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| (Image via Акимов Сергей / Pinterest) |
The Mil Mi-26 (Russian: Миль Ми-26, NATO reporting name: Halo) is a Soviet/Russian heavy transport helicopter. Operated by both military and civilian operators, it is the largest and most powerful helicopter to have gone into series production.
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| (Image credit : Vitaly V. Kuzmin) |
The first Mi-26 flew on 14 December 1977 and the first production aircraft was rolled out on 4 October 1980. Development was completed in 1983 and by 1985, the Mi-26 was in Soviet military and commercial service. About 276 Mi-26 helicopters are currently in service worldwide.
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| (Image credit : Russian Ministry of Defense) |
The Mi-26 can fly at a maximum speed of 295 km/h and a cruise speed of 255 km/h. The range and service ceiling of the helicopter is 1,952 km and 4,600 m respectively, while its hover ceiling is 1,700 m. The helicopter weighs around 28,200 kg and its maximum take-off weight is 56,000 kg.
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The Mi-26 was the first factory-equipped helicopter with a single, eight-blade main lift rotor. It is capable of flight in the event of power loss by one engine (depending on aircraft mission weight) because of an engine load sharing system. While its empty weight is only slightly higher than the
Mi-6's, the Mi-26 has a payload of up to 20 metric tons (20,000 kg; 44,000 lb). It is the second largest and heaviest helicopter ever constructed, after the experimental Mil V-12. The tail rotor has about the same diameter and thrust as the four-bladed main rotor fitted to the MD Helicopters MD 500.
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| (Image via Fuad Abbad / Pinterest) |
The Mi-26 features eight main rotor blades and five tail rotor blades fitted above the mid-fuselage section on hump. The heavy load carrying capacity and high cruise speed feature allow the helicopter to be economically efficient.
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| (Image via maxbjr.blogspot.com) |
The Mi-26 was designed to replace earlier
Mi-6 and Mi-12 heavy lift helicopters and act as a heavy-lift helicopter for military and civil use, having twice the cabin space and payload of the
Mi-6, then the world's largest and fastest production helicopter. The primary purpose of the Mi-26 was to transport military equipment such as 13-metric-ton (13,000 kg; 29,000 lb) amphibious armored personnel carriers and mobile ballistic missiles to remote locations after delivery by military transport aircraft such as the
Antonov An-22 or
Ilyushin Il-76.
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| (Image via maxbjr.blogspot.com) |
The cockpit, pressurised to optimise visibility, accommodates five flight crew, namely the pilot, co-pilot, flight engineer, navigator and electronic radio operator. The seats of the pilot and co-pilot are located adjacent to each other in the front side of the cockpit control panel. The flight engineer and navigator seats are built on the back side of the pilot’s seat.
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| (Image via maxbjr.blogspot.com) |
The helicopter also comprises a cargo compartment on the rear side of the cockpit. The compartment, which is 12 m long, 3.3 m wide and 3.2 m high, can hold two combat vehicles of approximately 1,000 kg each. Two electric winches on the overhead rails are used to move loads into the cabin. It also boasts a closed-circuit television camera to monitor the positioning of slung load.
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| (Image via Андрей / Yandex) |
The Mi-26's unique main gearbox is relatively light at 3,639 kg (8,023 lb) but can absorb 19,725 shaft horsepower (14,709 kW), which was accomplished using a non-planetary, split-torque design with quill shafts for torque equalization. The Mil Design Bureau designed the VR-26 transmission itself, due to the normal gearbox supplier used by Mil admitting that it could not design such a gearbox. The gearbox housing is stamped aluminum. A split-torque design is also used for the 5,670 kg (12,500 lb) gearbox on the American three-engine Sikorsky CH-53K King Stallion.
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| (Image credit : Doomych / Wiki Common) |
In July 2010 a proposed Russian-Chinese development of a 33-ton heavy-lift helicopter was announced. In early 2019, Russia's state corporation Rostec inked a landmark agreement on developing a 40-ton next-generation heavy helicopter.
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| (Image via engineeringrussia.wordpress.com) |
As of 2016, the Mi-26 still holds the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale world record for the greatest mass lifted by a helicopter to 2,000 metres (6,562 ft) – 56,768.8 kilograms (125,153.8 lb) on a flight in 1982.
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| (Image via рт-комплектимпекс.рф) |
General characteristics
Crew: 5 (2 pilots, 1 navigator, 1 flight engineer, 1 flight technician)
Capacity:
- 90 troops or 60 stretchers
- 20,000 kg cargo (44,090 lb)
Length: 40.025 m (131 ft 4 in)
Height: 8.145 m (26 ft 9 in)
Empty weight: 28,200 kg (62,170 lb)
Gross weight: 49,600 kg (109,349 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 56,000 kg (123,459 lb)
Powerplant: 2 × Ivchenko-Progress AI-136 turboshaft engines, 8,500 kW (11,400 hp) each (or Aviadvigatel PD-12V)
Main rotor diameter: 32 m (105 ft 0 in)
Main rotor area: 804.25 m2 (8,656.9 sq ft)
Blade section: root: TsAGI 12%; tip: TsAGI 9%[56]
Maximum speed: 295 km/h (183 mph, 159 kn)
Cruise speed: 255 km/h (158 mph, 138 kn)
Main rotor speed: 132 rpm
Range: 800 km (500 mi, 430 nmi)
Ferry range: 1,920 km (1,190 mi, 1,040 nmi) (with auxiliary tanks)
Service ceiling: 4,600 m (15,100 ft)
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