Russian Mi-38 helicopter climbs to 8,500 meters during flight test 0410111

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World Aviation Industry News - Russia Helicopter
 
 
Russian Mi-38 helicopter climbs to 8,500 meters during flight test.
 
A Mil Mi-38 medium transport and passenger helicopter climbed 8,500 meters high in test flights, Moscow Mil Helicopter Plant test pilot, Hero of Russia Alexander Klimov told Interfax-AVN.
     
A Mil Mi-38 medium transport and passenger helicopter climbed 8,500 meters high in test flights, Moscow Mil Helicopter Plant test pilot, Hero of Russia Alexander Klimov told Interfax-AVN.
Russian Mi-38 transport helicopter
     
"We made the flight from the Chkalovsky airfield. Temperatures varied from 15 degrees Celsius on the ground to minus 37 degrees up there,"" said Klimov, who was the test flight co-pilot.

The helicopter is capable of going nine kilometers up with a lesser takeoff weight, he said. ""If the helicopter is made lighter, Mi-38 can certainly reach the altitude of nine kilometers," he said.

The test flight did not aim to break any altitude records. ""Records were immaterial; we needed to test the helicopter,"" he said.

The second experimental model of Mi-38 with Pratt & Whitney Canada engines performed the flight. Russian-made TV7-117V engines, which will also be installed in serial Mi-28, are more powerful, which will make high altitude flights easy, he said.

"The world has no helicopters with such splendid altitude characteristics as Mi-38,"" Klimov said.