The Mi-24 attack helicopter, which the soldiers called
the ‘Crocodile’, stars in most films about the Afghan war. It carried a crew of
three and eight passengers or four stretchers. A sinister-looking beast, it
could mount a variety of formidable weapons to use against people, buildings,
and armoured vehicles. The Mi-8 transport helicopter, the ‘Bee’, was the
workhorse of the 40th Army. It came into service in 1967: more were said to
have been produced than any other helicopter in the world. With a crew of three,
it could carry twenty-four passengers, or twelve stretchers, or a load of three
thousand kilograms. Little more than a decade after the Soviet war was over,
the Americans hired Mi-8s to supply their special forces because they were
particularly well adapted to operate in the high mountains of eastern
Afghanistan. The aircraft were flown by Russians – sometimes by the same men
who had flown them during the Soviet war. But this time they were flown not by
military crews but – because Russia was now a capitalist country – by the
employees of a commercial company called, appropriately enough, Vertical-T.
When one of these helicopters was shot down in 2008, the Russian Ambassador in
Kabul contacted the Taliban for the return of the bodies. ‘You mean they were
Russians?’ said the Taliban. ‘We thought they were Americans. Of course you can
have them.’
Designed by Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant, the Mi-8/17 series
the most successful in the history of Russia’s helicopter industry. Mi-8/17
series helicopters have won respect and admiration from helicopter operators
around the world thanks to their advanced flight capabilities, high level of
reliability and adaptability, ability to operate in a wide range of climatic
conditions (from -50 to +50 degrees Celsius) and ease of operation and
maintenance.
The Mi-8/17 boasts an ever-expanding range of operational capabilities
thanks to Russian Helicopters’ ongoing upgrade programmes. The helicopters can
be fitted with a wide range of additional equipment to tackle a variety of
missions.
The basic Mi-8/17 model is the cargo helicopter, which can
transport up to 4,000 kg of various kinds of cargo either inside the cabin or
on an external sling.
The passenger helicopter can carry up to 26 passengers. The
helicopter boasts low levels of noise and vibration, is fitted with cabin
climate-control systems, and has emergency exits that meet the latest safety
standards. Everything is designed to ensure passenger in-flight comfort and
safety.
The VIP model is designed to accommodate 7-14 passengers
with enhanced levels of comfort. The helicopter’s interior is customisable to
customers’ needs and wishes. The helicopter boasts the largest cabin in its
class, and is ideally suited to luxury-class equipment. The VIP model can be
fitted with entertainment systems, satellite links and special communications
equipment in line with client needs.
The search-and-rescue model can fly search-and-rescue
operations around the clock in all weathers. The helicopter is fitted with
special equipment including searchlights, winches, speakers and radiolocation
systems. This model is used by Emergencies Ministries in countries across the
world.
The Mi-8/17 flying hospital is designed to offer medical
assistance in remote and hard-to-access regions. Special on-board equipment
provides life support and first aid to patients during the journey to hospital.
Special sheeting used inside the cabin can be disinfected quickly and to high
medical standards.
The firefighting model is designed to tackle blazes using a
helicopter bucket on an external sling, which can deliver up to 4,000 litres of
water and target the burn zone with a high degree of accuracy. The helicopter
can also deliver firefighting crews and special equipment to firefighting
areas.
Mi-8/17 helicopters are built at Ulan-Ude Aviation Plant and
the Kazan Helicopters, both Russian Helicopters companies. More than 12,000
Mi-8/17 helicopters have been produced to date – a record for twin-engine
helicopters anywhere in the world. They have been supplied to more than 100
countries worldwide and racked up total flying time of about 100 million hours.
The following models are currently in production: Mi-8AMT,
Mi-8MTV-1, Mi-171, Mi-171A1 and Mi-172.
Development
On June 9, 1961, the first Mi-8 Hip prototype, with a single
AI-24V turboshaft and four-bladed main rotor system, lifted off for its maiden
flight. On September 17, 1962, the Hip B, modified with two TV2-117
1,482-horsepower turboshafts mounted atop the fuselage, and a five-bladed main
rotor system measuring 70 feet in diameter, took flight. The Mi-8 went into
full production in 1965, and by 2000 fifty-four countries operated the more
than 10,000 Mi-8s manufactured by the Rostov and Kazan production facilities in
Russia and by foreign licensees. Designed as a medium-lift transport
helicopter, the Hip, in its many variants, fulfilled a miscellany of mission
requirements, including troop and cargo transportation, air ambulance, attack
helicopter, airborne command post, fire fighter, and civilian carrier.
Constructed of light alloys, the Hip featured a “bus-shaped”
fuselage with a rounded nose and glassed-in cockpit that accommodated a pilot,
copilot, and flight engineer. The cabin housed twenty-four passengers, 8,800
pounds of cargo, or twelve stretchers. A large sliding door on the forward port
side and rear-opening clamshell doors simplified loading large cargo. Removable
interior seats and an internal winch capable of lifting 350 pounds that doubled
as a rescue hoist facilitated cargo handling. Additionally, Mil equipped the
aircraft with a cargo hook capable of carrying slingloads up to 6,500 pounds. A
long tailboom extended from the upper portion of the fuselage and swept up to a
tapered vertical fin that housed the gearbox and tailrotor, attached to the
left side (right on the export versions).
External racks attached along the center of the 61-foot
fuselage were designed to hold auxiliary fuel pods or weapons systems. Variants
of the Hip carried a combination of 57-mm or 80-mm rockets, AT-2 Swatter or
AT-3 Sagger ATGMs, 12.7- or 23-mm gun pods, or either 4 500-pound or 2 1,000-pound bombs. In 1967, Mil introduced
the Hip E and F ground support helicopters, each mounting a flexible 12.7-mm
heavy machine gun under the nose and carrying 192 57-mm rockets. Combat troops
could also fire their individual weapons from the windows of the helicopter. In
later models Mil installed the upgraded Isotov TV2-117A engines, which produced
1,700 horsepower each. Generally a Hip cruised at 122 knots, had a service ceiling
of 14,700 feet, and hovered Out of Ground Effect (OGE) at 2,600 feet. All Mi-8s
rested on a fixed tricycle landing gear, with dual wheels at the nose. Total
production estimates ran as high as 15,000 units of the Mi-8 and its export
version, the Mi-17.
Designed to replace Mi-4, first flown in June 1961; used by
Soviet and Russian forces and Aeroflot. Military versions denoted by round
windows and armed with machine guns and 57-mm rockets. Later version designed
and equipped for ECM operations. Introduced in August 1975, Mi-17 employed Mi-8
fuselage and Mi-14 engines; latest version with upgraded engines is Mi-17 Hip
H.
More than 10,000 of all variants manufactured.
Specifications (Mil-17-1A2)
General characteristics
Crew: 3 (two
pilots and one engineer)
Capacity: 24 troops / 12 stretchers / 4,000
kg (8,818 lb) cargo internally / 5,000 kg (11,023 lb) externally slung.
Length: 18.465 m
(60 ft 7 in)
Height: 21.25 m
(69 ft 9 in)
Empty weight:
7,489 kg (16,510 lb)
Gross weight:
11,100 kg (24,471 lb)
Max takeoff
weight: 13,000 kg (28,660 lb) normal
13,500
kg (29,762 lb) with under-slung load
Powerplant: 2 ×
Klimov VK-2500PS-03 turboshaft engines, 1,800 kW (2,400 hp) each for take-off
2,000 kW (2,700 hp) emergency
rating
Main rotor
diameter: 21.25 m (69 ft 9 in)
Main rotor area:
354.7 m2 (3,818 sq ft)
Blade section:NACA
23012[157]
Performance
Maximum speed: 280
km/h (170 mph, 150 kn)
Cruise speed: 260
km/h (160 mph, 140 kn)
Range: 800 km (500
mi, 430 nmi)
Service ceiling:
6,000 m (20,000 ft)
Hover ceiling OGE:
4,000 m (13,123 ft)
Rate of climb: 8
m/s (1,600 ft/min)
Armament
up to 1,500 kg
(3,307 lb) of disposable stores on six hardpoints, including bombs, rockets and
gunpods.
Mi-8 / Mi-17 Hip Multimission Helicopter
