to fly up to 2 hours 15 meters above the ground. Despite the fact that this helicopter was created for extreme sports, it can be used to deliver express mail, patrol and surveillance, and will also be interesting to hunters.
The lightest helicopter
Worth mentioning is the Japanese GEN-H-4. This is a civilian helicopter, which made its first flight back in 2000. It has the simplest design and control. In design decisions, a coaxial propeller circuit was used that is started by four small engines. According to the creators, according to the instructions, you can assemble it yourself in half an hour.
This flying baby has modest, but sufficient for its size indicators. Its carrying capacity is only 86 kg, the official ceiling is 3,000 m. Although it is simply scary to climb it to such a height. A person weighing 79 kg will be able to fly on it for about an hour at a speed of 88 km / h, then refueling will be required. The design itself weighs 70 kg - this is the lightest helicopter!
Jokingly, GEN-H-4 is called a “flying stool.” In fact, this is a chair with wheels, to which four two-stroke engines and 4-meter blades are attached on top. All engines operate autonomously from each other, and failure of all at once is unlikely. This lightest helicopter can hold on three, and land on two. Just in case, there is a parachute in the kit.
Helicopter for the price of a car
In our age of high technology, there is an idea to create a flying transport that will cost no more than a car, and training on it will be simple. So far, only two devices have approached this face. The American AirScooter costs $ 50 thousand, and the Japanese lightest helicopter GEN-H-4 - $ 30 thousand, and you can train the pilot in a few days.