News

Siberian helicopters have no dread of frost

Ulan-Ude, 24.08.2009.
Unprecedented frost spread across Europe and the West of Russia has reached Siberia as well. In Buryatia stem of thermometer dropped to 40ш below zero. However it's an ordinary winter temperature for Siberia. Therefore whatever is produced here is produced allowing for suchlike frost: people continue working, transport goes en route, plants output their products.

"Ulan-Ude Aviation Plant", JSC integrated into helicopter holding company headed by "Russian Helicopters", JSC is no exclusion as well. Forty degrees frost setup in the area of the plant's airfield had no impact on check and test flights program of Mi-171E and Mi-171Sh helicopters which should have been delivered to successive customers by "U-UAP". Amid even such frost all flights at the plant are carried out in routine mode and in full scale, acceptance works are conducted without interruption.

Test pilots of JSC "U-UAP" answering possibility of flying under frost conditions indicate that Russian helicopters are able to fly in any climate and any temperature. "-40? frost? Don't make Siberians laugh with such temperature, - says chief test pilot of JSC "U-UAP" Vasily Matveev. - On the contrary, in this weather you work in a cheerful manner, you have fervor and courage. And the helicopters behave perfectly - they are Siberians as well. The pilots indeed testing the helicopters feel in a quite comfortable manner. Russian helicopters are equipped with good heating system and no problem with frost exists".

"The range of Mi-171 helicopters was initially designed for operation not only in regions with hot climate but cold areas as well including the areas of Russian Far North, - maintains the chief designer of JSC "U-UAP" Sergey Migotsky. - Mi-171 and Mi-171Sh were designed with temperature limits from -50 to +50?C. Accordingly there were implemented engineering designs enabling to fly at extreme low temperatures. For example, it is an availability of cockpit and cargo compartment heating system, heat insulation and anti-icing system".

The flights of Mi-171E and Mi-171Sh amid severe Siberian frost are in progress at JSC "U-UAP". In low temperatures there have been tested and accepted by the customers 5 new helicopters and check flights of few other helicopters will be accomplished in nearest days.

"In Ulan-Ude it's cold not only in winter but hot in summer. Sometimes it goes up to +40:45?C, - said Nikolai Bakharev, the chief of test flight service of JSC "U-UAP". - We perform test and check flights of Mi-171 range helicopters in routine mode in heat conditions as well. Generally we believe that from the point of view of test geography our plant is located very successfully. Due to extreme temperature values Ulan-Ude Aviation Plant is enabled to check helicopters at any temperature ranges including temperatures close to maximum permissive values, which means a dead certainty in delivery to our customers a flexible product working in a failure-free manner both in heat and cold conditions".

The capability of Mi-171 range of helicopters to fly in rough temperature conditions is of special relevance. The expiring 2009 will be memorized by many countries for anomalous temperature effects. Thus the US eastern coast was overwhelmed by snow and the snowfall forced the American President Barak Obama to use offroader as a transport means instead of normal flight on-board of the helicopter.

European countries encountered unprecedented December frost to -30?C accompanied by heavy snowfalls. Frost and precipitations crippled vital activities of many European countries complicating the operation of emergency rescue services. Due to frost the European Union aviation authorities restricted flights of helicopters which are indeed the major means of rescuing people in such extreme conditions. EU helicopter fleet basically consists of non-Russian helicopters; however a number of European countries preferred the products of the holding company "Russian Helicopters" including Mi-171 range of helicopters which can be effectively applied amid severe cold and icing.