Mil Mi-34

[kirkbymoorside]

Anyone come across or flown a Mil Mi-34? If so, what did you think of it?

Any ideas where or how I could get time on one?

[NickLappos]

Never flew it, but I poured all over it once for Sikorsky, and my eyeballs tell me it is a class act, well made and strong where it needs to be so.

[Shawn Coyle]

I saw it fly in St. Petersburg in 1995 as a police helicotper. Either it had a very poor quality siren or a very loud exhaust, 'cause you could barely hear the siren when it flew over at 500' AGL. Personally, I think it was the exhaust....

[wg13_dummy]

Powerplant: 1x Vedeneev M-14V-26 9-cylinder radial, 240 kW (320 hp)

Radial engine. Bloody hell! No wonder it's loud.

Any in the UK?

[Mupp]

Are y'all talking about the same helicopter? Because the Mi-35 can't be powered by a piston engine, right? I thought it was an iteration of the Mi-24, or have I been dreaming?

My pal google tells me that the Ka-26 was powered by said piston engine, and they don't really look all that similar...

[Freewheel]

Er, Mupp,

A single digit makes a big difference.

[NickLappos]

The engine is a problem, I spoke to Marat Tschenko, who said they even tried two wankles as a concept.

Here it is:

[Sammie_nl]

There is a small difference between the Mi-34 and Mi-35. The 35 is the export version of the Mi-24 Hind, while the 34 is a rather failed training helicopter. I don't think any have been made lately (past 2 years), and the production plant in Moscow has been closed or at least had to move. They have been offered with various engines, but only certified on the M-14, which is widely in general aviation in Russia. I think Nigeria is one of the few foreign operators.

[Mupp]

Mind you that I've only thought about this for a few minutes, but "oops" is probably the smartest thing I have to say about this. Carry on.

[rudestuff]

I'm surprised these things didn't do better - I've heard they are tough, not to mention fully aerobatic...

[Finnrotor.com]

Originally Posted by rudestuff

not to mention fully aerobatic...

Mi-34 aerobatics: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AU79golWgAc

Very impressive!

[heli1]

This helo was originally developed for advanced training and specifically for helicopter competition,in the pre glasnost days.Since then it has had limited sales,no doubt due to the powerplant and limited cabin size (2+2).Production is at Arsenyev but I doubt more than a dozen are flying,a few with police,maybe a couple in Nigeria??? and some in private hands.Mil have looked at turbine and Wankel-engined variants but lack the funding to do much.

[james2210]

Originally Posted by NickLappos

The engine is a problem, I spoke to Marat Tschenko, who said they even tried two wankles as a concept.

Here it is:

What chopper is that behind the Mil with the loud rotors?

Coat already on

[TiPwEiGhT]

Looks like a Mil-26, correct me if I am wrong please.

TiP

[Mupp]

Could it be this one?

http://www.airliners.net/open.file/1137404/M/

The numbers seem to match.

[allyn]

Intriguing machine...

I found some more pictures of it here:

http://www.deagel.com/search.aspx?ca...&eq=a000026001

Check out the installation of the radial engine...

[Head Turner]

I heard that it has been fitted with a C20B.

[andTompkins]

Originally Posted by NickLappos

Never flew it, but I poured all over it once for Sikorsky, and my eyeballs tell me it is a class act, well made and strong where it needs to be so.

Nick ... assuming this was in the pre-Schweizer days at Sikorsky, were you guys looking to get in the light market on your own?

[Graviman]

Originally Posted by NickLappos

The engine is a problem, I spoke to Marat Tschenko, who said they even tried two wankles as a concept.

Never been convinced about wankles as an aero engine. The main reason is weight, although i don't have definitive numbers to hand. A two chamber wankel is equivalent to a 4-cyl 4-stroke. The rotary piston always seems to end up more mass than two pistons, although there are other weight savings to be had. Combine the marginal weight advantage and emissions (oil loss from seals uncovering ports) and it starts to look like a novelty only concept. Besides high boost 2 stage turbos are quite normal now.

Don't think helos are subject to the new Tier 4 emissions, but the rest of us are squirming to meet them!

[kirkbymoorside]

I think that they only made a prototype with the Allison engine (unless anyone knows different?)...

So where are these things in operation? Anywhere outside Russia??