Rating from the magazine "Popular Mechanics"
Fastest: Lockheed AH-56 Cheyenne
Country: USA
First flight: 1967
Length: 16.66 m
Main rotor diameter: 15.62 m
Height: 4, 18 m
Engine:
turboshaft GET64, 3925 hp
Maximum
speed: 393 km / h
Ceiling: 6100 m
Armament: bow turret with 40 mm M129 or 7 grenade launcher, 62 mm XM196 machine gun, main turret with 30 mm
XM140 cannon, Mk4 missiles (70 mm), BGM-71 homing missiles
The helicopter could operate at low speeds and altitudes, provide reliable support for infantry and transport aircraft.
With the advent of the Boeing-Vertol CH-47 transporter, the Iroquois turned out to be powerless as an escort: the mighty Chinook was much faster than its guardian angel. The civilian UH-1, dressed in military uniform, lacked speed, power reserve, firepower, and advanced sighting systems. By 1962, the US Army was ripe for a tender to develop a special attack helicopter. Four years later, the winner of the Lockheed competition was awarded a contract for the supply of ten demonstration samples.
Technically, the Cheyenne is not a helicopter. It belongs to the class of rotorcraft, because in addition to the main and stabilizing propellers, it also has a pushing propeller. At speeds close to maximum (according to some sources, "Cheyenne" could exceed the speed of 400 km / h), less than 20% of the lift was created by the rotor. The device was held in the air by small wings located on the sides of the fuselage. The horizontal thrust was created by a pushing propeller. Unlike conventional helicopters, which lean forward strongly when moving at high speed, the Cheyenne could maintain a horizontal position, thereby reducing drag. The collective pitch handle was swivel, like on a motorcycle. With its help, the pilot controlled the pitch of the pushing propeller.
A unique hingeless main rotor was installed on the Cheyenne prototypes. The traditional rotor hub design provides horizontal hinges that allow the blades to swing up and down, and vertical hinges that lead or lag the blades. The hinges reduce the loads on the blades and allow them to take their natural position under the action of centrifugal force, but they negatively affect the controllability of the machine, allowing the propeller to "walk" relative to the fuselage. On the AH-56, the blades were attached to the hub by means of special elastic elements. They kept the loads on the blades within acceptable limits and at the same time made the structure much more rigid. The swashplate was located above the blades and was combined with a gyroscopic stabilizer. The control rods were hidden inside the rotor axis, and the crank drive mechanism contained springs to minimize the transmission of vibrations to the controls. As a result, the Cheyenne's unique flying qualities were combined with the relative ease of piloting.
The pilot and gunner were located in spacious armored cockpits. The pilot seated above could fire using an infrared guidance system built into the helmet. The gunner's seat, sitting in front, was integrated into the guidance system and rotated synchronously with the main turret of the XM-52 (30-mm cannon with a rate of fire of 450 rds / min). The pedestal rotated along with the periscope, instruments and a large display map. A 40-mm grenade launcher or 7, 62-mm Minigun machine gun was installed in the nose turret. Six armament suspension nodes allowed the helicopter to carry up to 907 kg of additional ammunition.
The unique hingeless propeller AH-56 played a cruel joke with it. On March 12, 1969, pilot David Bale, disabling the safety systems, was supposed to provoke cyclical oscillations of the blades. The rigidity of the elastic elements was found to be insufficient to withstand the resonance. The blade pierced the lantern and killed the pilot, the helicopter crashed. For the military, this disaster was an excuse to back up. The vehicle was not yet ready for production, and the front was in dire need of helicopters. In addition, the army did not need such an expensive and difficult-to-maintain helicopter. The place of "Cheyenne" was taken by the modest "Cobra" AH-1, built on the basis of the same "Iroquois". In terms of fighting qualities, it could not compare with the AH-56, but it could be repaired by dismantling an old Bell in a junkyard.
Most maneuverable: Ka-50 "Black Shark"
Country: USSR
First flight: 1982
Takeoff weight: 9800 kg
Engine: turboshaft, 2700 hp
Maximum speed: 315 km / h
Ceiling: 5500 m
The coaxial rotor design allows the "Black Shark" to perform aerobatics called "funnel": while maintaining targeting, the helicopter moves around it in a side slip with a constant negative pitch angle of up to 35 degrees. The maneuver is performed at a speed of up to 180 km / h and provides long-term aiming at the target while evading enemy air defenses. During one of the test flights, the Ka-50 demonstrated the ability to hover in one place for 12 hours. On traditional helicopters, this would have been impossible due to the rapid fatigue of the pilot, who had to constantly manually stabilize the vehicle. Finally, the "Black Shark" is able to demonstrate a "loop" in the sky.
The very first: Flettner FL 265
Country: Germany
First flight: 1939
Takeoff weight: 1000 kg
Engine: piston 7-cylinder, 160 HP with.
Maximum speed: 160 km / h
For the first time, the German naval forces decided to use helicopters in war during the Second World War. An experimental single-seat Fl 265 with two intersecting 12-meter propellers was based on ships in the Mediterranean and Baltic. Its task was to detect enemy submarines from the air. Light helicopters could take on board small depth charges or glowing markers, as well as carry a stretcher with wounded, suspended from slings. A total of six Fl 265s were produced. In 1942 it was replaced by the Fl 282 "Hummingbird" with an open cockpit.
Largest: Mi-26
Country: USSR
First flight: 1977
Takeoff weight: 49650 kg
Engine: two turboshaft 10,440 hp each
Maximum speed: 295 km / h
Ceiling: 6500 m
While working on the Mi-26, the designer Marat Tishchenko strove to create a helicopter capable of carrying more than its own weight. Mi-26 is the largest and most powerful production helicopter in the world. According to calculations in the military transport version, it can take on board 60 stretchers with wounded or 80 fully equipped paratroopers. In practice, the Mi-26 had to transport up to 150 people. In October 1999, a helicopter on an external sling transported a 25-ton block of ice with a 23,000-year-old mammoth found in the permafrost of Siberia.
Most secretive: Boeing / Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche
Country: USA
First flight: 1996
Takeoff weight: 4806 kg
Engine: two turboshaft, 1432 hp each
Maximum speed: 324 km / h
Ceiling: 4566 m
Almost all structural elements of the Comanche reconnaissance and strike are subordinated to a single goal - to make the helicopter invisible and silent. The flat outer surfaces of the fuselage, made using stealth technology, are partially made of composite materials with special radio-absorbing coatings. The missiles are placed in two hidden side compartments inside the fuselage. The 20 mm XM301 cannon is also retracted into the fuselage. Only two prototypes of the Comanche were built: the military decided that it was easier to send drones into reconnaissance, and closed the program.
The most massive: Mi-8
Country: USSR
First flight: 1965
Characteristics of the Mi-8T modification
Takeoff weight: 11100 kg
Engine: two turboshaft, 1500 hp each
Maximum speed: 260 km / h
Ceiling: 4500 m
Since July 1961, more than 17,000 Mi-8 helicopters and its modifications have been produced. The machine is used in more than 50 countries around the world, including the USA, China, India, Venezuela, South Africa. The helicopter is used as a transport, landing, medical, electronic warfare vehicle, minelayer, flying command post. The popularity of the Mi-8 is fully justified. Modern modifications of this unpretentious and reliable helicopter are still breaking records. In particular, last year Mi-8 with new engines from Motor Sich climbed to an altitude of 8100m in 13 minutes.
Most effective: AH-64 Apache
COUNTRY: USA
FIRST FLIGHT: 1975
Takeoff weight: 6552 kg
Engine: two turboshaft 1695 hp each
Maximum speed: 293 km / h
Ceiling: 6400 m
Apache is the main attack helicopter of the armies of the USA, Great Britain, Israel, Japan and other countries. This is one of the few rotary-wing aircraft that happened to play the first violin in real combat operations today. It was the AH-64 that made the first strike in Operation Desert Storm. Apache played a major role in the Iraq War from 2003 to 2010. The key to the success of the AH-64 is a combination of reliable design, thermal masking, noise suppression system (due to two stabilizing screws located at different angles), powerful night vision equipment and target guidance.
The most versatile: Mi-24
Country: USSR
First flight: 1969
Takeoff weight: 10500 kg
Engine: two turboshaft, 2800 hp each
Maximum speed: 340 km / h
Ceiling: 4500 m
The Mi-24, nicknamed Crocodile, became the first specialized combat helicopter in the USSR and the second in the world after the American AH-1 Cobra. Unlike the two-seater "Cobra", the Mi-24 embodied the concept of a "flying infantry fighting vehicle": in its middle part there was a cargo compartment in which eight people could be transported. "Crocodile" could land troops and independently provide him with fire cover. However, the principle of "flying infantry fighting vehicles" did not live up to expectations: in most cases, the helicopter was used as an attack helicopter, dragging the cargo compartment with a dead weight.
The smartest: Boeing A160 "Hummingbird"
COUNTRY: USA
FIRST FLIGHT: 2002
Takeoff weight: 2948 kg
Engine: 572 hp turboshaft
Maximum speed: 258 km / h
Ceiling: 9150
The weakest link in a modern helicopter is the pilot. Without it, rotorcraft can fly higher, farther, faster. The Kolibri reconnaissance drone is capable of flying around the clock at an altitude of more than 9000 m. The device is not controlled from the ground, but independently makes decisions along the route in accordance with combat missions. True, so far the Boeing A160 is only a prototype of a future military vehicle.
Most legendary: Bell UH-1 "Iroquois"
Country: USA
First flight: 1956
Characteristics of the UH-1D modification
Takeoff weight: 4100 kg
Engine: turboshaft 1100 hp
Maximum speed: 217 km / h
Ceiling: 5910 m
The Iroquois took its first battle in 1962 in Vietnam, becoming one of the brightest symbols of this war. Since then, more than 16,000 UH-1s (aka "Huey") of various modifications have been produced - some of them are still in service with many armies of the world. In addition to military merit, "Iroquois" boasts an impressive acting career. The helicopter took center stage in Mel Gibson's We Were Soldiers, starred in the action movie Green Berets, appeared in Apocalypse Now, Diamonds Are Forever, and even in the Star Trek series. No Vietnam War movie would be complete without good old Huey.
