Originally Posted by
Modtro
I got he chance to spend about 700 hrs in them, 50% in the MI-8MTV-1 (also known as the MI-17) and 50% the MI-8AMT (known as the MI-171), local and export naming of the same aircraft add to the confusion of what is what. Generally speaking, performance was almost the same as they are more or less the same aircraft, same engines, same transmission... They differed in that the 171 has a wider left side passenger door, added a right side sliding door (moving the burner for the heating system above that door), hydraulic ramp instead of the manual clamps shell doors (adding weight and complexity), a slightly improved electrical system, and another APU (ditching the AI-9 with a 30 min run limitation for the Saphire, with no max run time). I preferred the MTV for the heavy and bulky loads as it was a slightly lighter aircraft and those doors were very useful in creating a big gab for the forklift, the AMT for troop movement as they were in and out in less time.
The big difference was with the older and "Classic" MI-8 (the one with the tail rotor on the right side) underpowered and very limited with its tail rotor authority, specially in Hot and High.
Hope this helps a bit.
Cheers.
Thanks for taking the time to answer!