The end of the sixties was the time of the most rapid development of Soviet heavy transport aircraft. This process was determined by both the then-existing military doctrine and the needs of the national economy. As it turned out later, the need for such heavy transport vehicles still exists, and not only in Russia, but also in other countries, on almost all continents.
The Mi-26 helicopter was originally conceived as a deeply modernized version of the time-tested and very good helicopter Mi-6, but already in the process of development, the engineers of the design bureau M.L. Mile, it became clear that in order to fulfill all the conditions of the technical specifications will have to develop a completely new aircraft.
The design bureau already had experience in the construction of “flying cranes”; on its account were such masterpieces of the world aircraft industry as Mi-12, Mi-8, Mi-10 and the already mentioned Mi-6. Now he had to exceed his own level.
With a large selection of circuits, KB them. Milya and general designer Smirnov settled on the traditional single-rotor screw. The approval of the preliminary project took place at the end of 1971.
Along with the launch of helicopter design and development work , the development of a turboshaft engine began. He was engaged in the Design Bureau "Progress", and the power of each of the two engines envisaged by the Mi-26 scheme should have exceeded 11 thousand horsepower.
Such a force also needed special gearboxes, for which, contrary to tradition, aviation specialists took on their own. The operation of the entire power plant was controlled by an automatic stabilizing system of rotor speed and power synchronization.
To facilitate the 32-meter eight-blade propeller of the Mi-26 helicopter, it was made of metal-plastic, and the sleeve was made of titanium. The tail rotor received fiberglass blades. The result of all these efforts was the relatively low weight of the huge machine, it corresponded to the mass of the Mi-6 with a cargo compartment volume and a load capacity twice that of him.
The air intakes were protected from dust, and operation and ground maintenance were facilitated as much as possible, in particular, the tail boom was equipped with a special passage so that technicians could work if necessary without disassembling the casing.
The first Mi-26 prototype came off the stockpiles of the cost center in the city of Punk in the fall of 1977, and already in December it took off, for starters, for three minutes. The first long flight two months later was a success.
At the international aerospace show in Le Bourget in 1981, the Mi-26 made a splash. He became the largest helicopter in the world, and its design is so ahead of time that it remains so today. The carrying capacity of the giant is 20 tons.
The hardest in the literal sense, and sometimes dangerous work is entrusted to these machines. They had to cut through the radioactive air of Chernobyl, to take refugees out of flaming Karabakh under fire, to sail in the hot Afghan sky. Tajikistan, Chechnya, Yugoslavia, and Cambodia did not pass it. Painted in white with the letters "UN" on board, the Mi-26 also visited other hot spots: Burundi, Somalia, East Timor.
This giant has always performed unique rescue and transportation work. If the plane or helicopter makes an emergency landing, then Mi-26 is called for its delivery to the repair site. The photo in which he carries the American Chinook, the Boston bomber during the war, or the Be-12 seaplane, are always of interest, because no rotorcraft in the world can do this.