During the currently ongoing Dubai Airshow 2019, the Russian Helicopters company made the first foreign presentation of its newest Mi-38 civilian helicopter. The rotorcraft featuring a luxury-cabin variant, is not only a part of the static exposition, but also would be presented during the flying display.
The first serial-manufactured Mi-38 helicopter was already introduced last August, during the MAKS-2019 air show, where it was presented to several Russian and foreign officials, including the Russian President, Vladimir Putin. According to the manufacturer, the cutting-edge technical solutions in the field of safety and comfort were used in the development of Mi-38 and its interior. One of the significant improvements was moving the position of engines behind the main rotor transmission – instead of their traditional forward placement, which ensured the reduction in aerodynamic resistance and noise level in the cockpit, at the same time increasing the rotorcraft safety.
´Research and development effort, as well as experimental designing activity within the Mi-38 project was financed by the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade. The helicopter was originally designed to meet the toughest existing and potential standards of safety, environmental friendliness and land noise. The closest attention was paid to meeting the customers’ needs in terms of flight performance, operational and economic parameters. Our engineers have performed a range of activities aimed at further expanding the operational capabilities and ensuring maximum versatility of the helicopter use. The improvements aimed at ensuring reliable and comfortable operation of the new rotorcraft in the conditions of hot climate and desert terrain should be of particular interest to operators in the Middle East,´ noted the Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, Denis Manturov.
Mi-38 can be operated in a wide range of climatic conditions including maritime, tropical and cold climates. The flight range of the transport version of the new helicopter, with additional fuel tanks, is up to 1,000 kilometres and with its maximum take-off weight of 15.6 tonnes, Mi-38 can carry 5 tons of payload on board or on an external sling. The competitive advantage of new Russian rotorcraft is its load and seating capacity and main performance characteristics, together with the lower costs comparing to other similar-class helicopters.
Another Russian novelty of the Dubai Airshow is the light Ansat helicopter, which, following its European debut in Le Bourget, was now introduced to the Middle East. The corporate version of the rotorcraft, offering the comfortably transport up to 5 passengers, took part in the air show flying programme.
´It is the first time in Russia’s newest history that our civilian helicopters will be presented at a Middle East air show. The format and content of the participation of Russian Helicopters Holding Company in the Dubai Airshow demonstrate the new approaches of Rostec State Corporation to promoting Russian high-tech civilian products on foreign markets, which involves the support from the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Russian Export Centre, and leasing companies. We are confident that, in terms of its price and quality, Russian-made helicopters can be quite competitive in the world market and we expect that their demonstration will result in more actual contracts,´ said Rostec CEO Sergey Chemezov.
´Dubai Airshow will be the first foreign site for us to demonstrate our latest Mi-38, so we say that we are making the world premiere of this rotorcraft, as well as the debut of Ansat in the Middle East. The UAE sees the rapid development of its urban mobility sector, therefore, in addition to flight models, at our booth, we will present the VRT300 UAV, and a model of a light single-engine VRT500 helicopter will be showcased at our joint exposition with Tawazun, an Emirati Holding Company. It is no secret that UAE investors are interested in joining the project, and we expect to take the first actual steps in this area during the exhibition’, said Director General of Russian Helicopters holding company Andrey Boginsky.
Light VRT500 helicopter and VRT300 UAV were developed by VR-Technologies Design Bureau and feature coaxial rotors, which ensure their high side wind resistance and small dimensions making them suitable for use in the restrained urban conditions.
All photos courtesy of JSC “Russian Helicopters” / Rostec State Corporation. “Russian Helicopters” press materials were used.
