30/06/2021
History part 5
History of KRPC “Helicopters-MI” part 5
In 1978 work connected with MI-18 began. The branch received two Mi-8MT helicopters and began full-scale mock-up of the new fuselage. It was planned to make two inserts, front and rear, to extend the cargo cabin of the helicopter by more than a meter. But tests that began in October 1979 showed that the flight data of the machine deteriorated in comparison with the MT.
The testers came to the conclusion that it is necessary to change the design of the MI-18 radically. It was decided to make the landing gear retractable, move the external fuel tanks to the fuselage and strengthen their protection. The improvement of the pilot's cabin’s glazing was made, a new door on the starboard side was embedded and more advanced onboard equipment was installed.
Modernization gave an increase in speed and range, despite the increased weight. Flights were carried out since 1984 at the Branch by pilots Zhen, Dvoryankin and Galeev.
For all its advantages, the MI-18 helicopter was the victim of a political campaign. The leadership of the CPSU demanded from the designers fundamentally new types of equipment that would correspond to the newest foreign analogues, and not the modernization of existing helicopters. In addition, the war in Afghanistan ended and funding for further development of the MI-18 was stopped. The only two samples of the Mi-18 were transferred to the training centers of the Russian Air Force as visual aids.
The new favorite was the Mi-38 helicopter project that replaced the outdated MI-8. Promising fuel-efficient TV7-117 engines promised to make civilian helicopters cost-effective, and in 1981 a decision was made to create a new Mi-8M transport and passenger helicopter.
Two years later the Mi-38 appears, and this topic is transferred to the Kazan Branch. Alexey Ivanovich Stepanov was appointed as the lead designer, but in 1990 the work in Kazan was curtailed and transferred to Moscow, and a new and most difficult period of its history began at the Branch.
Leaders were chosen on an alternative basis. After the death of Pershutov in 1992, as a result of the elections, the leading designer Vladimir Samoilov became the head of the organization. On April 20, 1992, the Branch became an independent research and production company KRPC "Helicopters-MI"
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