The multipurpose Mi-8 helicopter, adopted for service back in the 1960s, still surpasses competitors in operational characteristics. This was stated by professional pilot and Hero of Russia Sergey Lipovoy.
He recalled that the Mi-8 is designed for operation in temperatures from -50 to +50 degrees. The rotorcraft successfully flies both in hot and in northern regions.
In terms of its operational characteristics, the Mi-8 surpasses many advanced helicopter brands in the world.
Lipovoy emphasized that the Mi-8 can be called the \"brilliant creation\" of designer Mikhail Leontyevich Mil. Despite the fact that the aircraft is a development of the last century, the Mi-8 has a great future ahead, the major general concluded.
In December 2025, it became known that about 300 outdated Mi-8 helicopters in Russia may be withdrawn from service within the next five years. At the end of 2025, 20 old Mi-8T helicopters had already been denied an extension of their service life.
Read more materials on the topic:
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- The Vologda aviation enterprise continues flying Yak-40 aircraft nearly 50 years old
- Mi-8: 60 years in the sky. The story of a legend that changed global helicopter aviation
