The world's heaviest-lifting commercial helicopter, the Russian Helicopters Mi-26T has successfully airlifted a fuselage of a Mi-26 ...
The world's heaviest-lifting commercial helicopter, the Russian Helicopters Mi-26T has successfully airlifted a fuselage of a Mi-26 Russian military transport helicopter from Yoshkar-Ola to Rostov-on-Don.
The 14 tonne fuselage was transported by Rostvertol-Avia for repair work as ordered by Experimental Design Bureau Rostov-Mil. The Mi-26T, which can lift up to 20-tonnes of cargo took nine days to complete the mission.
The MI-26T helicopter is the only aircraft capable of lifting objects of such weights and dimensions.
In Krasnoyarsk Territory in 1999 it was used to carry a mammoth encased in a block of ice. In 2001, the Mi-26T helped restore the cupola and cross to the church in Pavlovskaya settlement, Krasnodar.
In 2002 and 2009 it helped evacuate 11-tonne fuselages of US Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopters that had crashed in Afghanistan.
In 2009, the Mi-26T transported a 27-metre Alinghi 5 catamaran, and a Tu-134 passenger plane. No helicopter in the history of the helicopter-building industry has ever carried out operations of this scale.
The Mi-26T was designed based on the military transport Mi-26 helicopter. Work to design the initial model by Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant(now part of Russian Helicopters) started in the 1970s and it was first unveiled to the global public at the Paris airshow in 1981, after the USSR Defense Ministry recommended serial production be launched.
The serial production of the Mi-26T was launched in 1985. Unlike its predecessor, the helicopter was fitted with additional radio communications, avionics, and navigation systems, and an automatic hover system. It was also stripped of its military counterpart's arms and armour.
The helo has a maximum take-off mass of 56 tonne with standard take-off mass being 49.6 tonne. Total fuel capacity of the main tanks is 12 tonne. It has a cruising speed of 255 km/h and operating range of 590 km.
Rostvertolis preparing for the series production of the upgraded Mi-26T – the Mi-26T2 helicopter with reduced crew and the latest avionics. These modernization significantly increase flight safety, improve its ergonomics, and facilitate the work of the helicopter crew.
