Ah Yes, memories! I too have scammed a lift in a Mi26. Have a video somewhere. Years ago it came off a boat in Townsville, was assembled and flew to Port Moresby. Did a few laps around the PNG capital as an "Guvmen offical". Had to laugh at the local fueller (used to squirting a sniff of Jet A into Bell 206 and Hughes 500's). When he asked the Russian how much fuel he wanted, the Russian said "Ve haf 14 tonnes plees!)
Mi 26 from memory:
APU 650 SHP
Engines 11,500 SHP times two (Lotarov? or something similar)
Tail rotor diameter = H500 main rotor diameter. Main tansimission looked like it was the final drive from the Queen Mary.
Pressurised cockpit (chemical warfare and Siberian extreme weather logging operations I was told).
Fully de-iced and smooth as silk. That coning angle had to be seen to be believed!!
They have an internal gantry arrangement (10 and 15 tonne capacity) to self load/unload internal cargo.
A few years later they sat one on its A#se while unloading when they forgot to put the pogo stick under the tail boom. Tail rotor exit stage left.