HAVE YOU EVER SEEN THE FLYING BUDDHA?
Really, have you ever seen the flying God by your eyes? No? Simply, you were not so lucky as the people of Korea. And the matter was not in the David Copperfield's magic and not in the terrific hurricane, the matter was just that in the large helicopter which was freely kiting in the air with the statue of Buddha on the external load sling, showing to the heavens the heights of human progress. The creator of this common miracle was Mi-26T heavy transport helicopter which was made by "Rostvertol" PLC - the South-Russian enterprise. Its first presentation flight, Mi-26T performed in 1980 and since than this flying giant keeps the leading position among the heavy helicopters and year after year increases the geography of its spreading.
Mi-26 was primarily designed for usage of military transport aviation and then its power, strength and its volume became widely used also in national economy. The reclamation of oilfields of Siberia occurred under the direct and active participation of this helicopter.
Born in Russia, this helicopter, little by little spreaded over its borders and started the domestication of Europe. The first company which offered this heavy Russian helicopter for operation in Europe was Belgian company Skytech. This company was the initiator of installation of Bambi-Bucket systems on the helicopter, designed by the Canadian company SCI Industries LTD. After the purchase of helicopters by "Skytech" company, they can be saw during the fire fighting in France, Italy, Turkey and other countries of Europe. Later on in Feodosia was designed the fire fighting system VSU-15, admitting to carry to the fireplace about of 1,5 tons of water in more aerodynamically way in accordance with two Bambi-Bucket capacity. Today, the VSU-15 can be installed in the same way as the system as Bambi-Buckets.
The other European company which lease the Mi-26T, became the Cyprus "Nutshell". This giant blowed up fires, carried the cargoes, took a part of a peace keeper in East Timore. The missions of the helicopter was also interesting in Germany. The history of signing the contract for the lease of the helicopter Mi-26T can be take his works in Germany in 1997. Victorian Germans were looking after the misallocation of 11-tons architecture construction from sea port of Rostock located in the Baltic sea to the centre of Berlin and setting it to the place "Houseball" as a great adornment. Due to Russian Mi-26T the Berlin Museum now can be blustered by its York aeroplane "Avalon", which was during the World War II -the personal transport of former British prime minister, sir Winston Churchill. The air plane with the detached wings was delivered by the helicopter from the suburban Gates airport to the museum just in the centre of the Berlin.
Pragmatic Germans highly praised the facilities of the helicopter and signed the two years' contract for its lease. Now the duty of the helicopter Mi-26T is the duty in Germany and other countries of Europe to carry the heavy large-size cargoes in the system of "door to door", construction-installation works under the constructions of lines of electricity, anten-mast constructions, reconstruction and construction of industrial objects, fire-fighting processes of forest and city.
The Greek Company "Scorpion International", as well as the pragmatical Germans, firstly assayed the conditions of the helicopter, leased the Mi-26T with VSU-15 from Russian MCS. For 2 summer months leased helicopters flied more than 200 hours while fire fighting and Acts of Gods in Greece. That was just the Mi-26T which was the first on the place of the incident with the Greece passage boat in the September of this Year. Tactics-technical characteristics of the helicopter and its credibility made great impression towards the Greeks, and in September of 2000 "Rostvertol" PLC carried the delivery of own-shipped Mi-26T for Scorpion Company.
The owner of Mi-26T, in Asia region, is the South-Korean company "Samsung Aerospace". From the report of "Samsung Aerospace": " The experience is more effective than small helicopters. The systems of the firefighting admits to carry up to 15 tons of water and cleans out up to two tanks of water together or one by one, in occasion of the conditions of the fire".
And once again the Mi-26T is doing miracles:
One can say, that South- Korea's Mi-26T again demonstrated its superior multifunctionality and reliability.
In the middles of 80-ies attracted attention of the Indian Government, and from 1986 and up to now it is remaining one of the basic transport mean of Indian AirForce, carries of the weight of responsibility for transportation, and for implementation of measures and elimination of natural disaster. In Malaysia, the Mi-26T become one of the main pretenders for the role of heavy transport helicopters for Royal Air Force, as well as from the beginning of 1990 it occupied one of the superior places in development of Malaysian natural resources. Mi-26T have you transport machines were used by Malaysian companies for logging of timber under technology of maintenance conservation and preparation of timber in Saravak state (Borneo Island).
And finally, the American Continent. In Mexico the Mi-26T appeared recently - in the beginning of 2000. The cause of the helicopter procurement were felt on the country natural disasters within the latest five years. Here, Mi-26T is successfully used for simultaneous transportation of workers and heavy materiel, as like excavators and tractors, in the regions of destruction. The unique performances of the helicopter allow to operate it in extreme conditions and remarkably reduce the time of reaction, and render the assistance for the destitute people. The fire-fighting variant of the helicopter is irreplaceable during the dry seasons characterising this region, following by the forest fires. After the purchasing of the first helicopter followed by the purchase of the second one.
Observing world wide spreading of the helicopter, you are surprised how closely we meet such pleasant entertaining and sorrow events sometimes, frankly saying, tragically ones. The whole planet with the help of the TV channel (Discovery) with an interest supervises how the Mi-26 helicopter transported a 20-tonn ice cube cut out from the eternal frigidity of Taimyr semi-island. Two three meter pre-historical mammoth tusks are sticking out from the cube, and looking forward to get to the remote future. Tomorrow, a human sorrow will face you from the TV screens of destroyed by natural calamities cities, and Mi-26T saves the wounded from goafs, extinguishes fires. Such is a fate of heroes - to be with us in happiness and sorrow.
ROSTVERTOL
5, Novatorov St., Rostov-on-Don, 344038, Russia
Phone: (8632) 72-7493, 72-7791.
Fax: (8632) 45-0535, 93-0039.
E-mail: rostvertol@gin.ru
Http://rostwertolbic.ru
