"The praised American Chinook is not fit for the Russian one": the world's largest helicopter Mi-26 has been put back into service

The heavy multi-purpose transport helicopter Mi-26 was mothballed for 12 years

The Soviet and Russian heavy multi-purpose transport helicopter Mi-26 surpasses its American competitor Boeing CH-47 Chinook in terms of its characteristics. This opinion was expressed by Sergey Shamov, Deputy General Director of the carrier company "2nd Arkhangelsk United Aviation Squadron".

Mi-26 helicopter
Mi-26 helicopter
A beauty, there is no other helicopter like it in the world. Even the Americans with their praised Chinook are not fit for it.
Sergey Shamov, Deputy General Director of the carrier company "2nd Arkhangelsk United Aviation Squadron" Sergey Shamov

According to him, the Mi-26 is designed to transport goods to remote locations. It can be operated by "oil workers, gas workers, builders".

The helicopter has been mothballed for the last 12 years. Engineers worked for two years to get it back into service.

Repairmen replaced fuel tanks, installed new units, gearboxes, and replaced the transmission and power steering.

About Mi-26

Mi-26 is the largest helicopter in the world, its carrying capacity is up to 20 tons. The cargo cabin can accommodate a KamAZ or Ural. Inside the helicopter can accommodate 70 paratroopers.

Mi-26 characteristics:

  • Length — 40 m
  • Rotor diameter — 32 m
  • Empty weight — 28,200 kg
  • Maximum take-off weight — 56,000 kg
  • Powerplant — 2 × turboshaft "Motor Sich" D-136

Read more on the topic:

"Turned to the West": Iraq received French Airbus H225M Caracal helicopters to replace Soviet Mi-17s

A batch of the latest Ka-52 "Alligator" helicopters was handed over to the Russian Aerospace Forces

"Does size matter?": why a helicopter cannot develop the same speed as an airplane

Sources
Vesti

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