Igor Suntsov, head of the design and engineering department of the Moscow Borisfen JSC, told RT about the great interest of private Russian companies in the Scout multi-purpose light-class helicopter.

“We recently sold a helicopter to one of the companies in the Far East.

For the next two years, there are firm contracts for several more cars, negotiations are underway on new supplies.

I can say that private operators are happy to take the Scout, ”said Suntsov.

In the future, Borisfen is counting on the sale of Scout from the Ministry of Emergency Situations and FBU Avialesokhrana - now the company is negotiating with the departments.

According to Suntsov, the car is in demand for operation primarily in the difficult natural and climatic conditions of the Far East, Siberia and the Far North.

“If we take Western counterparts, then the cost of the“ Scout ”is several times less.

At the same time, the consumer receives a safe, economical and low-maintenance car that can fly normally in the event of a failure of one of the engines.

All these factors make up our main competitive advantages, ”says Suntsov.

Durability resource

The Scout is a deeply modernized version of the Soviet Mi-2 helicopter, which has been in service since the 1960s.

Until 1992, the car was produced in Poland and gained great popularity in different countries of the world.

Now its various modifications are used both in Poland itself and in the CIS.

As Suntsov explained, the Borisfen company is overhauling the Mi-2 at its warehouses and installing new onboard equipment and power units on the helicopters, developed at the Borisfen Engine Building Center in Dubna, Moscow Region.

“We do not change the transmission, reduction gear and propeller blades.

However, the car receives modern avionics and engines that we manufacture ourselves.

It is in them that the main feature of the "Scout" is concluded, - said the interlocutor of RT.

  • Aircraft engines at the Borisfen stand at HeliRussia-2021

  • © JSC "BORISFEN"

At the request of the customer, the helicopter can be equipped with an AI-450M twin-rotor power plant or a more powerful AI-450M-B unit.

According to Suntsov, the updated engines significantly reduced fuel consumption and increased the flight range with additional tanks up to 1000 km.

“Fuel consumption on the Scout with AI-450M-B is 200 l / h.

The maximum flight altitude reaches 8000 m. Such indicators were unattainable on the Mi-2, ”the specialist said.

The maximum take-off weight of the "Scout" is 4.1 t, width without blades - 3.25 m, hull length - 11.94 m, height without tail rotor - 3.75 m, capacity (depending on the layout of the cabin) - up to 7 —8 people, cruising speed - 200 km / h.

Borisfen offers its customers several modifications of the Scout: transport and passenger, search and rescue, agricultural, patrol, training and sports.

Answering the question about the limit of the Mi-2's modernization resource, Suntsov said that the helicopter will be in operation for a very long time due to the unusually successful design solutions of the team led by Mikhail Mil.

The interlocutor of RT noted that this Soviet car earned a lot of compliments for its reliability, balance and alignment.

“In Soviet times, aircraft were designed with a durability resource of about 90 years.

By the way, in the West, equipment in various variations has also been used for many decades.

If the helicopter is structurally good, then it is difficult to say when its journey will end, especially when it has modern avionics and engines, ”Suntsov argues.

In addition to Borisfen, the Mi-2 is being modernized by Rostvertol (Rostov-on-Don), one of the main enterprises of the Russian Helicopters holding.

After a major overhaul, modern on-board systems and engines are installed on the cars, the level of comfort is significantly improved.

Zaporozhye Motor Sich is also implementing its own project for improving the Mi-2 in cooperation with other enterprises.

The Ukrainian modification of the helicopter was named MSB-2 "Nadezhda".

The car made its first flight in April 2018.

  • MSB-2 "Nadezhda"

  • © Motor SICH

The helicopter is equipped with an AI-450M-P power unit.

The flight range of the "Nadezhda" is about 1000 km, the carrying capacity is more than 1 ton, the passenger capacity is up to seven people.

Composites are widely integrated into the design of the Ukrainian machine, which, according to the developers, made it possible to reduce the weight of the product by 400 kg.

Due to the savings in weight, the carrying capacity and flight range of the "Nadezhda" have increased.

Modern "classmates"

According to the executive director of the Aviaport agency Oleg Panteleev, the key advantage of the Mi-2 family lies in its relatively low cost.

“The modified machines have a number of improved characteristics and there are certain areas of application for them.

However, I would not argue that the modernized Mi-2 significantly surpassed the basic Soviet helicopter, "Panteleev said in an interview with RT.

In his opinion, at present all the functionality of the Mi-2 may well be performed by the Ansat multipurpose helicopter.

The history of this car began back in the 1990s, but it entered the market relatively recently and in a completely updated form.

Some of the technical solutions used at Ansat at that time had no analogues in Russian civil aviation.

“Thus, for the first time in civil aviation in Russia, a digital fly-by-wire integrated control system was developed for a helicopter instead of a standard mechanical control system.

Digital displays on the Ansat dashboard display the modes of the helicopter's power plant and systems, which makes it easier for the pilot and improves his control over the machine, "Rostec reports.

The modern flight and navigation complex of the helicopter allows you to fly it in automatic and manual modes in a variety of weather conditions.

"Ansat" has several modifications, including the VIP-version, unified, training, medical, fire-fighting and patrol versions.

The cruising speed of Ansat is 220 km / h, the maximum flight range with the main tanks is 505 km, the service ceiling is 5500 m, the maximum take-off weight is 3600 kg, the payload in the transport cabin is up to 1166 kg.

Russian Helicopters considers Ansat's advantages multifunctionality, the ability to land on unprepared small-sized sites, a high static ceiling, unpretentious operation and maintenance, high safety, the ability to fly and land with one engine.

Now "Ansat" flies on the North American twin-engine power unit PW207K.

However, in the near future it is planned that the helicopter will receive a VK-650V engine developed by the St. Petersburg-based UEC-Klimov JSC.

Also, the Russian installation will be equipped with the Ka-226T and VRT500 rotary-wing aircraft, which belong to the light class and, according to experts, can partially replace the functionality of the Mi-2.

“The VRT500 has a lot of advantages over its classmates.

For example, this machine has improved handling, the most spacious cabin in its class and is very well suited for operation in an urban environment, where, as a rule, there are compact runways, ”Panteleev said.

  • The newest Russian helicopter VRT500

  • © Rostec

However, the VRT500 is smaller than the Mi-2.

The Ka-226T is the closest in size to the Soviet helicopter, the expert says.

This machine is distinguished by modern on-board equipment, modular architecture, as well as ease of use on small vessels, in the city and in mountainous areas.

Aviation engineer Vadim Mikheev shares Panteleev's point of view.

In an interview with RT, he called the Ka-226T and Ansat extremely comfortable rotary-wing light vehicles.

The Ka-226T and Ansat fully comply with modern airworthiness standards.

They are safe, reliable and capable of performing the full range of tasks facing them.

I don't see a big problem in the foreign engines installed on them, but in any case Russia will have its own high-quality analogue (VK-650V -

RT

), "Mikheev emphasized.

Returning to the topic of the relevance of the Mi-2 modernization, the expert agreed that these helicopters have not yet reached their end of life.

However, Mikheev does not consider it necessary to invest heavily in the project to improve the Soviet machine.

“If you are seriously engaged in the modernization of the Mi-2 and rely on mass deliveries of this helicopter, then you cannot do without certification. And it will require many tests, considerable time and money. The Mi-2 is a very worthy machine, but now our country has enough modern high-performance light-class helicopters, ”summed up Mikheev.