Story ID: 5091614alerts
Russian Helicopters Reassesses Four Helo Programs
By: Thierry Dubois
Caption: The Ka-226T, Ka-62, Mi-172A2 and Mi-38 were originally scheduled to be certified this or next year.
Word Count: 208
After a number of delays, Russian Helicopters is reevaluating four helicopter programs that were slated for certification this year or next, namely the Ka-226, Ka-62, Mi-171A2 and Mi-38. The company is conducting “an analysis and assessment of all its new programs to determine more precisely time frames for certification and the start of serial production,” a spokesman told AIN.

The Ka-226T light twin has Turbomeca engines, and the EMS version was originally expected to be ready to support the Olympic games in Sochi last winter. As of last year the manufacturer had hoped to certify the Ka-62 medium twin, also powered by Turbomeca and aimed at the offshore oil-and-gas market, by the end of the year. That helicopter has yet to make its first flight.

The Mi-171A2 medium twin, an upgraded Mi-8/171 with Klimov VK2500 turboshafts, a KBO-17 integrated avionics suite and a new tail rotor, was planned to be certified this year, but the first prototype has yet to fly. Finally, the Mi-38 heavy twin is in flight-test and an update late last year was calling for certification in 2015. The most recent approval Russian Helicopters received was for a simplified variant of the Ansat light twin last year.