Mi-172s

[ATC Watcher]

Not being that familiar with helicopters, just saw a press release from an African country I go to which is not communist and which surprisingly (to me at least ) ordered new Mi-172 Russian Helicopters .

The Mi-8/17 pattern helicopters are designed for operation in any climatic conditions as they can be used in a wide temperature range (from -50°С to +50°С). Today, there are a total of 400 Mi-8/17 helicopters in countries on the African continent.
Does this mean that western helicopters have real difficulties above say 40 Deg C ?

[Fareastdriver]

No. They are cheap.

They can fly them around until they go wrong and need some spares and that is when they end up parked around the back of the hanger slowly collapsing.

At least that's what happens in the rest of the Third World.

[Aesir]

A new Mi-172 unit price is about $18-19K million so not exactly cheap. However very capable for the price. If operated and supported i.a.w. proper operating and maintenance procedures in accordance with Mil design bureau they are very safe. I think the majority of Mi8/17 operators operate them in accordance with strict Mil maintenance. Over 17.000 units have been built since introduction. Arguement can be made that major accident statistics are favourable to the Mi8/17 compared to a certain western model that shall be nameless.

However there are always rogue operations everywhere that don´t comply with standards and that includes operators of western machinery as well.

[9Aplus]

Some countries can not afford S92 or AW101 so Mi172 or even better Mi171 A2 can be smart move. At last for the first 1500 h the real drama goes after that.