« Back
22.12.2013 01:43 1948. There is an Air parade in Tushino airfield dedicated to the Day of Air Fleet. Attention of viewers were attracted by car on the load platform hosting... helicopter. He flied off making a circle over the airfield and sat down again on the platform. The Creator of a "flying motorcycle" (as it was called by the journalists) was Nikolay Ilyich Kamov. Single helicopter with a motorcycle engine with two coaxial bearing screws rotating in opposite directions was Kamov`s new design.
After successful demonstration of the helicopter there was created experimental design Bureau headed by the chief designer N.I.Kamov who was tasked with developing a single-seat ship-based helicopter for reconnaissance, communications and surveillance. New helicopter KA-10 had the same concept as the "flying motorcycle" but it had more powerful aviation piston engine of air cooling AI-4G with a takeoff power 55 PS developed in the OKB А.G.Ivchenko.
Test of the KA-10 in 1949-1951 demonstrated the exceptional maneuverability and good controllability inherent to coaxial helicopters scheme. It have been worked out such a fundamental design decision as the control system of coaxial bearing screws and two keel plumage (which became the basis of all the developed helicopter design Bureau) on helicopter KA-10 and then its modified version the KA-10A.
Since that time the creation of two-screw coaxial helicopters of various purpose and different weights became the main direction of creative activity Kamov`s Bureau.
The next stage of work OKB is creation of the family of double-triple seated, relatives on the characteristics of coaxial helicopters KA-15, KA-15M, KA-18. These multi-purpose helicopters with a common carrier systems, gearbox and engine were of different purpose and design of the fuselage. It was designed different removable equipment for said helecopters: equipment for pollination, sprays, aerosols generation, suspended containers for cargo and mail, gondola transportation, floating chassis, the second running in training variant.
In 1964 and 1965 helicopter KA-26was created multipurpose. Based on the scheme of "flying chassis” a high returns weight of helicopter with two piston engines have achieved. Kit of quick detachable equipment: passenger cabin, cargo platform, equipment for spraying and mineral fertiliser application, device for transportation of cargoes on the external sling allows a team of 3 people for 1.5-2.0 hours to convert a helicopter from one version to another.
The widespread use of fiberglass should attributed to rank to the construction features of the helicopter in addition to the schema of a "flying chassis”, two engines powerplant and systems creating the excessive pressure in the cockpit for protection from chemicals on agricultural operations. Not only different fairings, hoods, cockpit floor, the bunker for the chemicals, but also such important components of the design, as the rotor blades It helicopter made are made from fiberglass. Compared with duralumin such blades have practically no restrictions on the fatigue strength so the need of complex expensive tooling and processing on the machines are eliminated.
Together with other research institutions within a few years experiments have been conducted on the selection of material, glue, pressing modes to devise the blade designs, test pods and full-scale blade. As a result the design and technology of serial production of fiberglass blades, main rotors of helicopter KA-15 (diameter of 10 metres) and KA-26 helicopter (13 meters in diameter) were developed and fiberglass reinforced plastic blades have been put into wide operation for the first time in the world.
As the experience of the use of helicopters KA-26 is the most effective on agrochemical works. Using in that condition confirmed the advantage of coaxial schemes to the greatest extent. On the one hand the extreme maneuverability of the coaxial helicopter allows flying in the immediate vicinity of processed agricultural land of rugged terrain. On the other hand rings of vortices induced by coaxial carrier system promote the penetration of chemicals in dense crown plants throughout their height. Thanks to this the KA-26 is successfully used in vineyards, fields of wheat and cotton, sugar beet and rice, upland pastures and orchards. According to foreign experts the use of KA-26 helicopter for plant protection is much cheaper than the use of all terrain vehicles.
|