Russia's Mi-26 is considered a real monster, with the largest size of any helicopter in the world today
The Mi-26's enormous size makes it capable of transporting trucks, tanks, commercial aircraft, helicopters or even polar bears
The Mi-26 can also carry nearly 90 paratroopers or 60 wounded soldiers, even in many cases as many as 100
The cargo space of the Mi-26 can hold up to 20 tons
Developed in the mid-1970s, the Mi-26 is also known as the Halo
It is classified as a heavy transport helicopter
And so far it is still being produced with various modifications, such as military transport, passenger, civil transport, flying crane, medical, etc
Approximately more than 310 MI-26s have been built, used in the military and civilian forces in various countries
such as Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Venezuela, India, China, and even in Laos and Peru
Before the 1970s, the Soviet Union was largely dependent on MI-6
Due to the increasing demands of both the Soviet Armed Forces and the Soviet National economy, the MI-26 was developed
The first flight was made on December 14, 1977, and officially entered service in 1983
According to the requirements, the new helicopter was supposed to transport cargo weighing up to 20 t over a distance of more than 500 km
and also to perform military and civilian tasks without any problems at altitudes more than 1000 meters above sea level
The Mi-26 is approximately 40 meters long, 8.2 meters height, has an empty weight of 28.2 tonnes, and a maximum takeoff weight of 56 tonnes
The Main rotor diameter is 32 m
has an advanced design and construction and is paired to a five-bladed tail rotor fitted along the vertical tail fin facing starboard
The crew consists of five people: 2 pilots, 1 navigator, 1 flight engineer, and 1 flight technician
The pilots sit in a glass cockpit behind a short, round nose, with great visibility
Right behind the cockpit is a spacious cargo compartment
Loading and unloading are supported by a ramp at the rear, as well as through the side sliding door
The undercarriage is fixed and wheeled, consisting of a traditional tricycle arrangement
Powering the Mi-26 are two ZMKB Progress D-136 turboshaft engines, with 11,400 hp each
The M-26 can reach a top speed of 295 km/h, cruise speed of 255 km/h, a range of 500 km, and service ceiling of 4,600 m
The Halo has the load-carrying capability of a domestic C-130 transport plane
Its cargo area, with the rear ramp closed, is 12 m long, and 3.2 m wide, with a minimum ceiling height of 2.9 m
This cargo area can hold two combat vehicles weighting 10 tons each
The interior can be configured to seat 80 combat-equipped troops or 60 stretchers
However there were cases when this helicopter was flying overloaded with 150 troops
In addition to the military versions, the Mi-26 was developed for the civilian market
The civilian version, designated Mi-26T, was put into mass production on January 12, 1985
The helicopter was equipped with an external suspension system
that was able to transport standard sea containers without the participation of scaffold gear
The Mi-26 first appeared in Afghanistan in 1984
to carry out the mission of transporting combat equipment, evacuating wounded from the battlefield and transporting damaged Mi-8 helicopters
In 2002, Mi-26 flew into Afghanistan again to evacuate two damaged AS532 Cougar and MH-47E Chinook helicopters in the mountains
In 2009, residents of St.Peterburg were shocked to see a Mi-26 carrying a Tu-134 aircraft from Pulkovo airport to the EMERCOM training area
In 2002, a Mi-26 was shot down, killing 127 people in the Second Chechen War