Kazan Helicopter Plant - from biplanes to Ansata and Mi-38

Helicopters in the USSR began to build later than in the US, although the Russian engineer Igor Sikorsky invented this vehicle . Despite this, the lag was provisional, and Soviet helicopters soon after the start of their production showed themselves in the sky in all its glory. In many countries, they perform a variety of tasks - both military and peaceful. In service they are convenient, flight performance is good, and the reliability of our equipment has become a byword. One of the largest manufacturers of our rotorcraft is the Kazan Helicopter Plant. The site of this enterprise is part of the general information platform of the holding company Helicopters of Russia, which is explained by the fact that the production of this type of aircraft retained a certain centralization.

How aircraft production began in Kazan. The future Kazan Helicopter Plant

Before the war in Kazan aircraft factory was not. In the city of Leningrad, according to the order of the People's Commissariat of Aircraft Industry of September 4, 1940, aircraft production was established. The invasion of the Nazi troops created a threat to the entire defense complex, and it was decided to evacuate some of the facilities to the rear. Thus, the Leningrad Aviation Plant under the number 387 was in the capital of Soviet Tataria, where it was combined with another production, previously engaged in the manufacture of transportation equipment, while also speaking little for the unenlightened number 169. We built in Kazan small biplanes Po-2 (they were called before the war U-2, and were intended for training pilots). These airplanes, seemingly unpretentious and made mostly of wood, fulfilled their mission to protect their homeland: they served for reconnaissance and even carried out night bombing. From the gates of the plant eleven thousand pieces were rolled out onto the airfield.

After the war

The need for aircraft after the Victory decreased, but agricultural machinery was not enough: devastation. At the factory plant No. 387, C-4 harvesters began to produce - the first self-propelled technical devices capable of performing a number of field works. This task was more urgent than ever, there were not enough workers, it was required to raise the level of rural mechanization. And the aircraft builders coped, the collective and state farms of the USSR received nine thousand units. But still this plant was not created for the production of agricultural machinery.

Again the sky

In 1951, design and construction work on the first Soviet mass Mi-1 helicopter was completed at the MIL Mil Design Bureau. It was an easy car, capable of lifting up to three people, including a pilot. But it was with her that the Kazan Helicopter Plant began its work in the then new sub-sector of aircraft construction. In 1954, they managed to master a new machine, the Mi-4, the design of which was so successful that foreign countries began to buy it. It was also useful for the needs of the Soviet Army, Aeroflot, and polar aviation. In 1965, the production of this masterpiece of domestic industry - the Mi-8, which became the most recognizable, mass and popular rotorcraft in the history of Soviet aircraft construction - began. In 1966, the veil of secrecy was removed, and the place of the faceless number of the "mailbox" was taken by a new brand - Kazan Helicopter Plant. She became famous all over the world.

Ansat

The Soviet aviation industry was always surrounded by the government's concern, the best specialists, the elite of the engineering class, worked in it. After the collapse of the USSR, the Kazan Helicopter Plant began to experience the same difficulties as the entire national economy. But the management of the enterprise did not give up and did not allow the ruin of the enterprise entrusted to it. Created in the daring nineties open joint-stock company continued to engage in core business when it seemed that it can only bring losses. At JSC Kazan Helicopter Plant in 1997, they began assembling the first copy of Ansat - a new type of car, light and small, which the market needed. Capable of carrying up to nine people, this helicopter, because of its economy, could be used in a variety of areas of life, from training pilots (Ansat-U) to flying ambulance. Two powerful engines (used by American Pratt & Whitney) provide a speed of 250 km / h and a high rate of climb. The machine is compact, its length is little more than 13 meters.

New horizons

Ansat is still unique. In the post-Soviet period, not a single helicopter was designed in Russia, but at OAO Kazan Helicopter Plant they managed to do this. However, there were backlogs of the past decades. The USSR inherited a rich inheritance, which should be disposed of reasonably. Continued to work in this direction Kazan Helicopter Plant, whose address (Tetsovskaya Street, No. 14) did not become a place for warehouse complexes, shopping and entertainment centers and supermarkets. On the basis of the famous Mi-8 was released its modification of the Mi-17 with modern avionics and power plant. A promising development is the Mi-38, which is going to be produced from next year. For the needs of the enterprise, the latest equipment is purchased and personnel trained. As you know, it is the cadres who decide a lot.