He did not stop the study of the theory of rotorcraft started before the war aircraft. In 1945 he defended his doctoral dissertation "Dynamics of a rotor with hinged blades and its application to problems of stability and controllability of an autogyro and a helicopter". After the end of the Great Patriotic War, TsAGI had the opportunity to resume research on rotorcraft, and Mil began the development of a three-seat experimental helicopter EG-1 of a single-rotor design with an M-12 engine and an original device for automatically increasing flight stability. On April 9, 1946, the project was presented to the MAL expert commission, which supported it, but recommended making a number of changes caused by the real possibilities of the domestic aviation industry. At the same time, at TsAGI, under the leadership of Mil, a study of the aerodynamic characteristics of rotors began on experimental installations.

On February 17, 1947, the design of a universal test bench, the “full-scale helicopter installation” (NSU), was launched, designed to study full-size rotors and fine-tune the design of the main parts of rotorcraft. In fact, it was a single-rotor helicopter, but without the means of parrying the reactive moment of the main rotor, landing gear and some other parts. The NSU was designed in such a way that, with minor alterations, adding a tail section and landing gear, it could be turned into a helicopter. Subsequently, this greatly facilitated the creation of the first Mi apparatus.

By order of the head of TsAGI dated March 26, 1947, laboratory No. 5 was created on the basis of the laboratory of spin and vertical wind tunnel T-105 "to solve scientific problems in helicopter construction and aircraft spin" consisting of two sectors. M.L. Mil was appointed head of the laboratory and helicopter sector. Initially, the design team included a little more than two dozen people, and none of them had previously been engaged in the design of rotorcraft. The only specialist on this topic was the head of the laboratory himself, which determined his unquestioning authority. Great pre-war experience in the calculation and design of gyroplanes helped Mil to defend his project in a fierce competition with other designers. The interdepartmental government commission on military-industrial issues considered numerous projects of rotorcraft in those years. The new emerging industry attracted many talented designers and inventors, and the most successful work in the field of helicopter construction was progressing in the Design Bureau of I.P. Bratukhin and A.S. Yakovlev.

In the autumn of 1947, a full-size model of the three-seat helicopter EG-1, built in the 5th laboratory of TsAGI, was approved by a government commission chaired by Major General N.A. Zhemchuzhin, and on December 12, 1947, a resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR No. 4001-1368 was issued on the creation of OKB-4 under the leadership of M.L. Mil. Initially, the young design bureau was located in the same place, in Zhukovsky, but after the MAP expert commission chaired by Professor I.V. Ostoslavsky approved the revised EG-1 project in July 1948, the young design team was provided with the premises of the liquidated OKB-82 M.M. Pashinin, who was on the territory assembly shop aircraft factory number 82 in Tushino. At that time, this enterprise was switching from Yak fighters to Tu-2 bombers, and also dealt with numerous other orders, including trolleybuses. A small group of helicopter builders did not fit into his theme in any way, which at first created tension in relations with the plant management. According to the plans, the experimental helicopter industry was to be developed at the Moscow Plant No. 3, where the Mil team was supposed to be transferred. However, this small woodworking factory, located on the outskirts of Sokolniki Park at 13 2nd Rybinskaya Street, was already densely “populated” by numerous organizations, and Mikhail Leontievich managed to persuade the Minister of the Aviation Industry M.V. Khrunichev to leave OKB-4 in Tushino.

The first helicopter of the Design Bureau of M. L. Mil, which received the designation GM-1 (Helicopter Mil-1), was developed as a messenger. The cockpit, in addition to the pilot, could accommodate two passengers. The car had a classic single-rotor scheme with three-bladed main and tail tail rotors. Its design took into account the experience of foreign helicopter industry, but at the same time, Soviet engineers created a completely original design. So, they developed a main rotor hub with spaced vertical and horizontal hinges. This design increased the efficiency of helicopter control and was much simpler than the scheme used on American machines with combined horizontal hinges, the axis of which passes through the axis of rotation of the main rotor. Needle bearings were used in the vertical and horizontal joints. The axial hinge had two deep groove ball bearings and one thrust bearing. Friction dampers were used to dampen oscillations of the blades in the plane of rotation. This unit was designed first by N.G. Rusanovich and A.K. Kotikov, and then by A.E. Malakhovskiy, the founder of the Mi design school of design of carrier systems.

The main rotor blades were attached to the hub by means of horizontal, vertical and axial hinges. The blades had a tapering shape in plan, NACA-230 airfoil with variable relative thickness. Their design was mixed: a spar of three telescopically docked steel pipes, wooden ribs and stringers, plywood and canvas sheathing. The total and cyclic pitch of the blades was changed by an annular-type swashplate designed by A.E. Malakhovskiy, installed under the hub. For fear of loss of stability by the blade, Mil introduced a special universal joint into the blade angle control shaft at the location of the vertical hinge, as was done on the American S-51 helicopter.

Subsequently, it turned out that such a construction leads to a change effective value swing compensator depending on the angle of deflection of the blade in the vertical hinge, and the cardan mechanism had to be removed. Large movements of the control system cables forced the GM-1 designers to equip the swashplate with special mechanisms with a large gear ratio. Such mechanisms, mounted on the swashplate slider, were created by original scheme with a spatial, fully reversible crank mechanism and had virtually no backlash. The tail rotor GM-1 was developed in the design bureau of A.S. Basdubov. Its trapezoidal wooden blades were attached to the hub using horizontal and axial hinges. The central part of the fuselage was a welded truss made of steel pipes, to which the cabin frame was attached with duralumin skin riveted to it. In front of the fuselage was the cockpit of the pilot and passengers. The double sofa was behind the pilot's seat. During testing, it was replaced with recorders and sandbags to meet the design flight weight.

Behind the cab was the engine compartment. It housed a star-shaped seven-cylinder AI-26GR engine designed by A.G. Ivchenko with a power of 500-550 hp, which had a built-in angular gearbox, because its axis was horizontal. The use of this engine in terms of weight was less profitable than a motor with a vertical axis, but Miles simply had no choice - the AI-26GR was the only helicopter engine in the USSR. It was placed in front of the main rotor axis, and not behind, as was done on other helicopters of a similar class, which greatly simplified the centering of the machine and made it possible not to carry the cockpit far forward. During testing and refinement of the first GM-1, the engine was replaced by the forced AI-26GRF with a takeoff power of 575 hp. The development of a two-stage main gearbox was carried out by N.G. Rusanovich and A.K. Kotikov. This unit turned out to be simple to manufacture, had a small mass and dimensions, and never failed over the long years of operation of the helicopter.

When designing the control system, Mil, in order to eliminate backlash, chose a cable structure. Large movements of the cables made it possible to create inertial dampers - “flywheels” in the control system, driven by an accelerating gear. This design of the inertial damper drive created very little friction in the control system, much less than on foreign-designed helicopters.

Due to the lack of a production base in OKB-4, the first three experimental GM-1s were built at the Kiev Aviation Plant No. 473.

The first testing of the helicopter on a rigid leash was also carried out there under the guidance of the lead test engineer G.V. Remezov. The final assembly and fine-tuning of the helicopters after receiving them from Kyiv was led by M.N. Pivovarov. The first copy of the GM-1 was ready in August. On September 20, 1948, at the Zakharkovo airfield, test pilot M.K. Baikalov performed the first three takeoffs on it. September 30, GM-1 has already made a flight with a translational speed of 50-100 km / h. In general, the helicopter demonstrated high maneuverability and satisfactory stability. In subsequent flights, it was possible to achieve a maximum speed of 170 km / h. At the same time, from the very beginning of the tests, cracks began to appear in the crankcase of the angular gearbox of the engine, which was due to the absence of inertial torsional vibration dampers. At the testing stage, the defect was eliminated by introducing elastic rubber bushings into the design of the main shaft. Later, when creating a new modification of the AI-26V, the Ivchenko Design Bureau used an inertial damper in the design of the power plant.

Unfortunately, during the factory tests, the first flight machine was lost. On November 24, 1948, when determining the dynamic ceiling at an altitude of 5200 m, the lubricant in the mechanisms of the swashplate control system froze, the helicopter entered the uncontrolled buildup mode, and Baikalov had to leave it. The pilot himself commented on the completion of this flight: “I felt: now it (the car) will turn upside down. And then - everything! Not only can I return it to its normal position, but I won’t even be able to throw myself out, because between me and the ground there will be a meat grinder - a rotating rotor. Well, I think it's enough to mess around! I threw back the door, opened the lock of the seat belts, improved the pause between the throws and jumped. He jumped, tightened it for a few seconds, pulled the ring. The parachute opened immediately. I caught my breath a little and look, looking: where is the helicopter? Yes, there he is, about a hundred meters below me. He turned over, the villain, down with a screw, up with wheels and pours himself in this position to the ground. Yes, it pours so evenly, calmly, steadily, as if it was not at all that he had just dangled from side to side like crazy. As if he wants to tell me: “Here, brother, what a position I have been striving for all my life, but you didn’t let me!”

Baikalov was slightly injured during landing and was temporarily suspended from flying, and testing on the second machine was continued by test pilot M.L.Gallay. According to his recollections, the flights went fairly smoothly, but from time to time the helicopter presented surprises, fortunately, quite small ones. He continually punished the tester for trying to apply the usual methods of controlling the aircraft to him.

“Once during the descent, when three meters remained to the ground, a light gust of wind that came from behind slightly pushed the car forward. In order to parry this movement, I, purely reflexively, in an airplane way, took the control stick a little on myself. The helicopter obediently backed away like a cancer, and then fell down so energetically and hit the ground so hard that I don’t know how the landing gear held up! I overlooked that in such a situation, the helicopter behaves diametrically opposite to the aircraft.

The second car was also waiting for a tragic fate. On March 7, 1949, an accident occurred during a ferry flight from the factory test station at the Air Force Research Institute. Due to poor-quality welding, the tail transmission shaft collapsed, the GM-1 began to rotate relative to the axis of the main rotor, sharply lowered its nose and collapsed to the ground. M.K. Baikalov, who piloted the helicopter, died. However, despite the loss of two machines and the skepticism of many Air Force leaders about the rotorcraft, the program did not lose support. Mil proved in high offices the need to continue fine-tuning and testing of the helicopter. In the summer of 1949, a third car was rolled out to the factory airfield. Its transmission tail shaft was machined to eliminate hard-to-control welding. An anti-freezing grade of lubricant was selected for the control system, but Mil nevertheless limited the flight altitude to 3000 m. Pilots V.V. Vinnitsky, M.L. Gallai and G.A. Tinyakov continued factory tests.

In August 1949, the GM-1 entered the Air Force Research Institute, and on September 10, its state tests began, which were carried out by Tinyakov and leading engineers L.N. Maryin and A.M. Zagordan. The tests were successfully completed in a month and a half. The comments of the military came down mainly to the desire to simplify the piloting technique, reduce the level of vibrations and facilitate ground operation. In 1950, the Air Force Research Institute carried out additional program tests GM-1, which included the development of emergency landings in the autorotation mode. Later, in the 50s, military testers conducted a number of special studies on the helicopter, including its operation in the mountains and adverse weather conditions.

During the tests of GM-1, for the first time, such dangerous phenomena as flutter and earth resonance made themselves felt. They were eliminated by altering the blades and re-adjusting the friction dampers. Testing and refinement of the GM-1 contributed to the formation of a scientific school at the Mil Design Bureau for solving problems of strength, aerodynamics and flight dynamics of helicopters. Still very young engineers L.N. Grodko, A.V. Nekrasov, A.S. Braverman, who later became world-famous scientists, solved a number of complex problems of ensuring the fatigue strength of structural elements operating under conditions of large alternating loads.

After the successful completion of the tests of their firstborn, the Milevites received new comfortable premises at plant No. 82. The design team itself has grown significantly. On February 21, 1950, the Council of Ministers decided to build an experimental series of 15 helicopters under the designation Mi-1 at plant No. 3 in Moscow. The following year, at the air parade in Tushino, these machines were shown publicly for the first time.

Unfortunately, due to the underestimation by Soviet statesmen of the role of helicopters in the Armed Forces and the national economy, the introduction of the Mi-1 into large-scale production was constantly delayed. Plant No. 3 was not suitable for this, and the release of the helicopter at other enterprises was constantly postponed. The situation changed only after the demonstration of the machine to I.V. Stalin at the dacha in 1951 and reports of the effective use of American rotary-wing technology in Korea. A government decree soon followed on the development of new amphibious transport helicopters, and the firstborn of the Mil Design Bureau began to be built in all large quantities. In 1952-1953, 30 aircraft were assembled at Kazan Helicopter Plant No. 387. In 1954, large-scale production of the Mi-1 was launched at Plant No. 47 in Orenburg, where 597 units were produced until 1958. In 1956, plant No. 168 in Rostov joined the production of the Mi-1, which until 1960 delivered 370 such machines. The Yak-100 and B-11 helicopters that competed with the Mi-1 remained in prototypes.

The launch of the Mi-1 into large-scale production significantly influenced the fate of the Mil Design Bureau. In the spring of 1951, the I.P. Bratukhin design bureau was liquidated at plant No. 3, and the ministry again offered Mil to occupy this premises. Almost simultaneously, the territory of the enterprise was left by the OKB N.I.Kamov, located there earlier, the special design group of jet helicopter construction of Yu.L.Starinin, B.Ya.Zherebtsov and Yu.Sh.Braginsky. "Milevtsy" became the full owners of the plant, which in 1953 received the name State Aircraft Plant No. 329 MAP, and the design bureau - OKB-329. Y. B. Eskin became the director of the plant, and V. A. Kuznetsov and N. G. Rusanovich became the deputies of the chief designer. With the move to a new territory, the company was replenished with many engineers and workers of plant No. 3, who had experience in creating rotorcraft. In addition, a number of employees from other industries moved to the Mil Design Bureau. As a legacy from the Bratukhin Design Bureau, the plant also inherited a flight test station in Izmailovo, which was headed by D.T. Matsitsky for many years. Soon the airfield that existed there began to be built up, and plant No. 329 carried out all subsequent flight tests only in Tushino, on the territory of the Zakharkovo airfield.

In the course of production and operation, the Mi-1 was constantly improved. Particularly much attention was paid to improving the design and increasing the reliability of one of the most high-tech and labor-intensive units of a helicopter - the blades. In 1956, the spar, which was joined from three pipes, was replaced with a one-piece steel pipe with a variable wall thickness. The following year, an all-metal blade with a pressed duralumin spar was created. Moreover, by the time the design of such blades began, the metallurgical industry of the USSR did not have the necessary experience, and the specialists of plant No. difficult questions profile pressing. The original version of the new blade had a medium baffle and had insufficient flutter margin. After the redesign, the spar became wider, and the bulkhead was replaced by low ribs.

In this case, it was possible to eliminate the resonance with the third harmonic to the number of revolutions of the propeller in the plane of rotation. The development of blades of this type radically resolved the issue of their reliability and durability, especially after the introduction of hardening. outer surface spar.

The introduction of all-metal blades led to the inclusion in the control system, first of aerodynamic compensators, and then of irreversible hydraulic boosters. After the creation of the sleeve for the Mi-4, which had significant structural improvements, radical changes were made to the design of the Mi-1 sleeve. In 1950, the separate lever of the main rotor pitch and the throttle sector were combined into a single "pitch-throttle" system. At the same time, it was possible to choose the cam of the interlocked control "step-gas" so successfully that it was almost not required to work with the correction knob in flight. The system was designed by I.S. Dmitriev, permanent head of the OKB management department. In the 50s, an external suspension system with a payload capacity of 500 kg, new instrumentation, etc. were installed on the Mi-1. In 1952, the AP-5 aircraft autopilot was tested on the Mi-1 for the first time, and subsequently the helicopter was repeatedly used as a flying laboratory for testing various innovations.

Modifications:

GM-1 - the first three experimental prototypes.
Mi-1 is the first serial modification.
Mi-1U (GM-2) is a training, two-seat version of a helicopter with dual controls.
Mi-1T / TU - T - "three hundred hours", which meant - the resource of the main parts of the machine was brought up to 300 hours.
Mi-3 is an experimental sanitary modification of the Mi-1T helicopter.
Mi-1A - further development of the Mi-1T (original factory designation - Mi-1R - resource).
Mi-1M is a further development of the Mi-1A.
Mi-1MNH (NH) "Moskvich" - a new civilian modification of the Mi-1M, was developed in five versions: passenger, sanitary, postal, ferry and agricultural. It entered the series under the designation Mi-1NH and from 1959 became known as Moskvich. Such a machine in the "luxury" version was used by the President of Finland.
Mi-1MU is a light attack helicopter.
SM-1 is a variant of the Mi-1 helicopter produced by the Polish aircraft factory in Swidnik.

Modification: Mi-1
Main screw diameter, m: 14.35
Diameter tail rotor, m: 2.50
Length, m: 12.09
Height, m: 3.30
Weight, kg
- empty: 1700
- normal takeoff: 2140
-maximum takeoff: 2330
Internal fuel, l: 240
Engine type: 1 x PD AI-26GRF
- power, kW: 1 x 429
Maximum speed, km/h: 185
Cruise speed, km/h: 130
Practical range, km: 430
Rate of climb, m/min: 318
Practical ceiling, m: 3500
Static ceiling, m: 2700
Crew, people: 1
Payload: 2 passengers and/or 255 kg of cargo.

The first prototype of the GM-1.

The third prototype of the GM-1 at the flight station in Zakharkovo.

Assembly of the first Mi-1 series at GAZ No. 3 in Moscow.

M.L.Mil on the tests of the Mi-1.

Mi-1 experimental series from the collection of the Monino Air Force Museum.

Mi-1 of the first series in the museum of the Kazan Helicopter Plant.

Production

Design

Carrier system

Power point

Fuel system

Transmission

Control system

Equipment

Exploitation

Options

Mi-1MNH (NH)

Military options

Other projects

Catastrophes and accidents

Literature

Interesting Facts

Mi-1 (Hare according to NATO classification) is a Soviet multi-purpose helicopter developed by OKB M. L. Mil in the late 1940s. The first Soviet serial helicopter.

Initially designated as GM-1 ( Helicopter Mil-1). The Mi-1 made its first flight in September 1948. In 1951, it was put into trial operation. Serial production was carried out in 1954-1960, a total of 2680 machines were built.

Story

After the completion of the Great Patriotic War Mil began to develop a three-seat experimental helicopter EG-1 (not to be confused with the EG Yakovlev Design Bureau), built according to a single-rotor scheme with an M-13 engine and an original device for automatically increasing flight stability. On April 9, 1946, the project was demonstrated to the MAL expert commission, which approved it, but advised to make a number of changes caused by the real capabilities of the Soviet aircraft industry.

On February 17, 1947, the design of a universal test bench began - the "full-scale helicopter installation" (NGU), designed to study full-size rotors and refine the design of the main parts of rotorcraft.

By order of the head of TsAGI dated March 26, 1947, on the basis of the laboratory of spin and vertical wind tunnel T-105, laboratory 5 was created "to solve scientific problems in helicopter construction and aircraft spin", which consisted of two sectors. M. L. Mil was appointed head of the laboratory and the helicopter sector.

The first helicopter of the Design Bureau of M. L. Mil, which received the designation GM-1 ( Helicopter Mil-1), was created as a link. In the cockpit, in addition to the pilot, there could be two more passengers. The machine was built according to the classic single-rotor scheme with three-bladed main and tail rotors. Its development took into account the experience of foreign helicopter construction, but at the same time, Soviet engineers tried to create a completely original design. So, they made a main rotor hub with spaced vertical and horizontal hinges. This design increased the efficiency of helicopter control and was much simpler than that used on American machines, schemes with combined horizontal hinges, the axis of which runs along the axis of rotation of the main rotor. Needle bearings were used in vertical and horizontal hinges. On the axial hinge were two deep groove ball bearings and one thrust. To reduce oscillations of the blades in the plane of rotation, friction dampers were used. This apparatus was first designed by N. G. Rusanovich and A. K. Kotikov, and later by A. E. Malakhovskiy, the founder of the design school for the design of carrier systems "Mi".

Due to the lack of a production base in OKB-4, the first three experimental GM-1s were built at an aircraft factory in Kyiv.

The first test of a helicopter on a rigid leash was also carried out there under the command of an experienced test engineer G. V. Remezov. The final assembly and fine-tuning of the machines after receiving them from Kyiv was handled by M.N. Pivovarov. The first prototype of the GM-1 was finally ready in August. On September 20, 1948, at the Zakharkovo airfield, test pilot M.K. Baikalov performed the first three takeoffs on it. Ten days later, the GM-1 has already flown at a forward speed of 50-100 km/h. In general, the helicopter showed a fairly high maneuverability and was quite stable during the flight. On subsequent flights was achieved top speed- 170 km / h. However, from the very beginning of the tests, cracks began to appear in the crankcase of the angular gearbox of the engine, which was due to the absence of inertial torsional vibration dampers. During testing, the defect was eliminated by introducing elastic rubber bushings into the design of the main shaft. Later, when designing a new AI-26V model, Ivchenko Design Bureau used an inertial damper in the engine design.

In the summer of 1949, the GM-1 entered the Air Force Research Institute, and on September 10, its state tests began, in which Tinyakov and leading engineers L. N. Maryin and A. M. Zagordan participated. After a month and a half, the tests were successfully completed. The comments of the military came down mainly to the desire to simplify the piloting technique, reduce the level of vibration and facilitate ground operation. In 1950, the Air Force Research Institute conducted additional tests of this helicopter, which included emergency landings in autorotation mode. Subsequently, in the 50s, military testers performed a number of special tests on the GM-1, which included the operation of a helicopter in the mountains and in difficult weather conditions.

During the tests of GM-1, for the first time, such dangerous phenomena as flutter and earth resonance arose. They got rid of them by altering the blades and re-adjusting the friction dampers. Testing and refinement of the helicopter led to the emergence of a scientific school in the Mil Design Bureau for solving the problems of strength, aerodynamics and flight dynamics of helicopters. Sufficiently young engineers L. N. Grodko, A. V. Nekrasov, A. S. Braverman solved many difficulties associated with ensuring the fatigue reliability of structural parts operating under conditions of significant alternating loads.

Production

At the beginning of 1950, the Council of Ministers of the USSR decided to create an experimental series of 15 GM-1 helicopters under the designation Mi-1 at plant No. 3 in Moscow. However, due to the underestimation of the role of helicopters in the armed forces and civil aviation by government and military figures, the introduction of the Mi-1 into mass production was delayed in every possible way. The situation changed only after the demonstration of the new machine by I.V. Stalin and information about efficient use American rotorcraft in the Korean War. This led to the "October" government decree on the creation of new assault helicopters, and the Mi-1 began to be produced at several aviation industry plants. After the construction in 1952-1953 of a small batch (30 pieces) at the Kazan plant No. 387 (now OJSC Kazan Helicopter Plant) in 1954, mass production of the Mi-1 was able to begin at plant No. 47 (now OJSC Strela) in Orenburg. (For the period from 1954 to 1958, 597 helicopters were produced there). Three years later, plant No. 168 (now JSC Rosvertol) in Rostov-on-Don began to produce the Mi-1, where 370 new machines were manufactured from 1956 to 1960.

Later, the Soviet aviation industry relied on the production of more modern Mi-4 helicopters at that time, but since the Soviet Union still needed the light Mi-1, the country's leadership decided to transfer the production of these machines to Poland. Having mastered the production of the Lim-1 (MiG-15) fighter and the VK-1 engine in 1952, Polish aircraft manufacturers proved their skill in practice. In 1954, an intergovernmental agreement was signed on the production of the Mi-1 and spare parts for it in Poland. At the same time, the re-profiling of the aircraft factory in Svidnik, which had previously manufactured units for the plant in Melida, began. Preparation for the production of a completely new type of equipment required the staff of the enterprise to master new technologies and professions, which was greatly facilitated by a group of specialists sent from the USSR.

In total, 1683 Mi-1 helicopters were manufactured in Poland in various versions and modifications (including 86 SM-2 helicopters). Most of them were sent to the USSR. The last Mi-1 in the USSR was officially decommissioned in 1983, but, nevertheless, some flight copies of the Mi-1 can still be seen in museums and private collections.

Design

The Mi-1 is a helicopter built according to a single-rotor scheme with a tail rotor, one PD and a tricycle landing gear.

Fuselage

The fuselage has a truss structure with aluminum alloy skin and a semi-monocoque tail boom with an upward deflected end beam and a controlled stabilizer. The cockpit accommodates a pilot in the front seat and two passengers in the back, in a training version with dual controls - a cadet in the front seat and an instructor behind him.

Chassis

The chassis of the Mi-1 is tricycle, non-retractable, the main supports are trussed, the front support is self-orienting. There is a safety support at the end of the tail boom. Chassis track 3.29 m, base - 3.2 m. The Mi-1 had only parking brakes, which were activated by a lever under the dashboard. The pilots tried not to steer the Mi-1 "under their own power", especially on uneven ground - the helicopter very easily entered the "earth resonance" vibrations and instantly crumbled from it. Another domestic helicopter, the Ka-15, had the same drawback.

Carrier system

The main rotor is three-bladed, with hinged blades and friction dampers. The blades are of mixed construction with a tubular spar made of steel, wooden ribs and stringers, and skin made of plywood and canvas. Trapezoidal blades in plan and profile NACA 230 with variable relative thickness. The latest modifications of the Mi-1 were equipped with rectangular, all-metal blades, with a pressed spar made of aluminum alloy with sections attached to it with aluminum honeycomb core. The tail rotor is three-bladed, pushing with a diameter of 2.5 m, with trapezoidal wooden blades.

Power point

The power plant includes one star-shaped seven-cylinder piston engine AI-26V design A. G. Ivchenko with a capacity of 423 kW. It is installed in a horizontal position and is equipped with an angle gearbox and a fan for forced cooling. The engine was started with compressed air, the supply of which was small. In order not to get into a difficult situation when the air ran out and the engine could not be started somewhere in the middle of the taiga, the pilots carried a spare can of compressed air with them.

Fuel system

The Mi-1 fuel system includes a tank with a capacity of 240 liters, as well as the installation of an additional suspended fuel tank with a capacity of 160 liters.

Transmission

It consists of a main gearbox with a clutch, an intermediate gearbox and a tail rotor gearbox, shafts and a main rotor brake. The speed of rotation of the main rotor shaft is 232 rpm, the tail rotor is 2050 rpm.

Control system

The control system is mechanical, has a rigid wiring for controlling the common pitch and a cable - for cyclic control of the pitch of the main rotor blades, as well as the common pitch of the tail rotor; control of the stabilizer from the "step-gas" handle has a rigid wiring. The control system includes unloading spring mechanisms.

Equipment

Special equipment allows you to fly a helicopter at any time of the day, even in difficult weather conditions. The main and tail rotor blades, as well as the windshield of the cockpit are equipped with anti-icing alcohol systems.

Mi-1 in comparison with other multi-purpose helicopters

Exploitation

At the end of 1948, a training squadron was formed in Serpukhov as part of the Air Force, which was engaged in the development of helicopters and the training of flight personnel. At the beginning of 1951, the squadron received the first Mi-1 helicopters from a pre-production batch - before that, flight training took place on G-3 helicopters developed at the I.P. Bratukhin Design Bureau. Since that time, the Mi-1 began en masse to enter the communications units of the Ground Forces, and later - to separate helicopter squadrons and flight schools. Mi-1 long time was the main type of training helicopter in the USSR.

Since February 1954, the operation of the Mi-1 in civil aviation began. A few years later, the Mi-1 was already used by Aeroflot throughout the USSR. In fact, the regular operation of the Mi-1 and the Mi-4 medium-class helicopters began simultaneously - these two types formed a successful "tandem", mutually complementing each other's capabilities.

The power of the AI-26 engine was 580 hp, which gave a significant power-to-weight ratio to a light helicopter (take-off weight - about 2.5 tons). In addition, the piston engine switched from low to high revs almost instantly: on the Mi-1 it was easy enough to "jump" over an obstacle without fear of getting into the main rotor overweight (a situation where the engine does not have enough power to maintain its speed). The helicopter landed perfectly in autorotation. At the same time, there were frequent cases of uncontrolled rotation of the helicopter against the main rotor stroke - especially during landing with a side wind, which most often led to an accident. There have been cases of rotor flutter. Like other helicopters developed in the late 40s - early 50s, the Mi-1 easily entered the "earth resonance" when taxiing and instantly fell apart from it. The Mi-1 had only parking brakes. The engine was started with compressed air, from a cylinder, and many pilots went through a situation where, after turning off the engine at some remote "point", it could not be started again, due to a lack of compressed air.

In terms of its performance characteristics, the Mi-1 helicopter was close to the American S-51 helicopter, which appeared in 1946, and the English Bristol 171 (1947), however, unlike these machines, which were produced for a relatively short time in small series and soon were superseded by more advanced helicopters, the Mi-1 was widely used in the Air Force and civil aviation Soviet Union and many countries of the world. The good flight performance of Mi-1 helicopters is evidenced by 27 world records set in 1958-1968, including speed records - 210.535, 196.452 and 141.392 km / h based on 100, 500 and 1000 m; altitude records - 6700 m and flight range - 1654.571 km, as well as 11 women's records. According to the data that were given in the annual review "Military Aviation of the World", published in the journal "Flight International", in mid-1995, about 150 of these machines were used in the armed forces of the countries of the world.

Mi-1V army helicopters were actively used in China to fight the Chiang Kai-shek armed groups and in other police operations. The Egyptian Syrians used this helicopter in conflicts with Israel, it was also used in the civil war in North Yemen. In Iraq, the Mi-1 was used to suppress Kurdish rebellions. In Cuba, the Mi-1 was used to eliminate armed opposition groups.

Release

In 1952-1953, a series of 30 Mi-1s was produced at the Kazan plant No. 387. From 1954 to 1958, 596 vehicles were built at plant No. 47, and 370 Mi-1s were built at Rostov plant No. 168 in 1956-1960. From 1957 to 1965, this helicopter was mass-produced in Poland (1683 helicopters were produced).

Options

Mi-1

The basic version, designed for a pilot and two passengers.

Mi-1A

This model differed from the Mi-1T, mainly in the presence of electromechanical trim tabs instead of spring ones, more advanced instrumentation, as well as an on-board unit for installing an additional fuel tank. There was also a training modification, which bore the designation Mi-1AU, it was equipped with a periscopic observation device and an aerial camera spotter - Mi-1 AKR. The resource of the main parts of the helicopter by the end of the 50s reached 1000 hours, by the middle of the 60s. - 2000 hours, and after another 10 years it reached 3000 hours.

Mi-1MNH (NH)

The Mi-1MNH is an improved version of the Mi-1. Mi-1M became the basis for the emergence of a new civilian modification of the Mi-1MNH. It was created in five versions: a passenger one with a three-seat rear sofa, a sanitary one with side removable gondolas, a postal one with hanging containers, a ferry one with an additional gas tank, and an agricultural one, which, when used for spraying and pollination, was equipped with special side spray tanks and sprayer booms. The Mi-1MNH went into mass production and operation like the Mi-1NH and in 1959 was named Moskvich. Since the early 1960s all Mi-1M and Mi-1NHH began to be equipped with forced AI-26VF engines, as well as all-metal blades and hydraulic boosters in the control system. On June 27, 1960, the Mi-1NH was shown to N. S. Khrushchev. One such helicopter, made in the “luxury” version, was used by the President of Finland.

Mi-1P

Mi-1P is a variant with floats.

Mi-1T

The Mi-1T is a subsequent development of the Mi-1U modification. On the Mi-1T (T - “three hundred hours”, this meant that the life of the main parts of the machine was brought up to 300 hours), a newer power plant was installed, the AI-26V engine with a take-off power of 575 hp, the cabin doors were expanded, a controlled stabilizer and anti-icing system of both propellers. The new experimental model became a model for the 1955 series. Its two-seat training modification was designated as the Mi-1TU. In 1954, two of these helicopters were re-equipped and sent for operation in the Arctic to be based on icebreakers, at the same time, work began on the creation of a variant of the Mi-1KR artillery spotter (later Mi-1TKR), launched into series in 1956.

Mi-1U

The Mi-1U is a dual-control training variant. Widely used in DOSAAF.

Mi-3

The Mi-3 is the result of a deeper modernization of the Mi-1. It was created by order of the military for medical needs. The Mi-1 differed from the basic version with a new four-bladed main rotor, a more comfortable cabin, the fuselage design was also changed, and hanging gondolas were installed on the sides for transporting the sick and wounded.

SM-1

SM-1 is a Polish version of the Mi-1 helicopter, developed by the Polish company PZL Swidnik. For the first time this helicopter took to the air in May 1956, it was piloted by the Soviet test pilot Vinnitsky. In the same month, the new helicopter was demonstrated at the Leipzig International Fair. Serial machines were given the designation SM-1 / 300 (the number 300 meant the overhaul life of the main propeller blades) and corresponded to the Mi-1T. From the beginning of 1957, helicopters were produced from Polish components, except for the power plant. But by the end of the year, the AI-26V engine under the designation Lit-Z began to be produced at a plant in Rzeszow. Serial production of this variant continued until 1965. In total, 1597 units of the SM-1 version of various modifications were manufactured in Poland, mainly they were operated in the Soviet Union.

SM-2

SM-2 is an improved version of the SM-1 helicopter. It was developed by the Polish company PZL Swidnik. Shortly after the start of production of the SM-1, designers in Svidnik under the command of Jiri Tirkha began to create an improved version of the SM-1 helicopter. The considerable power reserve of the Lit-3 power plant made it possible to create a car with a larger take-off weight, and, consequently, with an increased payload. To accommodate it, it was decided to make a new enlarged fuselage, while keeping the other main units unchanged. New option The helicopter became five-seater, and in the medical modification, the patient could be transported in the cabin, loading the stretcher using the nose hatch.

The SM-2 first flew on September 18, 1959, and went into production in 1961. However, the new helicopter was not widely used. Its flight characteristics were slightly inferior to the Mi-1M, and besides, a more advanced Mi-2 had already been tested in the USSR. Because of this, the SM-2 did not receive recognition, in addition to the Polish Air Force, a number of vehicles were sold to Czechoslovakia. In the same 1961, the release of the SM-2 ended. Only 86 cars were produced.

Military options

In the second half of the 1950s, armed combat helicopters began to appear abroad. In the Soviet Union, such machines began to be developed in 1958 on the basis of the Mi-1MU. On the sides of this helicopter, two cassettes with 12 TRS-132 turbojet projectiles were fixed on brackets. The following year, modifications appeared equipped with Nikitin or Kalashnikov machine guns, 100-kilogram bombs, as well as the country's first helicopter armed with the Falanga anti-tank installation with two or four guided missiles. In 1961-1962, the Mi-1MU anti-tank modification, armed with four 3M11 ATGMs of the Falanga complex, successfully passed state tests and was offered for service, but due to the lack of a position on the use of such helicopters by the command of the Armed Forces, this modification did not go into series . The Mi-1MU variants that appeared three years later, armed with the Falanga ATGM (4 9M17 missiles) or Malyutka (6 9M14 missiles), were not accepted into service due to the completion of the serial production of the Mi-1. The options for arming the helicopter with large-caliber machine guns in side hanging containers also remained unfulfilled.

Other projects

In the mid-1950s, the Soviet Navy tried to use the Mi-1 as an anti-submarine helicopter, but the power of the AI-26V power plant was insufficient to transport search and bombing equipment. The design bureau for a deck-based helicopter based on the Mi-1, equipped with folding blades and a tail boom, created at the Design Bureau, was never implemented. In 1957, a modernized version of the Mi-1T was tested - a military stacker of telephone lines. Containers with coils of telephone wire were hung on its sides, which made it possible to lay a communication line 13 km long in one flight.

Countries where the Mi-1 was used

Catastrophes and accidents

Literature

• G. Tinyakov Mi-1 helicopter and its control // Wings of the Motherland. - M:: DOSAAF, 1957. - No. 1. - S. 14-18.

• Mi-1 became the first Soviet serial helicopter.
• One Mi-1NH helicopter, made in the "luxury" version, was used by the President of Finland, Urho Kekkonen.
• Once, when Stalin was resting at his dacha in the mountains near Lake Ritsa (Abkhazia), the Mi-1 landed on a small area near his house. After such a demonstration, the leader (who had previously doubted the advantages of helicopters) ordered that the designers be given money for the further development of these machines.
• Mi-1 starred in the film "Striped flight"
• Mi-1 was filmed in the film "Dima Gorin's Career", 1961.
• Mi-1 starred in the film "Maxim Perepelitsa"
• Mi-1 starred in the film "Nowhere Man"

Mi-1 "Hare"- Soviet multi-purpose helicopter developed by OKB M. L. Mil in the late 1940s. The first serial domestic helicopter. The first flight took place on September 20, 1948. The helicopter entered service in 1951. Serial production was carried out in the USSR in 1952-1960. A total of 2680 helicopters were built.

The history of the Mi-1

The development of rotorcraft in the Soviet Union was carried out back in the 30s. These were gyroplanes of various designs. These projects were attended by the future famous designers of helicopter technology - Mil and Kamov. In 1940, a special design bureau was created in the USSR, which was engaged in the development of rotorcraft, and Nikolai Ilyich Kamov became its head. Earlier, under his leadership, the first Soviet combat autogyro A-7 was designed and built, which was used during the Great Patriotic War.

M. A. Mil, who in the pre-war years was Kamov's deputy, also took a direct part in the development of this and other similar machines. At the end of 1947, Mil was appointed head of a new experimental design bureau for helicopter construction, it was then that work began on a helicopter, which in the future received the designation Mi-1.

Mi-1 operation

Even before the start of the official operation of the helicopter, in 1948, in the city of Serpukhov near Moscow, a special educational part, which was engaged in the development of a new machine and the preparation of personnel for its operation. Helicopters from the pre-production batch began to arrive in this part.
Initially, the armed forces planned to use the Mi-1 as a communications helicopter, so after the start of mass production, this machine began to massively enter the communications troops. Then the Mi-1 was actively used in flight schools and combat units as a training machine; more than one generation of future helicopter pilots learned to fly on it.
Since 1954, civilian operation of the Mi-1 began. By this time, the next machine developed at the Mil Design Bureau, the Mi-4 helicopter, was already ready. The operation of these two machines went in parallel, the fact is that their characteristics made it possible to make a very effective tandem out of the Mi-1 and Mi-4 - these helicopters perfectly complemented each other.
The Mi-1 had excellent flight performance, although this machine also had its drawbacks. The helicopter was rather unstable to side wind gusts, sometimes there was a flutter of the main rotor, in conditions of rarefied air there were problems with starting the engine. However, at the same time, the powerful engine (580 hp) provided the light helicopter with a high power-to-weight ratio, the Mi-1 was very easy to control, easily landed in autorotation.
In terms of its characteristics, the Mi-1 was similar to its foreign counterparts: the American S-51 and the British Bristol 171, which appeared at about the same time. True, foreign machines were produced for a relatively short time and were soon replaced by more advanced models, and the Mi-1 was used in the USSR and beyond for several decades.

In the USSR, the Mi-1 was used to transport small loads, passengers and mail to hard-to-reach areas of the country, it was used in the traffic police, for many years this car was operated by the armed forces. Officially, the helicopter was taken out of service only in 1983.

In China, an army modification of the helicopter was used during the civil war with the Chiang Kai-shekists. In the Middle East, the Mi-1 was used by the Arabs against the Israeli army.

The design of the Mi-1 helicopter.

Fuselage Mi-1

The fuselage has a truss structure with aluminum alloy skin and a semi-monocoque tail boom with an upward deflected end beam and a controlled stabilizer. The cockpit accommodates a pilot in the front seat and two passengers in the back, in a training version with dual controls - a cadet in the front seat and an instructor behind him.

Chassis

Chassis Mi-1 three-bearing, non-retractable, the main supports are trussed, the front support is self-orienting. There is a safety support at the end of the tail boom. Chassis track 3.29 m, base - 3.2 m. The Mi-1 had only parking brakes, which were activated by a lever under the dashboard. The pilots tried not to steer the Mi-1 "under their own power", especially on uneven ground - the helicopter very easily entered the "earth resonance" vibrations and instantly crumbled from this. Another domestic helicopter, the Ka-15, had the same drawback.

Carrier system

The main rotor is three-bladed, with hinged blades and friction dampers. The blades are of mixed construction with a tubular spar made of steel, wooden ribs and stringers, and skin made of plywood and canvas. Trapezoidal blades in plan and profile NACA 230 with variable relative thickness. The latest modifications of the Mi-1 were equipped with rectangular, all-metal blades, with a pressed spar made of aluminum alloy with sections attached to it with aluminum honeycomb core. The tail rotor is three-bladed, pushing with a diameter of 2.5 m, with trapezoidal wooden blades.

Power point

The power plant includes one star-shaped seven-cylinder piston engine AI-26V designed by A. G. Ivchenko with a power of 423 kW. It is installed in a horizontal position and is equipped with an angle gearbox and a fan for forced cooling. The engine was started with compressed air, the supply of which was small. In order not to get into a difficult situation when the air ran out and the engine could not be started somewhere in the middle of the taiga, the pilots carried a spare can of compressed air with them.

Fuel system

The Mi-1 fuel system includes a fuel tank with a capacity of 240 liters, as well as the installation of an additional external fuel tank with a capacity of 160 liters.

Transmission

It consists of a main gearbox with a clutch, an intermediate gearbox and a tail rotor gearbox, shafts and a main rotor brake. The speed of rotation of the main rotor shaft is 232 rpm, the tail rotor is 2050 rpm.

Control system

The control system is mechanical, has a rigid wiring for controlling the common pitch and a cable - for cyclic control of the pitch of the main rotor blades, as well as the common pitch of the tail rotor; control of the stabilizer from the "step-gas" handle has a rigid wiring. The control system includes unloading spring mechanisms.

Equipment

Special equipment allows you to fly a helicopter at any time of the day, even in difficult weather conditions. The main and tail rotor blades, as well as the windshield of the cockpit are equipped with anti-icing alcohol systems.

Modifications of the Mi-1 "Hare" helicopter:

• GM-1- the first three prototypes.
• Mi-1- Basic modification with one pilot and three passengers;
• Mi-1A- This model differed from the Mi-1T, mainly in the presence of electromechanical trim tabs instead of spring ones, more advanced instrumentation, as well as an on-board unit for installing an additional fuel tank.
• Mi-1NH- a new civilian modification, developed in five versions: passenger, sanitary, postal, ferry and agricultural. Agricultural It was equipped with two tanks on the sides of the fuselage with a capacity of 250 liters each and rods with nozzles for spraying chemicals. sanitary - with two hanging gondolas on the sides of the fuselage for patients connected to the cockpit, and a table for medical equipment in the cockpit; built in 1954;
• Mi-1U- a training helicopter with dual control and an instructor's seat, widely used in DOSAAF training;
• Mi-1T- “three hundred hours” (the resource was brought to 300 hours) introduced a more powerful AI-26V engine with a take-off power of 575 hp, the cockpit doors were expanded, a controlled stabilizer and an anti-icing system for both propellers were installed.
• Mi-1P- deck with float chassis.
• SM-1- Polish version of the Mi-1 helicopter, developed by the Polish company PZL Swidnik. For the first time this helicopter took to the air in May 1956,

Mi-1 helicopter video

Helicopters of Russia and the world (video, photo, pictures watch online) occupy an important place in the overall system of the national economy and the Armed Forces, honorably fulfilling the civil and military tasks assigned to them. According to the figurative expression of the outstanding Soviet scientist and designer ML. Mile, “our country itself is, as it were, “designed” for helicopters.” Without them, the development of the boundless and impassable spaces of the Far North, Siberia and the Far East is unthinkable. Helicopters have become a familiar element of the landscape of our grandiose construction projects. They are widely used as a vehicle, in agriculture, construction, rescue service, military affairs. When performing a number of operations, helicopters are simply irreplaceable. Who knows how many people's health was saved by the helicopter crews who took part in the aftermath of the accident on Chernobyl nuclear power plant. The lives of thousands of Soviet soldiers were saved by combat "turntables" in Afghanistan.

Before becoming one of the main modern transport, technological and combat vehicles, Russian helicopters have come a long and not always smooth path of development. The idea of ​​lifting into the air with the help of a main rotor originated among mankind almost earlier than the idea of ​​flying on a fixed wing. In the early stages of the history of aviation and aeronautics, the creation of lift by "screwing into the air" was more popular than other methods. This explains the abundance of rotary-wing aircraft projects in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Only four years separate the flight of the Wright brothers' plane (1903) from the first lift of a man into the air by helicopter (1907).

The best helicopters were used by scientists and inventors, they hesitated for a long time which method to prefer. However, by the end of the first decade of the XX century. less energy-intensive and simpler in terms of aerodynamics, dynamics and strength, the aircraft took the lead. His successes were impressive. Almost 30 years passed before the creators of helicopters finally managed to make their devices workable. Already during the Second World War, helicopters went into mass production and began to be used. After the end of the war, the so-called "helicopter boom" arose. Numerous firms began to build samples of new promising technology, but not all attempts were successful.

Combat helicopters of Russia and the United States It was still more difficult to build than an aircraft of a similar class. Military and civilian customers were in no hurry to put a new type of aviation equipment on a par with the already familiar aircraft. Only the effective use of helicopters by Americans in the early 50s. in the war in Korea convinced a number of military leaders, including Soviet ones, of the advisability of using this aircraft by the armed forces. However, many, as before, continued to consider the helicopter "a temporary delusion of aviation." It took another ten years until helicopters finally proved their exclusivity and indispensability in performing a number of military tasks.

Russian helicopters played big role in the creation and development of Russian and Soviet scientists, designers and inventors. Their significance is so great that it even gave rise to one of the founders of the domestic helicopter industry, Academician B.N. Yuriev to consider our state as the "birthplace of helicopters." This statement, of course, is too categorical, but our helicopter pilots have something to be proud of. These are the scientific works of the school of N.E. Zhukovsky in the pre-revolutionary period and the impressive flights of the TsAGI 1-EA helicopter in the pre-war years, the records of the post-war Mi-4, Mi-6, Mi-12, Mi-24 helicopters and the unique Ka family of coaxial helicopters, modern Mi-26 and Ka -32 and much, much more.

The new Russian helicopter is relatively well covered in books and articles. Shortly before his death, B.N. Yuryev began writing the fundamental work "The History of Helicopters", but managed to prepare only the chapters that concerned him own works in 1908 - 1914 It should be noted that insufficient attention to the history of such an aviation industry as helicopter construction is also characteristic of foreign researchers.

Military helicopters of Russia in a new way shed light on the history of the development of helicopters and their theories in pre-revolutionary Russia, the contribution of domestic scientists and inventors to the global process of development of this type of equipment. A review of pre-revolutionary domestic works on rotary-wing aircraft, including previously unknown ones, as well as their analysis were given in the corresponding chapter in the book "Aviation in Russia", prepared for publication in 1988 by TsAGI. However, its small size significantly limited the size of the information provided.

Civil helicopters in their best colors. An attempt has been made to cover the activities of domestic helicopter industry enthusiasts as fully and comprehensively as possible. Therefore, the activities of leading domestic scientists and designers are described, as well as projects and proposals are considered, the authors of which were significantly inferior to them in their knowledge, but whose contribution could not be ignored. Moreover, in some projects, which generally differed in a relatively low level of development, there are also interesting proposals and ideas.

The name of the helicopters denoted significant qualitative changes in this type of equipment. Such events are the beginning of a continuous and systematic development of helicopter projects; the construction of the first full-scale helicopters capable of taking off the ground, and the beginning of mass production and practical use of helicopters. This book chronicles the early history of helicopter engineering, from the concept of propeller lift into the air to the creation of the first helicopters capable of taking off from the ground. A helicopter, unlike an airplane, a flywheel and a rocket, does not have direct prototypes in nature. However, the screw that creates lifting force helicopter, has been known since ancient times.

Small Helicopters Despite the fact that propellers were known and there were empirical prototypes of helicopters, the idea of ​​using a main rotor to lift into the air did not become widespread until the end of the 18th century. All the rotorcraft projects being developed at that time remained unknown and were found in the archives many centuries later. As a rule, information about the development of such projects has been preserved in the archives of the most prominent scientists of their time, such as Guo Hong, L. da Vinci, R. Hooke, M.V. Lomonosov, who in 1754 created an "airfield machine".

Private helicopters in a short time were created literally dozens of new designs. It was a competition of the most diverse schemes and forms, as a rule, one- or two-seat apparatus, which had mainly an experimental purpose. The military departments were a natural customer for this expensive and complex equipment. The first helicopters different countries received the appointment of liaison and intelligence military apparatus. In the development of helicopters, as in many other areas of technology, two lines of development can be clearly distinguished - but the dimensions of the machines, that is, the quantitative one, and the line of development of the qualitative improvement of aircraft within a certain size or weight category that almost simultaneously arose.

Site about helicopters which contains the most complete description. Whether the helicopter is used for geological exploration, agricultural work or for the transport of passengers - the determining role is played by the cost of an hour of operation of the helicopter. A large share of it is depreciation, that is, the price divided by its service life. The latter is determined by the resource of the aggregates, r, e. by their service life. The problem of increasing the fatigue strength of blades, shafts and transmissions, main rotor bushings and other helicopter units has become a paramount task that still occupies helicopter designers. Nowadays, a resource of 1000 hours is no longer a rarity for a serial helicopter, and there is no reason to doubt its further increase.

Modern helicopters comparing the combat capabilities of the original video has been preserved. The image found in some publications is an approximate reconstruction, and not entirely indisputable, carried out in 1947 by N.I. Kamov. However, a number of conclusions can be drawn on the basis of the archival documents cited. Judging by the test method (suspension on blocks), the "airfield machine" was undoubtedly a vertical take-off and landing apparatus. Of the two methods of vertical lift known at that time - with the help of flapping wings or by means of a main rotor - the first seems unlikely. The protocol says that the wings moved horizontally. In most flyers, they are known to move in a vertical plane. A flywheel whose wings oscillate in a horizontal plane with an installation angle that changes cyclically, despite repeated attempts, has not yet been built.

The best helicopter design is always directed to the future. However, in order to more clearly imagine the possibilities for further development of helicopters, it is useful to try to understand the main directions of their development from past experience. What is interesting here, of course, is not the prehistory of the helicopter industry, which we will only briefly mention, but its history from the moment when the helicopter, as a new type of aircraft, was already suitable for practical use. The first mention of a device with a vertical propeller - a helicopter, is contained in the notes of Leonardo da Vinci dating back to 1483. The first stage of development stretches from the model of a helicopter created by M. V. Lomonosov in 1754, through a long series of projects, models, and even devices built in kind , which were not destined to take to the air, until the construction of the world's first helicopter, which in 1907 managed to get off the ground.

We recognize the fastest helicopter in the outlines of this machine circuit diagram the most common single-rotor helicopters in the world today. B. I. Yuryev managed to return to this work only in 1925. In 1932, a group of engineers, headed by A. M. Cheremukhitsnch, built a TsAGI 1-EA helicopter, which reached a flight altitude of 600 m and lasted 18 m / w in the air which was an outstanding achievement for that time. Suffice it to say that the official flight altitude record, set 3 years later on the new Breguet coaxial helicopter, was only 180 m. At this time, there was a pause in the development of helicopters (helicopters). A new branch of rotorcraft, gyroplanes, came to the fore.

The new Russian helicopter, with a greater load on the wing area, came face to face with the then new spin problem of loss of speed. It turned out to be easier to create a safe and sufficiently perfect autogyro than to build a helicopter helicopter. The main rotor, freely rotating from the oncoming flow, eliminated the need for complex gearboxes and transmissions. The articulated attachment of the main rotor blades to the hub used on gyroplanes provided them with much greater strength, and stability for the gyroplane. Finally, stopping the engine was no longer dangerous, as was the case with the first helicopters: by autorotating the gyroplane, it was easy to land at low speed.

Large helicopters for landing marines from ships determined the further development of the military helicopter industry as a transport and landing. The landing by S-55 helicopters of the American troops at Inchon during the Korean War (1951) confirmed this trend. The size range of transport and landing helicopters began to be determined by the dimensions and weight of ground Vehicle, which are used by the troops and which had to be airlifted. The fact is ""for conventional weapons, mainly artillery, transported by tractors, in weight close to the weight of the tractors themselves. Therefore, the carrying capacity of the first transport helicopters in foreign armies was 1200-1600 kg (the weight of a light military vehicle used as a tractor and related guns).

USSR helicopters correspond to the weight of light and medium tanks or corresponding self-propelled chassis. Whether this line of development will be completed in such a range of dimensions depends on the ever-changing military doctrine. Artillery systems are mostly being replaced by rockets, which is why we find demands from the foreign press as well. Power did not lead to an increase in payload. Indeed, but to the technical level of that time, the weight of propellers, gearboxes for the entire apparatus as a whole increased with an increase in power faster than the lifting force increased. However, when creating a new useful and even more so new for national economic application, the designer cannot put up with a decrease in the achieved level of weight return.

Soviet helicopters, the first samples, in a relatively short time were created because specific gravity piston engines always went down with increasing power. But in 1953, after the creation of the 13-ton Sikorsky S-56 helicopter with two 2300-hp piston engines. with the size range of helicopters in the Zapal was interrupted and only in the USSR, using turboprop engines. In the mid-fifties, the reliability of helicopters became much higher, therefore, the possibilities of their use in the national economy also expanded. Economic issues came to the fore.

The development of the helicopter began in 1947. under the leadership of M.L. Mil, who proposed a project of a lung multipurpose helicopter for military and civilian use. Previously, under the leadership of M.L. Mil, the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute (TsAGI) designed and built a full-scale helicopter installation at NSU for aerodynamic studies of a full-size main rotor, which was then used for a helicopter, which received the designation GM-1. At the aviation plant in Kyiv, three experimental helicopters were built: the first flight of the first experimental helicopter took place on September 28, 1948. (test pilot M.K. Baikalov), later in 1948-1949. - the remaining two experimental helicopters (test pilots G.A. Tinyakov, V.V. Vinitsky and M.L. Gallai). State tests of the third experimental helicopter began on September 10, 1949, and on February 21, 1950. a resolution was adopted by the Council of Ministers of the USSR on the start of serial production of the helicopter Mi-1 (GM-1). Serial production began in 1950. at the Moscow Helicopter Plant, and then in a large series from 1952. in Kazan, which marked the beginning of large-scale production of helicopters in our country.

In 1954 helicopters Mi-1 began to be produced in Orenburg and since 1958. In Rostov. In 1957 helicopter production started Mi-1 licensed in Poland. In total it was in 1950-1960. more than 2500 helicopters were built, in addition, 300 helicopters were produced in 1957-1960. licensed in Poland.

When creating and fine-tuning a helicopter Mi-1 used a number of original technical solutions, including the main rotor control system with inertial dampers, subsequently equipped with irreversible hydraulic boosters, the combination of control systems for the main rotor pitch and engine power into a single "pitch-gas" system, anti-icing system for main and tail rotor blades and others.

According to its flight performance characteristics, the helicopter Mi-1 approached the famous American helicopter Sikorsky S-51 , created in 1946, and an English helicopter Bristol 171 , created in 1947, however, unlike these helicopters, which were built for a short time in a small series ( Sikorsky S-51 in 1947-1951, 379 helicopters were built and Bristol 171 in 1950-1954, 178 helicopters were built) and were "transitional" helicopters that found limited use and were soon replaced by more advanced helicopters, helicopters Mi-1 received the widest practical use in the armed forces and the national economy of our country and in many countries where they were exported, having proven themselves well in operation. On the high performance characteristics of helicopters Mi-1 evidence established in 1958-1968. 27 international records, including speed records 210.535 , 196.452 and 141.392km/h on the base 100 , 500 and 1000km, height 6700m and flight range 1654.571km, as well as 11 women's records. Therefore, Mi-1 helicopters have remained in operation in many countries to date; according to data given in the annual review "Military aviation of the countries of the world", published in the journal "Flight International", as of mid-1995. approximately 150 helicopters were used in the armed forces of the countries of the world Mi-1. Helicopter Mi-1 produced in the following modifications:

• Mi-1- standard version with one pilot and three passengers;
• Mi-1NH- for use in the national economy, was used to transport passengers and mail, for which it was equipped with hanging containers;
• Mi-1U- a training helicopter with dual control and an instructor's seat, was widely used in DOSAAF;
• sanitary- with two hanging gondolas on the sides of the fuselage for patients connected to the cockpit, and a table for medical equipment in the cockpit; built in 1954;
• agricultural- for use in agriculture and forestry for pest control; equipped with two tanks on the sides of the fuselage with a capacity of 250 l and rods with nozzles for spraying chemicals;
• Mi-1P- deck with float chassis; used in the whaling flotilla "Glory".

DESIGN. The helicopter is made according to a single-rotor scheme with a tail rotor, one PD and a tricycle landing gear.

The fuselage of the truss structure with a sheathing, made of aluminum alloy and a semi-monocoque tail boom with an upwardly deflected end beam and a controlled stabilizer. The cockpit accommodates a pilot in the front seat and two passengers in the back, in a training version with dual controls - a cadet in the front seat and an instructor behind him.

Chassis tricycle, non-retractable, the main supports of the truss structure, the front support is self-orienting. A safety support is installed at the end of the tail boom. Chassis track 3.29m, chassis base 3.2m.

The main rotor is three-bladed, with hinged blades and friction dampers. Mixed design blades with tubular steel spar, wooden ribs and stringers, and skins of plywood and canvas. The blades have a trapezoidal shape in plan and a NACA 230 profile with a variable relative thickness. The latest helicopter models were equipped with all-metal rectangular-shaped blades in plan, with a pressed aluminum alloy spar with sections glued to it with aluminum honeycomb core.

The steering screw is three-bladed, with a diameter of 2.5m pushing, with wooden trapezoidal blades.

The power plant consists of one star-shaped seven-cylinder piston engine AI-26V with a power of 423 kW, installed in a horizontal position and equipped with an angular gearbox and a fan for forced cooling.

The fuel system includes a tank with a capacity of 240 liters, it is possible to install an additional external fuel tank with a capacity of 160 liters.

The transmission consists of a main gearbox with a clutch, an intermediate and a tail rotor gearbox, shafts and a main rotor brake. The speed of rotation of the main rotor shaft is 232 rpm, the tail rotor is 2050 rpm.

The control system is mechanical, with rigid wiring to control the common pitch and cable - for cyclic control of the pitch of the main rotor blades and the common pitch of the tail rotor; the control of the stabilizer from the "step-gas" handle has a rigid wiring, the control system includes unloading spring mechanisms.

The equipment provides helicopter piloting day and night and in difficult meteorological conditions. The blades of the main and tail propellers, as well as the windshield of the cockpit, have anti-icing alcohol systems.

E.I. Ruzhitsky "Helicopters", 1997

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