The smallest helicopter in the world is already on sale! The lightest helicopter. Light Russian helicopters. Light helicopters of the world. Lightest multi-purpose helicopter 1 seat helicopter
Russia has developed a unique light multi-purpose high-speed helicopter (MSV) with beautiful name"Bottlenose dolphin." Russian development works on normal automobile gasoline and, according to the developers, has no analogues in the world. The helicopter was created by HeliWhale LLC from the city of Kemerovo. It is expected that in 2016 the company will begin serial production of this Afalina MSV. The light two-seater helicopter will be able to solve a wide range of tasks, including special tasks in the interests of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and other Russian structures.
For the first time, a new helicopter from the Helivale company was presented to the general public at the HeliRussia 2015 exhibition, which took place from May 21 to 23 in Moscow at the Crocus Expo exhibition center. According to RIA "", this light two-seater helicopter is currently undergoing a set of practical tests with the prospect of launching commercial production of a serial model of the helicopter in next year. At the exhibition, which took place in Moscow in May, a demonstration sample of the Bottlenose Dolphin was shown. Russian production combined with technical solutions made it possible to significantly optimize the cost of one flight hour, which allows this light helicopter to be used to solve a wide range of different tasks, note the developers of the rotorcraft.
"Afalina" is a light two-seat single-engine helicopter, built according to a twin-rotor coaxial design with a tandem pilot arrangement. Its aerodynamics are based on a further development of the ABC (Advancing Blade Concept). The small helicopter's maximum speed is 250 km/h (cruising speed 210 km/h) and its maximum flight range is 750 km. The take-off weight of the helicopter does not exceed 500 kg. At the same time, the aircraft currently has the best flight performance characteristics in its class and meets all the basic modern demands from consumers of such products. The high-speed capabilities of the helicopter and the increased size of its cabin provide an additional level of comfort during its operation.
It is worth noting that Kemerovo helicopters have an unusual design. According to the owner of the HeliWhale company, Yakov Kolesnik, in 2013 a patent was received for a control system for the coaxial rotors of a high-speed helicopter. The use of a coaxial helicopter design assumes the absence of a propeller located on the rear axle. Coaxial helicopters have a slightly more complex structure, but their efficiency is also higher. The model was named “Bottlenose Dolphin” in honor of the most intelligent species of dolphins among all cetaceans; in Russia, you can watch this intelligent and beautiful marine animal on the Black Sea.
At this point in time, high-speed helicopters are an unfilled niche in the aircraft industry. The theoretical prerequisites for the creation of such machines were formulated back in the late 1970s. The first really high-speed models of helicopters were tested in the 80s of the last century by Sikorsky Aircraft. However, later work in this area was temporarily suspended. They were resumed only in 2006. Then the same company designed and built an experimental model of the Sikorsky X2 helicopter: it was a prototype of a high-speed coaxial helicopter with a pusher rotor, built on the basis of the S-69 helicopter. Already in 2010, this experimental machine managed to set a flight speed record for helicopters. Now helicopter manufacturing concerns and manufacturers from Europe and Russia have joined the issue of creating high-speed helicopters in all classes.
Taking into account the development trends of the industry and the demands posed by the growing Russian aviation market, the designers of the Helivale company began work on the creation of a high-speed helicopter for aviation general purpose. The main task in creating the helicopter was to ensure the availability of the machine and certain speed characteristics. When creating the helicopter model, the Kemerovo company used the experience of the world helicopter industry, innovative technical ideas, and also tried to take into account the needs of future customers of its machine. According to the official website of the Helivale company, today in the world light two-seater helicopters are very popular. wide application, so the company believes in a happy flying life for its brainchild.
The HeliWhale company is owned by Kuzbass Capital Invest shareholder Yakov Kolesnik. At the same time, he fundamentally does not call his brainchild - Yakov Kolesnik opened a small plant for the production and repair of helicopters without financial support from the region and the state - a business. “Business is where money is made in the world today. We don't have one like that commercial purpose, she won’t be there later. We are currently doing design work and we love it. We develop helicopters, and money can be made on other things. I have right now the main task so that the people who work with me here receive normal wages, as in normal countries, so that such activities would be prestigious,” noted Yakov Kolesnik in an interview with one of the Kemerovo publications. In his understanding, a normal salary is about 100 thousand rubles a month.
Kolesnik considers such remuneration for work to be quite justified, since it is quite difficult to find specialists for the design and assembly of helicopters in Kemerovo. The chief designer of the light multi-purpose high-speed helicopter "Afalina" is a native of Novosibirsk, Mikhail Mamykin, who worked for 15 years in Novosibirsk at the famous Chkalovsky aircraft factory(NAZ named after V.P. Chkalov). Specialists in plastic parts - from Kemerovo. They are headed by Maxim Ivlev, whom Yakov Kolesnik met back in school years in an aircraft modeling circle and several years ago, with difficulty, persuaded him to leave the field of automobile tuning for aircraft manufacturing. This is the team that worked on a promising Russian new product.
In addition to the "Afalina", which has already been shown at the exhibition, there is also the "Afalina Turbo". This helicopter will be able to reach a maximum speed of up to 300 km/h in the air. The estimated price of future rotorcraft is about 150 thousand dollars. “Many people ask us, where do we get spare parts for the helicopter? So, we don’t take them anywhere, but made them ourselves. Nothing was stolen from anyone. In our project, the only things that are foreign are the things that people in our country don’t know how to do - the “engine” and electronics, that is, navigation equipment. Everything else - frames, fuselage, blades, seats - was invented and manufactured in Kemerovo,” Kolesnik told reporters.
The Afalina MSV is the result of the painstaking creative work of a team of like-minded people, people who are fanatically devoted to aviation. In just four years production room, which grew here from scratch literally in a vacant lot, has turned into a full-fledged small, well-equipped and high-tech plant for the repair and production of light helicopters. The company's immediate plans include establishing serial production of helicopters and entering the Russian and international markets with the finished product. The Afalina helicopter can be useful for the needs of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, fuel and energy companies, air ambulances, for the needs of private and corporate clients, used for educational purposes.
In the backyard, Yakov Kolesnik has equipped a helipad; from time to time, helicopters of his friends who fly to visit him land on it. Kolesnik himself prefers a helicopter to a car for business trips around the region. The growing interest in small aviation in Kemerovo is so great that a private airfield was even opened in the regional center. Today you can learn to become a pilot at the Kemerovo flying club. Businessman Yakov Kolesnik himself believes that the use of modern life light helicopters are economically feasible and safe. According to him, a trained pilot will be able to correctly direct the helicopter even if the engine fails. “Once my engine failed at an altitude of 200 meters, and I landed in autorotation mode. Having landed, he turned off all the electronics, listened to himself - there were no injuries, got out of the car and left. This is a normal situation,” Kolesnik noted.
Design Features
The engine on the Afalina is the German Rotax 914 UL with a power of 115 hp. The choice of engine was due to the fact that Rotax piston engines are distinguished by high economic performance and also have a long service life. Such an engine is ten times cheaper gas turbine engine small in size and consumes little fuel in cruising mode (up to 18-22 liters per hour). At the same time, the engine runs on ordinary automobile fuel - AI-95 gasoline, which is widely represented in Russia, and not on special aviation kerosene. Today, these aircraft engines are installed on many aircraft. The engine has proven itself to be very reliable and has been certified in Europe.
The main gearbox is the Kemerovo company’s own development. A two-stage gearbox is used. The first stage of the gearbox is a cylindrical helical gear, the second stage is a double-flow bevel gear with a circular tooth. An oil temperature sensor, a chip detector and a rotor speed sensor were placed in the second stage of the gearbox. The helicopter engine and gearbox are connected to each other by a transmission, which includes a damping elastic rubber coupling and an engagement clutch (in one unit).
The helicopter's supporting system is coaxial synchronized rotors. The blades are made of carbon fiber and are rigidly fixed in bushings.
Helicopter fuselage: truss frame, welded from pipes (St20). The helicopter's cabin, tail boom and empennage are made of glass-carbon fiber. The position of the pilots in the cockpit is tandem, the helicopter controls are paired. To maintain the required temperature in the pilot's cabin, there is a ventilation and air heating system on board.
The helicopter's skid-mounted aluminum chassis. To transport the machine on the ground, removable wheels are installed, which allow just one person to transport the helicopter to its stationary location without any problems.
Interesting feature is the possibility of installing the MVEN “Cobra”-500 high-speed parachute system on a helicopter. This is a pyrotechnic system with forced parachute deployment, which is able to save cargo weighing up to 500 kg. Nowadays, it is becoming more and more obvious that the use of parachute rescue systems, which in the event of an accident or emergency situation rescue pilots along with the aircraft, is the most rational way to increase flight safety on ultra-light aircraft. This is also proven by the statistics of successful applications of such rescue systems.
Purpose and scope of application of the Afalina helicopter
Today, throughout the world, light two-seater helicopters have a fairly wide range of applications. These machines are mainly used for:
- education and training of helicopter pilots;
- aerial photography and terrain observation;
- police patrolling;
- control of power lines and pipelines;
- transportation of medical personnel;
- transportation of private persons;
- administrative transportation;
- aviation agricultural work;
- work in fishing fields;
- sport flights.
Flight characteristics of the Afalina helicopter:
Overall dimensions: length - 7.2 m (without blades), width - 1.85 m, height - 2.8 m, rotor diameter - 6 m.
Number of main rotors - 2 (6 blades each).
Take-off weight - 500 kg.
The weight of the structure is 270 kg.
Payload weight - 180 kg.
Power point- Rotax 914 UL (115 hp).
Fuel consumption - 18-22 l/hour.
Maximum flight speed is 250 km/h.
Cruising flight speed is 200 km/h.
Maximum flight range is 750 km.
Static ceiling - 2000 m.
Information sources:
http://heliwhale.ru (manufacturer)
http://www.arms-expo.ru/news/novye_razrabotki/rossiyskaya_afalina_mnogotselevogo_naznacheniya
http://biz.a42.ru/lenta/show/yakov-i-vertoletnaya-fabrika.html
http://www.helirussia.ru/ru/dlya_smi/press_relizyi/2015/04/06/kompaniya_“xelivejl”_predstavit_na_helirussia_2015_novyij_sverxlegkij_skorostnoj_vertolet_“afalina”
http://lenta.ru/news/2015/05/12/helirussia
Designed to transport people, weapons and their use. They have a serious reservation, high speed. But they are not suitable for civilian purposes: they are too large, expensive and difficult to manage and operate. Back in the days cold war foreign manufacturers began to create light helicopters; in Russia this began with some delay.
Development of light helicopters in Russia
Domestic companies are inferior to foreigners in the field of creating light helicopters. But the Russian Helicopters holding company does not agree with this position and is taking active steps to change. The military light helicopter Ka-226, which was developed for India, was converted into a civilian one, and the first orders for the Ka-226T have already been completed. The take-off weight of such a machine is 3600 kg. Gazpromavia ordered 18 vehicles to patrol the gas network. They requested a separate modification of the Ka-226TG for flights in difficult climatic conditions. The Ka-226TG can fly in the dark and in fog, which increases the flight range without refueling.
There is a plant in Tomilino with a capacity of up to 20 cars per year. Configured to produce the AW139, a 6.4 tonne helicopter designed for passenger transport. It is planned in the future to supply such helicopters throughout Russia and the CIS countries.
Also, Russian Helicopters continues active cooperation with AgustaWestland, which contributes to the development of helicopter production. The light helicopters of the world will not be left without the Russian flag in their ranks.
Ansat
Partnership with foreign companies- this is good, but I would like to have my own light Russian helicopters. One of them is “Ansat” (translated from Tatar as “simple”). This is a light multi-purpose helicopter, designed and assembled at Kazan Helicopter Plant OJSC.
The first Ansat was launched back in 1999. Despite the name, the history of its development is not so simple. This is the first helicopter in Russia equipped with an electric remote control system. After production, the vehicle was supplied to the Ministry of Defense and South Korea, it was there that the accident occurred, leading to the death of the pilot. The cause was recognized as EDSU. After this, the designers carried out work to improve this system, and a civilian version was released with a hydromechanical control system - “Ansat-1M”. Police and forest services continue to use Ansat for their needs. And for Korea, a special modification “Ansat-K” was released, that is, Korean.
The helicopter has two turboshaft engines and a maximum take-off weight of 3.3 tons, with its own weight of 1-1.3 tons, it can carry 9 people. To facilitate the design, modern technologies and materials, including composite ones, were used. Despite all the difficulties, by 2018 the Ministry of Defense plans to purchase up to 40 such helicopters with an average cost of 101.4 million rubles.
However, there is not only a military version, but also a passenger, transport, administrative version, for rescuers, doctors and training flights. This is a full-fledged light multi-purpose helicopter.
"Golden eagle"
IN last years Among the suppliers, the American company Robinson Helicopter is the leader, but the domestic company LLC Berkut Aero is going to push the leader with its brainchild. Through use modern technologies and materials, other design solutions, the light multi-purpose helicopter "Berkut" is 2 times cheaper than its foreign analogues. The plant in Tolyatti has the capacity to produce 15 helicopters per month.
It is available in two trim levels with different 147 hp engines. and 150 hp, has two rotor bearings. This solution makes it possible to reduce the diameter of the propellers and the overall length of the vehicle due to the absence of a tail rotor. Although a coaxial helicopter is easier to control and is more resistant to bad weather, but its center of gravity is shifted upward and the height of the car is increased.
The flight range of the Russian Berkut VL is 600 km, while that of the Berkut VL-M is 850 km. It takes off at a speed. The vehicle's flight ceiling is 3000 m. The weight of an empty helicopter is below half a ton (this is the lightest helicopter in Russia), and the speed it can reach is up to 170 km/h. Can be used for both civil and rescue purposes and for patrolling areas.
Helicopter for extreme entertainment
There are helicopters that seem to have been created only for entertainment. These are the lightest helicopters in the world. This is exactly the idea that the creators of AirScooter II had. This is the lightest single-seat helicopter made of high-strength materials.
They tried to make it as simple and easy to use as possible. It has two coaxial screws that rotate in different sides and are responsible for lifting and maneuvering. Instead of landing gear or runners, two floats are used, which allow a safe landing on the water and on the ground.
A four-stroke engine was developed specifically for the AirScooter II. To the right of the pilot there is an 18.9-liter fuel tank, which allows you to fly for up to 2 hours at 15 meters above the ground. Despite the fact that this helicopter was created for extreme sports, it can be used for express mail delivery, patrolling and surveillance, and will also be of interest to hunters.
The lightest helicopter
It is worth mentioning the Japanese GEN-H-4. This civil helicopter, which made its first flight back in 2000. Has maximum simple design and management. During the design decisions, a coaxial design of propellers was used, which are driven by four small engines. According to the creators, according to the instructions, you can assemble it yourself in half an hour.
This flying baby has modest, but sufficient performance for its size. Its carrying capacity is only 86 kg, the official height ceiling is 3000 m. Although it is simply scary to climb to such a height on it. A person weighing 79 kg can fly it for about an hour at a speed of 88 km/h, then refueling will be required. The structure itself weighs 70 kg - this is the lightest helicopter!
The GEN-H-4 is jokingly called the “flying stool.” It's essentially a chair with wheels, to which four two-stroke engines are attached and 4-meter blades on top. All engines operate autonomously from each other, and failure of all of them at once is unlikely. This lightest helicopter can hold on three and land on two. Just in case, a parachute is included in the kit.
A helicopter for the price of a car
In our age high technology there is an idea to create a flying vehicle that will cost no more than a car, and training on it will be simple. So far, only two devices have approached this brink. The American AirScooter costs 50 thousand dollars, and the Japanese light helicopter GEN-H-4 costs 30 thousand dollars, and a pilot can be trained in a few days.
Hirobo Electric Corporation promises to launch a revolutionary vehicle - an electric single-seat mini helicopter capable of flying with a passenger at a speed of 100 km/h.
Every now and then no one threatens to realize the dream of a car that can fly, or a helicopter that fits in a backpack. well-known companies, which quickly disappear without being able to construct anything practical. This time, the serious helicopter manufacturing corporation Hirobo, headquartered in Hiroshima, announced the creation of a compact aircraft. She demonstrated a prototype of this device.
A model of the future mini-helicopter was exhibited at the International Aerospace Exhibition in the Japanese city of Nagoya. According to Hirobo President Kotaro Matsuzaki, his company has invested 10 billion yen ($125 million) to make such vehicles available for personal flights.The main purpose of Hirobo mini-helicopters is transportation during accidents and disasters. The company plans to produce two types of these helicopters: an unmanned one - costing 10 million yen ($125 thousand), and a single-seat one, costing 30 million yen ($375 thousand). Unmanned models can be used for urgent transport of materials such as human organs or blood.
Hirobo mini-helicopters will be able to accelerate to 100 km/h and fly without refueling for 30 minutes. They will be powered by an electric motor, which could make them useful for rescue operations. The quiet sound of the engine will allow the pilot to find people calling for help.Kotaro Matsuzaki plans to release mini-helicopters for sale in 2021 . The company is more concerned about legal rather than technical difficulties. Hirobo predicts it will take two to four years to get approval for mini-helicopters in Japan. The prospect of using mini-helicopters to save people is exciting, but many are concerned about the obvious fact that their use as urban transport poses a significant threat to human life and infrastructure.
Currently on the market you can find gasoline-powered single-seat helicopters costing from several thousand dollars, as well as instructions on how to independently construct such a device based on a chainsaw motor. However, the convenience and safety of these Vehicle remain at extremely low levels.
The most famous of the single-seat mini-helicopters is the GEN H-4 produced by the Japanese company Gene. This flying device, costing about $60 thousand, consists of only a seat, a landing gear and two 4-meter propellers rotating in opposite directions. Gasoline engines GEN H-4 are capable of accelerating a helicopter to 90 km/h and work without refueling for 30 minutes.
,
. Gene Corporation has released the GEN H-4 personal single-seat helicopter. This aircraft consists only of a seat and chassis. Its main difference from conventional helicopters is that the GEN H-4 has 2 rotors with a common axis that rotate in opposite directions (KA-52 Hokum). This helicopter does not need a tail rotor for balancing. In addition, it will be easy to park since the screws are only 4 meters long.
The helicopter is equipped with four lightweight two-cylinder 125 cubic centimeter engines running on gasoline. capable of rising to a height of up to 1000 meters, and its maximum speed is 90 km/h. Do not forget that in this mode the flight duration should not exceed 30 minutes.
In Japan, no special permit is required to fly the GEN H-4. According to the developers, controlling this helicopter can be compared in simplicity to driving a bicycle. A couple of hours is enough to learn how to operate the GEN H-4. It is not for nothing that the control of this helicopter has been compared to bicycles, since many of the controls are very similar to bicycle handles.
You will also be able to get an incredible feeling from assembling the construction set, since helicopter GEN H-4 sold unassembled.
By acquiring more and more fans, today they are becoming not only easier, but also safer. In our top we will consider smallest helicopters in the world.
1 Helicopter GEN H-4 (Japan)
Today it is the smallest helicopter in the world, which is certified even in the Guinness Book of Records. GEN H-4, created by the Japanese company of the same name, has blades 4 meters long and weighs only 70 kg. This helicopter does not have a tail, because... It is equipped with screws of a coaxial operating principle, and this has made it possible to significantly reduce its size. The carrying capacity of this “baby” is impressive - it is capable of flying with a weight of 210 kg (that is, exactly three times its own weight). The helicopter will be sold disassembled, like a construction kit, and, according to the manufacturers' plans, will be assembled by the owner in 30 hours. The offer is more than interesting, and as for the cost, it will presumably start at 200 thousand US dollars.
2 Helicopter
We put this helicopter in second place. The name already speaks for itself - “Mosquito”! Its development took almost 10 years, and the Moskit combined high reliability and ease of operation with small size and very good maneuverability. Helicopter engine with 60 hp power. and 5-meter blades easily lift the car and pilot into the air with a total weight of up to 300 kg. Moreover, the machine itself weighs only 115 kg. The cost of this car and its modifications starts from 40 thousand dollars.
3 Helicopter
This helicopter first took off in 2004, and was originally intended for extreme fun. But today it is also used for patrol, border, postal, and training purposes, since, as it turned out, it has good flight characteristics and is very reliable in use. AirScooter II weight is only 136 kg, engine capacity is 65 hp, speed is 90 km/h, ceiling is 3 thousand meters. Today, this device has “scattered” (in every sense) to 23 countries at a price of 50 thousand dollars per unit.
4 Helicopter
This light two-seater helicopter first flew in 2004. It is also small and extremely convenient to use, and has high flight characteristics. Engine 130 hp accelerates the car to 160 km/h to an altitude of 3.6 km. The propeller diameter is 7 meters, the load capacity is 230 kg. Supplied unassembled, assembly requires approximately 250 hours. The cost of the helicopter is 95 thousand euros.
The Italians are also trying to keep up in small aircraft. They have already manufactured and sold more than 400 of their ultra-light CH-7 helicopters. It began to gain popularity almost immediately from the moment of its production in 1996. The propeller diameter is 5.8 m, weight is 200 kg, maximum speed is 192 km/h. In some modifications, the cost of the device reaches 85-90 thousand euros.
6 Helicopter
The light helicopter of this brand can easily be called the “grandfather” of modern ultra-light helicopters. Created back in 1975, it exists in more than 3 thousand copies, operated in 60 countries around the world. The bulk of modern helicopters use in their designs solutions found in the R22. Today this helicopter costs 258 thousand dollars.
7 Helicopter DF Helicopters DF334 (Italy)
A two-seat ultralight helicopter, also developed quite a long time ago - in the 1980s, during which time it only confirmed its reliability (that’s for sure, “only old men go into battle”...). Weight - only 290 kg, propeller - 6.8 m, speed - 148 km/h, cost - from 120 thousand euros.
8 Helicopter Skyline SL-222 (Ukraine)
Light multi-purpose helicopter, which has been in production since 2011. Just like its “brothers”, it can be transported on a regular trailer, and is simple and reliable in operation. Weight is 377 kg, cost - 149 thousand dollars.
9 Helicopter
Since 2003, this particular car has become one of the most popular in its class. With a weight of only 445 kg and a speed of 185 km/h, “EXEC” rises to 3048 m. Cost - from 280 thousand dollars.
10 Helicopter Berkut-VL (Russia)
Today, the development of this helicopter is in the final testing stage, but has good development prospects. Engine 140 hp lifts 477 kg (the weight of the helicopter) to a height of 4 km and reaches a speed of 185 km/h. We are looking forward to a worthy representative of Russia in the light aviation market soon!
Light aviation can make every person's dream of flying come true. And we see that today there are already helicopters that cost as much as a good car. Therefore, it is very likely that more affordable devices will appear soon, and perhaps even smaller ones!
