Mi-8: characteristics, combat missions, catastrophes and helicopter photos

In our country, from the very beginning, it was not very important to create helicopters. With what it was connected, now it is already difficult to find out, but the fact remains: initially the Red Army received only planes, and even about the national economy and can not speak.

And this is despite the fact that we had promising developments in this field, and even what! Fortunately, soon the leadership of a young country understood the fallacy of such a strategy, and therefore the industry began to master the production of rotorcraft.

The first of these was Mi-1, the release of which began only in 1948. Since then until the end of the Mi-4 launch, all helicopters in our country have been equipped with a rotary-piston engine. For those times it was normal, but the need for a car with the best characteristics of the power plant became evident very quickly.

New helicopter

That is why by 1960 the industry and the most important helicopter-building design bureaus of the country received the task. His result was the development of the Mi-8 helicopter, which became a real legend of the industry, continuing to be actively used in the national economy and armies of the whole world.

History of creation

Initially it was assumed that the helicopter would be produced in transport, passenger and business variants. Development began in the first months of 1960. As you might guess, the Central Design Bureau of the name of Mil was engaged in it. Based on the well-proven Mi-4. In fact, the new Mi-8 was originally planned as a project for its profound modernization.

However, very soon the designers realized the need to introduce a new type of engine into the car, and so there was not much left of the predecessor in this project.

The work was carried out at a shock pace. Already in mid-1961, the first prototype with four blades and one engine lifted into the air. The prototype with five blades and two power plants flew in a year. At the end of the same 1962, the first prototype was created.

The Commission liked the characteristics of the future of the Mi-8, and so in just a couple of years the new helicopters have already gone into mass production. Since 1965, the model was produced in Kazan and Ulan-Ude.

MI-8: characteristics

Its predecessor, the new machine was 2.5 times the load capacity. The maximum possible speed was also almost twice as high.

The transmission was largely left without any significant changes. Scheme of the helicopter is single-screw, but the steering screw is provided. The design uses two gas turbine engines, the chassis rests on three wheels. In general, the Mi-8 for its time was in many ways the advanced model.

Of course, by some parameters it was circumvented by the American "Sikorsky", but it was much cheaper, at the same time it possessed greater carrying capacity and reliability.

Unlike the previous model, the design of the blades has been significantly revised. There was a hollow spar, entirely made of high-strength aluminum alloy. To ensure that the system is as safe as possible, the blades are equipped with a special pneumatic signaling system that allows instantaneous recording of the mechanical damage to the spar.

Why did this helicopter become so widespread all over the world?

This happened because of the unpretentiousness and reliability of the machine. Not only in our country he is respectfully called a "workhorse". In the world it is the most (!) Common transport helicopter. Abroad, it is known as the Mi-17, some of which are used as military helicopters (photo is in the article) by the NATO contingent in Afghanistan. Due to the ease of piloting, it does not take much time to train pilots.

There are no more civilian transport helicopters in the world, which would be produced in such volume: even according to outdated data, more than 12 thousand of these machines came off the assembly line. And this - without taking into account some modifications!

By the way, in terms of the number of species, this helicopter is definitely the world leader. At the moment, even specialists can not say how many modifications have been created. The definition of this figure is greatly hampered by the fact that some improvements were almost made serially in the military units, but they did not receive patents for their inventions, and therefore they did not fall into industrial production.

Control system and engines

The entire control system this time was based on high-quality and powerful hydraulic amplifiers. In addition, the Mi-8 was the first to use the latest icing prevention system, which enabled the helicopter to be used in a variety of conditions. In addition, a special mechanism was provided to secure the cargo, so that an additional three tons could be transported by air.

If one engine fails during flight, the second one at the same moment starts to work in the forced mode, giving out a power sufficient even for emergency end of flight. To make the pilots more comfortable to work in difficult conditions, the car is equipped with an advanced autopilot, which can take on a significant part of the human functions.

Thanks to the latest navigation and radar equipment at that time, it was possible to fly by helicopter at any time of the year and day. This feature was quickly appreciated by the military. Moreover, one of the symbols of the Russian army quickly became the Mi-8: the helicopter proved to be extremely reliable and inexpensive, and therefore it was instantly adopted for service.

In which cases is it used?

As we have already said, initially this model was created for transport and passenger (up to 28 people) needs. In addition, in Kazan special orders are also made for luxury copies for seven people, which are very popular among the top officials of the state and wealthy businessmen.

Military modifications and further development

We also mentioned in the article that the military liked the Mi-8 very much. Its engine was extremely reliable, with the failure of one power plant to withdraw the car could be on one, and the carrying capacity was very impressive.

That is why very soon a lot of modifications of this helicopter appeared, intended especially for the army's use. Most often, a transport variant was simply taken, to which pylons were added to attach bombs or incendiary tanks . Very soon it turned out that for the needs of the army, even such an increase is not enough, and therefore there was a modification of the 8TV, equipped with reinforced and improved suspensions. The possibility of hanging missile weapons was added.

Transport-combat helicopters

The modification of the 8MT became logical and final on the way to the creation of a new family of transport-fighting vehicles. The main distinguishing feature was the installation of new power plants TVZ-117 MT equipped with the newest gas turbine AI-9V. The helicopter became much more reliable, as the air intakes were closed with a new screen, which significantly filtered the air supplied to the engine.

To the Mi-8 helicopter, the photo of which is presented in the article, it was impossible to be easily hit by missiles with thermal guidance, developed a system for dissipating hot exhaust gases from engines. In addition, there are mechanisms for shooting false targets. Between 1979 and 1989, the helicopter with honor passed through the whole conflict in Afghanistan.

Combat and peaceful experience of use

During the period when the contingent of Soviet troops was in this country, the pilots carried out hundreds of thousands of sorties. They transported millions of tons of cargo, thousands of soldiers were evacuated from under the nose of the dushmans. For all this time, the failures of the machine can be counted on the fingers.

In contrast to its "older brother" Mi-24, the G-8 was initially deprived of heavy reservation, and therefore it always had enough flight thrust even in the conditions of very rarefied mountain air.

In both Chechen conflicts military helicopters of this type also showed themselves on the best side. Reliable and extremely unpretentious, they helped not only the troops themselves, but also the Ministry of Emergency Situations and the "Red Cross", who worked with the civilian population, providing it with medicines and food.

Disasters

Unfortunately, even the highest reliability and simplicity of design are not saved by MI military helicopters, as well as their civilian variants from falls.

To begin with, during the Afghan and both Chechen conflicts, about 50-60 cars were lost. In Afghanistan, the losses among them are mostly non-combat, often associated with firing at military airfields. It is believed that at that time no more than ten units of this technique were lost. There is no exact data on the losses in the First Chechen campaign. In the second, 29 helicopters of this type were shot down.

The advent of peace has also not brought rest. As a result of technical malfunctions, low-quality fuel and excessive wear and tear of machinery, more than 174 cars fell or went missing in the 1990s (in Siberia).

Let's give specific information for 2012-2013 years. So, on July 14, 2013, the crew of the helicopter in the air felt that both engines began to run erratically. It was decided to plant the car directly on the peat bog. True, the helicopter fell to one side, but otherwise the emergency landing was done perfectly. No one was killed, nor were the wounded. July 11 of the same year, something similar happened in the Amur region. Then we managed to do without victims.

Unfortunately, on July 2, 24 people died in Yakutia as a result of the car's fall, more than half of them were children. Survived only two crew members and one passenger. On May 6 and June 6 of the same year, crashes of these helicopters were recorded in the Khabarovsk Territory. There were also no survivors.

In 2012, these helicopters fell seven times, but only one person died.

Of course, these figures are only for our country. How many crashed the same Mi-17 in Afghanistan, it is impossible to say, since local government rarely conducts any detailed statistics. The same can be said about the incidents in Africa.