Mi-6 ‘Hook’

Sotting a trend for enormous gas turbine helicopters with massive load-carrying capability, the Soviet Union introduced the Mi-6 as a combined military/civil project in 1954. Intended primarily as a support vehicle for the air force’s huge An-12 transport, the Mi-6 needed just two ‘lifts’ to equal the payload of the transport. Most Mi-6s were grounded in 1992, after a long service including wartime operations in Afghanistan and Africa.

A Siberian giant Transporting massive piecet of machinery for the oil industry was a common fasJ. for the Mi-6 in the 1960s.

A Long service About 800 Mi-6s were built between 1957 and 1980. During the aircraft’s busy life it fernod millions of passengers around the remotest regions of the USSR.

Troop truck ► With extra seating the Mi-6 could carry up to 90 troops, but it was rarely used in a tactical role as size made it vulnerable.

A Spacecraft recovery

Only tho Mi-6 was big enough to carry the crow capsule from the Vostok space launchers. The winf was mounted at 15 to the fuselage and provided about 20 per cent of the lift when cruising. The wings could be removed for the ‘flying crane’ role

► In 1961 the Mi-6 lifted height of 2738 motros and flew at 340.15 km/h over a 100-km circuit.

► Tho МІ-6Р was a firefighting version with a water tank, but it did not have stub wings.

>■ By 1990 Aeroflot Mi-6s had carried

15 million tonnes and 12 million people.

Bulgaria. Egypt. Ethiopia. Iraq, Libya. Peru, Syria and Vietnam.

>• Tho Mi-6R was a radio command post containing eight tonnes of equipment

► The Mi-6’s main rotor revolved clockwise at 120 rpm.

During the 1950s tlic

Soviets lud industrial and military projects scattered aero" the country and tlte audit ■’•lies faced huge problems in supplying them. It was Гін this reason that a fleet of large transport helicopters Ikeeame пе<е»аіл Tlte Mi-6 met tlte requirement from І95Я.

Everything about tin* Mi-6 was large. Its engines were ;i giant leap in gas turbine technology as applied to heavyiili thing crane Itclkopters It pkniceied the use of supplementary wings lot added lift and achieved an incredible performance for a
madtme m its weight class, basically a freight carrier, military versions dominated the soo-plas production nm whidl ended in 198І To cope with adverse weather conditions the Mi-6 had its own rutorblade de-icing system and an auxiliary power unit. Tile aircraft was known as Shestyorka’ Clinic six ) by its crews Variants included firelighters. military jammers, civil hell-liners and medevac aircraft Military versions carried a machine – gun m tire nose

first flown in 1960. lire Mi-10 was a developed flying irane’

Above: Although later Mils like the Mi-26 could lift more, they wero not built in such largo numbers as the versatile Mi-6.

version of the Mi-6, including the engines, gear I tuxes and. stretched linden’.image. Not only was the Mi 6 the biggest helicopter in the world, it was also the fastest and hail outstanding range.

For иииіг ІПпу capacity nothing could match an NML the ftotodyno also ruled on wings, whrch United «» carrying capacity when taking ott the CM-47 hed a smerer mtarml volume
The massve gearbox we*jhed no «ess than 3200 kg (7.040 ibj tl also Drove rwo 90–,VA alternators to esed the hoovy tood a* electro	the nve-uad&d main rotor was tnused on an extruded steel man spar wrth acrewed-cn зетовом sections of Ou’atumn. The btactes were etectro – ячтчіїу de iced, and were connected to the need by conventional hngoe
for 1 nurcoohv the Mi G had an urpnootiMwl oqupmont fit, nckxtng an autoert. ». Tho tght dock nod іеПоопіЮо Ooorr on ener sue lor the ptots and fight erg – – ■ A navgator sal n the gbeto rv. ,i«xt a radio coeratcr was ;*omeln».-) гагівях
CM-47 CHINOOK 8JC0 kg (11.8И f*.|
Tho tail rotor woo л lour W. xkxt AV-бЗП typo wni a СиоЫ spar. v4l a BafcrSrto pfy outer, Cady versons had electro-thermal de-iong. when wm replaced by alcohol n tit or modolN
Large Ckynshuli doors made kxtdog and i/Ociatfing very easy The mam hold was 12 metres <39 ft) tong, hod о votime of 80 m – |Gt cu. yds l and nctoded its own etectrto wndi
®’9 lifters in the West ■ Atn – JPATIALE SA 321F: Пиз cfvil var. vrt •= >у Fmton. ore SA 321 tn no tong,* я ^1-mary version в still usod by Franco
■ SIKORSKY CH-53: Still tho biggest rotary machine bu*U in tho West, the CH-53 was a groat success and is still m service. n Germany.	■ SIKORSKY S-64: The vYosl r, amvsw to tho MI-10, the Skycrane was usod oxtonaively in Vietnam to recover stiot-down UH-i«.
■ WESTLAND WESTMINSTER: Onty two Ot those aircraft wore ever built. It was canceled in favour of the larger Fairey Rotodyne
MI C M00K’ dOQlMtl |1M IT p. h I CM-47 CHINOC* ?9t km* (18S n p. h.| VU

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