This was not the case before
To be absolutely precise, in 2020 the idea and concept of the Mi-38 turns 39 years old. On June 30, 1981, the CPSU Central Committee and the Council of Ministers decided to start work on a new rotorcraft, which received the original name Mi-8M. Until now, opinions differ as to which car was planned to replace the new helicopter. Some sources write that the Mi-38 was supposed to become a new, more advanced Mi-8. Others say that the machine was used to fill the gap between the average Magnificent Eight and the heavy Mi-26. Indeed, the world's largest 26th Mile takes 20 tons on board at once, while the Mi-8 - no more than 3 tons. It turns out that cargo weighing from 4 to 10-12 tons must either be transported by the giant Mi-26, or by several Mi-8 flights. Both, naturally, are economically unprofitable. In addition, it was planned to install the TV7-117 engine on the new helicopter, which was both more powerful and more economical than its predecessor TV2-117. The new engine was to be developed by the Leningrad Engine-Building Design Bureau, which is now called the Klimov Design Bureau. The civil carrier Aeroflot had special hopes for the Mi-8M, which later became the Mi-38, as it required a highly profitable cargo and passenger helicopter. In particular, it was planned that with a higher carrying capacity, the cost of a flight hour on the Mi-38 would be comparable to the younger Mi-8.
In addition to the new engine, the Mi-38 was to receive an aerodynamically more perfect fuselage than the Mi-8. First, the tanks were removed under the floor of the cargo compartment. This saved the car from protruding hips in the manner of the "eight". This solution both reduced the drag of the helicopter and reduced the resistance to the main rotor. Elastic fuel tanks guaranteed the safety of an emergency landing (actually falling) from a height of 15 meters - kerosene did not spread or ignite. The vehicle was initially considered as a passenger or transport vehicle, so no wings were provided for possible armament. This decision also had a positive effect on the traction capabilities of the main rotor. Secondly, the engines on the Mi-38 were located behind the main gearbox, which is why the machine received such a profile that is not typical for Mil helicopters. Now the helicopter began to resemble some Agusta Westland. This layout solution provided a reduction in vibrations in the cockpit, as well as reduced drag. In total, the harmful drag of the helicopter in comparison with the Mi-8 decreased by 20%, which, coupled with more powerful motors, immediately brought the helicopter to a completely different league.
The next innovation for the early 1980s was the use of a four-bladed X-shaped tail rotor. The design was worked out simultaneously for the combat Mi-28 and the civilian Mi-38. In 1981, at the screw stand of the Moscow Helicopter Plant. M. L. Mil, under the leadership of A. S. Braverman, conducted comparative tests of the classic three-bladed tail rotor from the Mi-8 and Mi-24 with a new X-shaped one, which confirmed the high efficiency of the X scheme. Mi-8M design headquarters in the early 80s, in addition to the above, he also provided for the helicopter an elastomeric rotor hub (does not require lubrication), a retractable landing gear, as well as the most modern aerobatic complex for its time, which made it possible to leave two people in the crew. When in 1983 they looked at the amount of work to be done, they decided to rename the project to Mi-38. And the Mi-8 line continued its career in the form of various modifications and minor improvements, because, as they say at the Mil Design Bureau, the potential of the "magnificent eight" has not yet been exhausted.
The thorny path of the 90s
When the approximate appearance of the Mi-38 in the form of a draft design was formed by the beginning of the 90s, it turned out that the payload was 5 tons, the normal weight was 13 tons, and the maximum weight was about 14.5 tons. In comparison with the Mi-8, the novelty surpassed the well-deserved helicopter in terms of carrying capacity by 1, 8 times, by productivity by 2 times and by economy by 1, 7 times. Just before the collapse of the Soviet Union, a decision was made on the serial production of the Mi-38 and even began to re-equip the Kazan Helicopter Plant. A year earlier, a mock-up of the helicopter was shown at the Paris Aerospace Show. In the USSR, they hoped for the machine to enter the markets of developed countries; for this, certification was provided for foreign airworthiness standards. The mock-up commission for the Mi-38 was held in August 1991, where the decision was made to launch it into production, and a full-scale mock-up of the helicopter was demonstrated for the first time at Mosaeroshow-1992. Like many other domestic projects at the turn of the 80s and 90s, the new helicopter fell victim to a lack of funding, as well as the loss of part of its subcontractors - many ended up abroad.
Since initially the Milians did not particularly rely on contracts from the Ministry of Defense, their views turned to their Western partners. The first to respond and independently chose the Mi-38 as a partner project were the managers from Eurocopter, who concluded in December 1992 with the M. V. ML Mil, a preliminary agreement on cooperation, and two years later they even created a joint CJSC "Euromil". A company was formed, which directly included the Mil office, Eurocopter, the Kazan Helicopter Plant (a manufacturer of serial products) and the FSUE “Plant im. V. Ya Klimova "(motor production). The Klimovites were responsible for the development and fine-tuning of the very TV7-117V, which was discussed in the early 80s. This turboshaft power unit was supposed to develop 2500 hp. sec., while in emergency mode, if the second engine failed, it could produce 3750 liters for 30 seconds. with. In addition, an important parameter of the TV7-117V operation was the ability to function for half an hour with an inoperative oil system. All this made it possible to talk about the high reliability and safety of the power plant from two motors of the Klimov plant, as well as about high chances to take a place in the army aviation of the Russian army. What did Eurocopter do in this company? On his shoulders were onboard flight and navigation equipment, cockpit interior and control systems. Also, the Europeans promised some kind of assistance in the promotion and certification of the car in the markets of foreign countries. A strange decision, since the Eurocopter development portfolio already included a similar EC-225 SuperPuma. Looking ahead, let us say that, in fact, for Eurocopter, Euromil CJSC existed until 2017. By the way, when the Klimovites refused further cooperation and actually left the helicopter without an engine, they had to turn to the Canadian Pratt & Whitney for help. In 1997, the Milians were then given the actual two PW-127T / S engines - in Canada it was hoped that if the Mi-38 went into production, the power plant would be exclusively Pratt & Whitney. Indeed, the first flight of the Mi-38 was made with Canadian engines, but only much later than planned - on December 22, 2003. A few years later, Canadians will be banned from cooperating with the Mil plant, so as not to supply equipment for Russian dual-use products.
If we compare the Mi-38 with potential competitors that were born much earlier and have already managed to conquer sales markets, it turns out that the Russian machine looks at least aerodynamically better. Among classmates, the EC-225 SuperPuma from Eurocopter, the S-92 from SikorskyAircraft and the AW-101UT from AgustaWestland stand out, which are inferior to the Mi-38 both in maximum carrying capacity and in speed with flight range. The parameters of the helicopter declared by the developers in terms of price, economic and technical indicators at one time put it out of competition at all. True, this largely concerned the Mi-38 with PW-127T / S engines, which now, for obvious reasons, will never appear on the machine.
If we compare the Mi-38 with the younger brother (if we are talking about the class of the car, and not about the age) of the Mi-8, then the cost of a ton-kilometer when flying over a distance of 800 kilometers on the 38th car is seven times lower than that of the well-deserved eight even in the most recent modification. In addition, the replacement of the rotor blades on the Mi-8 family of helicopters is required every seven to eight years: the Mi-38 developers claim that the composite propeller planes will serve the entire life of the machine. The main rotor blades are made using the technology by winding "prepreg" from carbon fiber on a rotating tooling. Now in the domestic aviation industry, the use of composites is becoming a kind of good form rule.
