Mil Mi-X1 is a high-speed helicopter being proposed by
Mil of
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
. The aircraft belongs to the same program as its competitor
Kamov Ka-92 intended to create a new generation of middle-class helicopters cruising at about 500 km/h (312 mph). Its preliminary design and early specifications were unveiled at HeliRussia 2009 exhibition near Moscow.
The design is competing for a US$1.3 billion project by the Russian government and Kamov is the other competitor.
Design
The Mi-X1 is designed to have a take-off weight of just 10 tons, seat 25 passengers and fly to 1,500 km. It has one main rotor and a rear mount lift rotor. The helicopter's single main rotor means that in order to travel at high speeds it will have to overcome the
retreating blade stall
Retreating blade stall is a hazardous flight condition in helicopters and other rotary wing aircraft, where the retreating rotor blade has a lower relative blade speed, combined with an increased angle of attack, causing a stall and loss of lift. ...
(RBS). This phenomenon occurs at airspeeds of some 300 km/h, and leads to vibrations that may ultimately destroy the rotor.
Mil’s solution to fighting the onset of the RBS is to offload the rotor with the help of the proprietary Stall Local Elimination System (SLES).
[Novichkov, Nikolai]
Russia plans to challenge the West in high-speed helicopter market
''Aviation International News'', 1 August 2009. Accessed: 7 February 2011. According to
Mil Chief Designer Nikolay Pavlenko, the designers have already agreed to test SLES at Russia’s
TsAGI
The Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute (also (Zhukovsky) Central Institute of Aerodynamics, russian: Центра́льный аэрогидродинами́ческий институ́т, ЦАГИ, Tsentral'nyy Aerogidrodinamicheskiy Institut, ...
Central Aerohydrodynamics Institute.
Earlier the manufacturer asserted that using SLES alone would give the Mi-X1 a speed of 450–500 km/h. According to the updated information made public at HeliRussia 2009, the helicopter will have a cruise speed of 475 km/h and a dash speed of 495 to 520 km/h. This will be possible through the use of a pusher propeller and a number of aerodynamic improvements, including a retractable landing gear and streamlined forward and rear fuselage sections.
The Mi-X1 may be powered by two uprated
Klimov VK-2500
The Klimov VK-2500 is a Russian turboshaft aero engine, a high power derivative of the TV3-117VMA engine, also for hot and high.
Design
It differs from the older versions in having an extended overhaul period of the engine hot components, ext ...
turboshafts or two future
Klimov VK-3000 currently under development. Similar engines are installed on
Mil Mi-28
The Mil Mi-28 (NATO reporting name "Havoc") is a Russian all-weather, day-night, military tandem, two-seat anti-armor attack helicopter. It is an attack helicopter with no intended secondary transport capability, better optimized than the Mil M ...
and
Kamov Ka-50
The Kamov Ka-50 "Black Shark" (russian: Чёрная акула, translit=Chyornaya akula, English: kitefin shark, NATO reporting name: Hokum A) is a Soviet/Russian single-seat attack helicopter with the distinctive coaxial rotor system of th ...
attack helicopters.
Development of the Mi-X1 and Ka-92 was switched from Ministry for Industry and Trade to Ministry of Defence in 2015 due to reduced government funding and high operating cost. A Russian Air Force general expects a prototype to fly in 2018, with production in 2022.
[Vladimir Karnozov.]
Russian Military Still Funding High-Speed Rotorcraft
''Aviation International News'', 3 September 2015. Russia started a single seat "flying laboratory" based on the
Mil Mi-24
The Mil Mi-24 (russian: Миль Ми-24; NATO reporting name: Hind) is a large helicopter gunship, attack helicopter and low-capacity troop transport with room for eight passengers. It is produced by Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant and has been ...
in 2015, intended to go 400 kilometers per hour (248 miles per hour).
See also
References
Literature
* Russia & CIS Observer May 2009
{{Mil aircraft
Mil aircraft
Soviet and Russian helicopters
Proposed aircraft of Russia