The Mi-26 helicopter has a very obvious military use, the maximum internal and external load of this helicopter is 20 tons, equivalent to the load capacity of the U.S. Lockheed C-130 "Hercules". The Mi-26 helicopter is primarily used to transport large equipment and personnel to oil drilling, oil field development and hydroelectric power plant construction sites in remote areas that are inaccessible by road and other ground transportation. The Mi-26 is often required to operate independently away from its base in areas where there is a complete lack of ground handling and navigational support, thus requiring the helicopter to have all-weather flight capability.
The rotor system is a conventional articulated rotor with a hub made of titanium alloy, a waving hinge and a pendulum vibration hinge with dampers, and no flexible bearings or axial hinges. This rotor consists of eight equal chord length paddles, which is the largest single rotor in the world using the largest number of paddle blades. Each blade consists of a tubular steel blade beam and 26 fiberglass wing segments. The segments are internally reinforced with wing ribs and stiffeners, filled with honeycomb packing, and have non-removable titanium corrosion protection strips on the leading edge. The propeller has a medium twist angle, the thickness of the blade is thinned along the spreading direction toward the tip, and the trailing edge is equipped with adjusting tabs, which can be adjusted on the ground according to the needs of flight status. The tail rotor consists of 5 glass fiber reinforced plastic blades, located on the right side of the tail beam, and a titanium alloy tail rotor hub. In order to adapt to the use in high-cold areas, the rotor and tail rotor blades are equipped with electrically heated anti-ice devices. The rotor speed is 132 rpm. The drive train includes a V-26 fan-cooled main drive train. The main gearbox transmission power is 14,710 kW. Transmission power is 8,500 kW in single-engine operation. The tail drive shaft is located on the cockpit roof.
The fuselage has a conventional all-metal riveted semi-monocoque pod tail beam structure. Clamshell rear hatch with folding loading and unloading jumpers. The lower surface of the tailgate is straight. Engine compartment made of titanium alloy for fire protection. Vertical tail surfaces are offset to the left. The tail rotor is mounted on the right side of the vertical tail surface. The horizontal tail surface is located at the intersection of the vertical tail surface and the tail beam. The flat tail is fixed in flight but can be adjusted on the ground for optimum cruise. Landing gear Non-retractable front three-point wheeled landing gear with two tires each, main landing gear tire size 1120 mm x 450 mm. The front wheels are maneuverable with tires measuring 900 mm x 300 mm. There is a retractable tail skid at the end of the tail beam. When the tail skid is retracted, there is free access to the rear cargo door. The main landing gear is hydraulically adjustable in order to pass through the rear cargo door and to land on different sites. Off the ground, sensors on the landing gear indicate the helicopter's takeoff weight via an instrument panel behind the flight engineer's seat. The powerplant is two 7,460 kW D-136 turboshaft engines mounted side-by-side above the cockpit in front of the rotor shaft. For operation in cold regions and on ungroomed sites, the engine intakes are protected from ice by a double set of anti-icing devices - electrically heated and hot air anti-icing systems. A particle separator in front of the intakes prevents foreign matter from attacking the engine. There is a third intake above the two engine intakes for cooling of the oil radiator. The engines are fitted with a system for synchronizing power output and maintaining a constant rotor speed. If the power output of one engine decreases, the other engine can automatically deliver maximum power. The Mi-26*** is equipped with 10 fuel tanks, each engine's fuel system is independent, eight tanks under the cockpit floor, two pool tanks above the engine, under normal conditions with a fuel pump, in the event of a malfunction, can rely on the gravity of the self-supply of fuel. The maximum standard fuel capacity is 12,000 liters. Four additional auxiliary tanks are available. Cockpit The cockpit accommodates a 4-person aircrew, with the pilot in the left seat, the co-pilot and pilot sitting side-by-side, a folding seat between the two pilots, a flight engineer's seat to the left behind, and a navigator's seat to the right. A four-seat passenger compartment is located behind the cockpit. The cargo hold can carry two infantry armored vehicles and 20,000 kg international standard containers. There are about 20 folding seats along both walls of the cargo hold. The military version can accommodate 80 heavily armed soldiers. For battlefield ambulance use, it can accommodate 60 casualties on stretchers and 4 to 5 medics. The windshield is heated. The cockpit has four large bubble-shaped portholes. The forward pair of portholes can be opened outward and aft. The cargo hold has a downward-opening hatch that doubles as a boarding ladder on each side of the front right side of the cargo hold, behind the main landing gear. The cargo hold can be loaded and unloaded through the downward-opening hatch below (which also serves as a loading and unloading gangplank) and two upward-opening clamshell hatches (which, when closed, form the rear wall of the cargo hold). Each hatch can be opened and closed with the aid of a hydraulic system or, in case of emergency, with the aid of a hand pump. Two electric winches are mounted on the roof rails of the cargo hold, each of which can lift 2,500 kg of cargo along the hold. There are winches capable of carrying 500 kg of cargo, with roller conveyors and cargo tie-down points on the floor.
The machine is equipped with two hydraulic systems with a pressure of 207 x 105 Pa. The electrical system consists of: 28-volt direct current with an auxiliary power unit available. There is an electrically heated anti-ice device on the leading edge of the main tail rotor blade. There is a cockpit pressurizer. All equipment required for standard day and night all-weather flights is fitted, including 7A813 weather radar, map display, horizontal position indicator and autopilot system, with optional GPS. integrated flight navigation system and automatic flight control system. A closed-circuit television camera can be used to monitor cargo loading and unloading and in-flight cargo status. The military version is also equipped with infrared suppressor, infrared jamming transmitter, infrared decoy dispenser and so on. Currently, the Mi-26 is available in the following main variants: Mi-26 Military Transport This variant is similar to the basic Mi-26. Mi-26A With PNK-90 integrated flight control and navigation system, the Mi-26A can automatically fly close to and land at designated points. The Mi-26T is a basic civilian transport version, which includes a firefighting version with internal fuel tanks for 15,000 liters of extinguishing agent or 17,260 liters of water in a sling; a geological exploration version with 10,000 kilograms of surveying equipment, which can be flown for more than three hours at an altitude of 55-100 meters at speeds of 180-200 kph; and a model of the Mi-26 with a two-person cockpit, displayed at the Moscow Airshow in 1997. The Mi-26 model with a two-person cockpit was displayed at the Moscow Airshow in 1997. The Mi-26TS is similar to the Mi-26T, and has been used to obtain airworthiness certificates from western countries and develop foreign markets since 1996, and is numbered Mi-26TC in western countries.
The Mi-26MS is the medical rescue version of the Mi-26T, which can be used for the rescue of seriously injured people with four casualties and two doctors; for surgical rescue with one casualty and three doctors; and for pre-surgical rescue with two casualties and two doctors. 2 casualties and 2 doctors can be arranged for pre-surgical rescue; 5 stretchers, 3 seats for casualties and 2 seats for medical personnel can be arranged for general rescue.
Mi-26P civilian transport model. It can carry 63 passengers in a row of 4, with a toilet, kitchen and checkroom behind the cockpit.
Mi-26TM Crane version with a commander's pod behind the main wheels under the fuselage.
Mi-26TZ refueling tanker with 14,040 liters of fuel and 1,040 liters of lubricants.
The Mi-26M is being developed in an improved version with all fiberglass main blades and a new aerodynamic structure. A new D-127 turboshaft engine with a single power of 10,700 kilowatts is used. The flight navigation system has been improved with an electronic flight instrument system. The useful lift and hovering height have been increased, and the sling load has reached 22,000 kilograms. Two prototypes, numbered Mi-27, have reportedly been built.
The Russian Army is equipped with 35 units, and the Mi-26 has been exported to more than 20 other countries, including India (10), Ukraine (20), Peru (3), and Kazakhstan.
In February 1982, the Mi-26 set five helicopter payload/altitude world records. Unit price $10-12 million (Mi-26TS, 1996 currency value).
In June 2006, A. Rebas, deputy director of the Russian Federal Industry Agency and representative of the Russian delegation to the "Eurosatori-2006" exhibition, announced at the exhibition France's interest in the joint production of heavy transport helicopters with Russia, as well as joint improvement of heavy transport helicopters. At present, the Russian side has already held a series of consultations with the French Ministry of Defense and the company "Eurokopter" on the issues of joint improvement and joint production of Mi-26 helicopters. In the near future, it is planned to sign a contract for demonstration flights of Mi-26 helicopters in France. Rebas noted that the Russian side considers joint development as the most important direction of military-technical cooperation with Europe in the field of army weapons. Another direction of military-technical cooperation is the joint development with Europe of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in support of the army. Russian companies such as the Saturn scientific-production complex will participate in joint work on this program, and protocols have been signed on the development of a new generation of engines for aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles.
Mi-26 crash
At 4:50 p.m. on Aug. 19, 2002, two guards on armed duty at a helicopter field at the Kankara military base outside Grozny, the capital of Chechnya, Russia, heard a helicopter roar from far away. The huge fuselage of the Mi-26 helicopter, known as the "Giant", was visible. It was a heavy helicopter that had taken off from the military base in Ingushetia*** and the country to carry out troop transportation. The weather was clear, visibility was high, there was no wind, and there were no obstacles to landing. The Mi-26 began to lower its altitude, adjust its flight attitude, and prepare for landing. Just then, the helicopter suddenly shook violently, and finally lost control and crashed to the ground outside the base!
What's more unfortunate is that the uncontrolled helicopter fell into a minefield on the outskirts of the Kankara military base! Because the Kankara military base is the command center of the Russian army in Chechnya, the command of the Russian Armed Forces in Chechnya, the command of the Russian Internal Affairs Forces in Chechnya, and the Chechen command of the Russian Special Police Forces are all located here, so the defense of this place is extraordinarily strict, in addition to the heavily armed guards, the sniffing dogs and the advanced electronic detection devices, the base surrounded by the densely packed shrubbery and artemisia bushes have been turned by the sappers into a huge minefield. This minefield is 2,000 meters wide and 8 kilometers in circumference, and nearly 10,000 anti-personnel mines, booby traps and trip mines have been planted. It is not an exaggeration to say that even a rat would not want to break through this minefield, so even if the Chechen militants are bold enough, they have not been able to break into the Kankara military base, and the minefield constitutes a safe haven for the Chechen officers and soldiers of the Russian army.
However, the paradise turned into a hell, the base of the rescue personnel watched hundreds of meters away from the wreckage of the ground and cries for help of comrades helpless, because they do not know what are the places where the mines are buried, coupled with the crash site of the smoke rolling, so the officers and soldiers do not dare to rush into the minefield. Base engineers and ammunition experts were quickly summoned to the scene, as fast as possible to clear a channel, the rescue personnel were able to spare the comrades from the burning helicopter wreckage pulled out, and immediately sent to the base hospital rescue, base hospital part of the military doctors were also urgently deployed to the scene, some of the seriously injured on-site first aid.
Due to the chaos at the scene, there were conflicting reports on how many soldiers and officers were injured. Russia's Deputy Prosecutor General Sergei Vretinsky said in a statement to Interfax. In an interview with the Russian news agency Interfax, Fredinsky revealed what he knew: "Reports from the accident site say that dozens of soldiers and officers have been killed or injured, but we don't yet know how many casualties there were as the crash site is still filled with smoke several hours later." The deputy commander of Russian forces in Chechnya, Boris? Colonel Podopogora revealed in an interview with a Russian state television reporter that there were 132 officers and soldiers on board the downed helicopter, but he did not disclose the casualties, only saying, "At the moment all the personnel of the base hospital have rushed to the scene of the incident ...... Rescue work is being carried out under extremely difficult conditions. conducted."
Russia's ORT state television reported that it was the worst military air crash in the history of the Russian military.
The Mi-26, nicknamed "Halo," is a multi-purpose heavy helicopter developed by the Miri Moscow Helicopter Plant (formerly the Miri Experimental Design Bureau) and is the heaviest helicopter in the world today. The aircraft is primarily used for military transportation, and its carrying capacity is equivalent to that of the American C-130 transport aircraft. Development began in the 1970s, with the first prototype making its maiden flight in December 1977, and was first displayed in 1981 at the Paris Air Show.
The Mi-26 has an eight-bladed rectangular rotor, a five-bladed tail rotor and a non-retractable front three-point landing gear. It is powered by two Ukrainian Zaporozh "Progress" machine-building design bureau of the D-136 turbine engines, a single power of 7,460 kilowatts. The Mi-26 has an empty weight of 28,200 kilograms and a maximum takeoff weight of 56,000 kilograms. It has a maximum level flight speed of 295 km/h, a normal cruise speed of 255 km/h, a practical ceiling of 4,600 meters, a hovering altitude of 1,000-1,800 meters and a range of 800 kilometers. The Russian army*** currently has 300 Mi-26 helicopters, which are said to be able to transport 20 tons of cargo or 80 heavily armed soldiers.
Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Nikolai? In an interview with the media, Geryabin said that the Mi-26 pilot reported an engine fire and requested an emergency landing, during which the helicopter fell into a minefield, thus causing such a heavy casualty disaster; the deputy commander of the Russian army in Chechnya, Colonel Podopugora, also explained that the incident could have been caused by overloading, as the Mi-26 heavy helicopter was designed to carry up to 80 heavily armed soldiers, but the helicopter could have carried up to 20 tons of cargo or up to 80 heavily armed soldiers. The Mi-26 heavy helicopter was designed to carry a maximum of 80 heavily armed soldiers, but in fact it was carrying up to 132 soldiers and officers, thus far exceeding the authorized capacity. Inexplicably, however, Colonel Podopogora did not explain why 132 people were crammed into the Mi-26 when it took off from the neighboring Ingushetia*** and Mozdok military base, knowing that the Mi-26 was designed to carry 80 people.
Naturally, the Russian Chechen illegal armed forces did not let go of such a good opportunity to confess, they immediately posted a photo of the Mi-26 helicopter in flames on a special website, accompanied by a written statement, "Please, with the power of the 'Needle' surface-to-air missiles, we downed in one stroke a Mi-26 heavy helicopter. This is a major victory against the 'occupation forces'!" The website also colorfully states that the attack was carried out by a hunting ambush team. The team had been scouting and tracking the movements of Russian helicopters in the Grozny region, and after figuring out the movement pattern of the helicopters of the Russian military command in Chechnya, they infiltrated into the dense forests on the outskirts of the minefields of the Kankarahan military base, and when heavy helicopters full of officers and soldiers from the Russian Intelligence Forces were just about to land, they launched man-portable surface-to-air missiles, which resulted in a single shot, giving the Russians a considerable blow.
Ardamov, a representative of the illegal Chechen forces based in Georgia, said rather smugly in a telephone interview with a Reuters reporter: "About 118 Russian officers and soldiers were eliminated by us." This news coincides with information that Interfax has received from within the Russian army. Interfax had previously obtained information that "the helicopter appears to have been shot down by a 'needle' surface-to-air missile." Two Russian soldiers also reported seeing ground fire on the helicopter just before it went down.
Upon hearing the news, Putin immediately asked that he be kept informed of the latest developments in the incident and said in an interview with Russian state RTR television, "I demand to be kept up-to-date about this incident. We will thoroughly investigate this catastrophe and send a specialized investigative commission to Chechnya as soon as possible."
Exterior dimensions
Rotor diameter 32.00m
Tail rotor diameter 7.61m
Length (rotor and tail rotor rotation) 40.03m
Fuselage length (except tail rotor) 35.91m
Height (to top of rotor hub) 8.15m
Height (tail rotor rotation) 11.60m
Horizontal tail wingspan 6.02m
Main wheelbase 7.17m
Front main wheelbase 8.95m
Interior dimensions
Cargo bay
Length (with loading/unloading skips down) 15.00m
(excluding skips) 12.00m
Width 3.20m
Height 2.95-3.17m
Volume 121.0m3
Area
Rotor paddle 804.25m2
Tail rotor paddle 45.48m2
Weight and load
Empty weight 28600kg
Maximum payload (inside or external) 20,000kg
Normal takeoff weight 49,600kg
Maximum takeoff weight 56,000kg
Maximum paddleboard load 0.68kN/m2
Maximum power load 3.81kg/kw
Performance data (A: Mi-26; B: Mi-26M)
Maximum level flight speed A 295km/h
Normal cruise speed A 255km/h
Utility Altitude
A 4600m
B 5900m
Hovering Altitude (with ground effect)
A (International Standard Atmosphere, load 5100kg) 1000m
B (International Standard Atmosphere +15°C, Load 12300kg) 1000m
Hovering Altitude (No Ground Effect, Standard Atmosphere)
A 1520m
B 2800m
Voyage
A (2500m Altitude, ISA +15°C, Load 7700kg) 500km
B (2500m altitude, ISA +15℃, load 13700kg) 500km
A (sea level, ISA, max internal fuel, 5% residual fuel at max takeoff weight) 590km
A (sea level, ISA, with 4 secondary fuel tanks) 1920km