2–4 February 1982: Over a three-day period, several flight crews set a series of Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) payload-to-altitude world records at Podmoskovnoe. They flew an OKB Mil Design Bureau Mi-26 heavy lift helicopter.
On 3 February 1982, flown by Ге́рман Вита́льевич Алфёров (Herman Vitalievich Alferov) and L.A. Indeev, the Mi-26 with an all-up weight of 56,768.8 kilograms (125,153.8 pounds) flew to a height of 2,000 meters (6,562 feet).¹ Later, they flew to a height of 4,100 meters (13,451 feet) with a payload of 25,000 kilograms (55,115.6 pounds).²
The Mil Mi-26 (NATO code name: Halo) first flew on 25 October 1977. It is a twin-engine heavy-lift helicopter, normally operated by a flight crew of five, and can carry up to 90 passengers.
The Mi-26 is 40.025 meters (131 feet, 3¾ inches) long, with all rotors turning, and has a height of 8.145 meters (26 feet, 8¾ inches). The eight-bladed main rotor has a diameter of 32.00 meters (105 feet) and turns clockwise, as seen from above. (The advancing blade is on the left.) A five-bladed tail rotor is mounted on a pylon, to the right side of the aircraft, in a tractor configuration. It turns clockwise, as seen from the helicopter’s left.
The helicopter has an empty weight of 28,200 kilograms (62,170 pounds), gross weight of 49,600 kilograms (109,350 pounds) and maximum weight of 56,000 kilograms (123,450 pounds). The fuel capacity is 12,000 liters (3,200 gallons).
The Mi-26 is powered by two Lotarev D-136 turboshaft engines which are rated at 8,500 kW (11,299 shaft horsepower), each. It’s cruise speed is 255 kilometers per hour (158 miles per hour) and the maximum speed is 296 kilometers per hour (183 miles per hour). Range is 620 kilometers (385 miles). The service ceiling is 4,500 meters (14,765 feet).
320 Mil Mi-26 helicopters have been built.
Г. В. Алфёров
Herman Vitalievich Alferov (Ге́рман Вита́льевич Алфёров) was born at Moscow, U.S.S.R., 11 April 1934. He learned to fly at the Moscow Flying Club at the age of 16. I was a flight instructor at the Russian National Aeroclub Chkalov, the oldest flying club in Russia, from 1952 to 1954. He graduated from the DOSAAF flight/technical school at Saransk in 1954.
Alferov was a test pilot at OKB Mil Design Bureau from 1954 until 1982. He made the first flights of many Mil helicopters, including the Mi-1 KX light helicopter in 1957, the first Soviet production turboshaft-powered helicopter, the heavy-lift Mi-6 (he was co-pilot), the twin-turboshaft Mi-2, Mi-10K flying crane, and the Mi-24 “Hind” attack helicopter (co-pilot). He was the lead test pilot for the Mi-24 at the Arsenyev aviation plant at Aresenev, Primorski Krai, in the Russian Far East from 1970, and for the Mi-26 beginning in 1978.
Herman Vitalievich Alferov died at Moscow, Russia, 9 January 2012, at the age of 77 years. During his aviation career, he had been awarded the Order of the October Revolution, Order of the Red Banner of Labor (two awards), Order of the Red Star (two awards), Order of the Badge of Honor, and was named an Honored Test Pilot of the Soviet Union. He had participated in setting five FAI world records for helicopters.
Major Roy Lee Anderson, USMC (left), and Sikorsky test pilot Robert Stewart Decker. (FAI)
9–11 November 1956: Over a three-day period at Windsor Locks, Connecticut, a Sikorsky HR2S-1 heavy-lift helicopter, flown by Major Roy Lee Anderson, United States Marine Corps, and Sikorsky test pilot Robert Stewart Decker, set three Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) world records for payload and speed.
On 9 November 1956, the HR2S-1 carried a payload of 5,000 kilograms (11,023 pounds) payload to an altitude of 3,722 meters (12,211 feet). ¹
The following day, 10 November, it set a record for the Greatest Mass Carried to a Height of 2,000 Meters (6562 feet), with a payload of 6,010 kilograms (13,250 pounds). ²
On 11 November, the third day, Anderson and Decker flew the helicopter to a speed of 261,91 kilometers per hour (162.74 miles per hour) over a 3-kilometer (1.86 statute miles) course .³
For these flights, Major Anderson was awarded a third gold star in lieu of a fourth award of the Distinguished Flying Cross.
The world-record-setting Sikorsky HR2S-1. (Fédération Aéronautique Internationale)
United Press reported:
US Helicopter Sets Altitude, Speed Records
STRATFORD, Conn.—UP—A twin-engine Marine helicopter has established two international records for speed and altitude.
The Sikorsky division of United Aircraft Corporation said one of its S56 helicopters reached 162.7 miles per hour during a recent trial. The old record, set two years ago by another Sikorsky model, was 156 miles per hour.
Tops Russian Craft
The S56 flew more than 12,000 feet high while carrying 11,050 pounds. With the payload increased to 13,250 pounds it reached 7,000 feet, far outstripping the previous mark set by a Russian craft of 8,820 pounds to 6,560 feet.
The altitude trials were conducted from Sikorsky’s field in Stratford. Major Roy L. Anderson was pilot and Robert S. Decker copilot.
The records are subject to confirmation by the Federation Aeronautique Internationale. The trials were conducted under the auspices of the National Aeronautics [sic] Association.
The Sikorsky HR2S-1 was an assault and heavy-lift helicopter produced for the United States Navy and Marine Corps. It was later adopted by the U.S. Army as the H-37 Mohave.
The S-56 was a large twin-engine helicopter, following the single main rotor/tail (anti-torque) rotor configuration pioneered by Sikorsky with the Vought-Sikorsky VS-300 in 1939. The helicopter was designed to be flown by two pilots in a cockpit located above the main cabin. The two engines were placed in nacelles outboard of the stub wings which also housed the helicopter’s retractable main landing gear. Two large clam shell cargo doors and loading ramp were placed in the nose. The HR2S-1 incorporated a stability system and an automatic torque compensating tail rotor.
The S-56 series was the largest and fastest helicopter built up to that time, and remains the largest reciprocating engine helicopter ever built.
The S-56 was equipped with a five blade articulated main rotor. This allowed increased lift and higher forward air speed before encountering retreating blade stall than earlier three and four blade systems. A six blade rotor system was tested, which showed further improvements, but was not adopted. The main rotor diameter was initially 68 feet (20.726 meters), but later increased to 72 feet (21.946 meters). The main rotor blades had a chord of 1 foot, 9.5 inches (0.546 meters) and used the symmetrical NACA 0012 airfoil, which was standard with American helicopters up to that time. Later in the program, the blades were lengthened and the chord increased to 1 foot, 11.65 inches (0.601 meters). The airfoil was changed to the NACA 0010.9 airfoil. These changes resulted in increased lift and higher speed. The four blade tail rotor had a diameter of 15 feet (4.572 meters). The individual blades had a chord of 1 foot, 1.5 inches (0.343 meters). As is common with American helicopters, the main rotor system turned counter-clockwise as seen from above. (The advancing blade is on the right.) The tail rotor turned counter-clockwise when viewed from the helicopter’s left side. (The advancing blade is above the axis of rotation.)
Sikorsky S-56 three-view illustration with dimensions. (Sikorsky Historical Archives)
With the longer blades installed, the helicopter’s length with rotors turning was 88 feet (26.822 meters). The fuselage had a length of 64 feet, 10.69 inches (19.779 meters), and the height was 17 feet, 2 inches (5.232 meters). The HR2S-1 had an empty weight of 21,502 pounds (9,753 kilograms), and maximum weight (overload) of 31,000 pounds (14,061 kilograms). Its fuel capacity was 1,000 U.S. gallons (3,785 liters) carried in 6 tanks located in the nacelles, wings and fuselage. It could carry 20 fully-equipped troops, or 16 litters. Its maximum cargo capacity was 10,000 pounds (4,536 kilograms).
The HR2S-1 had an automatic main rotor blade folding system, and its tail rotor pylon could be folded alongside the fuselage, reducing the length to 55 feet, 8 inches (16.967 meters) and width to 27 feet, 4 inches (8.331 meters). This allowed the helicopter to use aircraft carrier elevators and reduced storage space on the hangar deck.
Early S-56 models were powered by two air-cooled, supercharged 2,804.461 cubic inch displacement (45.957 liters) Pratt & Whitney Double Wasp R-2800-50 two-row, 18-cylinder radial engines rated at 1,900 horsepower at 2,500 r.p.m. These were upgraded in later models to R-2800-54s. These were direct drive engines with a compression ratio of 6.75:1. The R-2800-54 was rated at 2,100 horsepower at 2,700 r.p.m. to 5,000 feet (1,524 meters) for takeoff; with a normal power rating of 1,900 horsepower at 2,600 r.p.m. to 7,000 feet (2,134 meters). It required 115/145 octane aviation gasoline. Each engine was supplied with 13.3 gallons (50.35 liters) of lubricating oil. The R-2800-54 was 6 feet, 9.00 inches long (2.057 meters), 4 feet, 5.00 inches (1.346 meters) in diameter, and weighed 2,300 pounds (1,043 kilograms).
The helicopter’s engines were installed at an 80° angle to the aircraft center line, with a 12.5° upward angle to align with the main transmission input. The front of the engines faced inboard. According to Sikorsky, this unusual installation resulted in high oil consumption, and because the engines were operated at continuous high r.p.m., the time interval between engine overhauls was reduced from the normal 2,000 hours to just 350 hours.
Two U.S. Marine Corps HR2S-1 Mohave assault helicopters of Marine Helicopter Transport Squadron (HMR) 462 at Camp Pendelton, California, late 1950s. (Naval History and Heritage Command)
The production HR2S-1 had a cruise speed of 100 knots (115 miles per hour/185 kilometers per hour), and a maximum speed of 121 knots (139 miles per hour/224 kilometers per hour) at Sea Level. The helicopter’s service ceiling was 13,800 feet (4,206 meters), and its absolute hover ceiling was 5,400 feet (1,646 meters). It had a maximum rate of climb of 1,580 feet per minute (8.03 meters per second) at Sea Level, and a vertical rate of climb 950 feet per minute (4.83 meters per second), also at Sea Level. The combat radius of the HR2S-1 was 100 nautical miles (115 statute miles/185 kilometers) at 100 knots (115 miles per hour/185 kilometers per hour.)
55 HR2S-1s were delivered to the U.S. Marine Corps. The U.S. Army purchased 94 S-56s in the H-37A Mohave configuration. 90 of these were later returned to Sikorsky to be upgraded to H-37Bs. This added the automatic stabilization system of the HR2S-1, changed the variable incidence horizontal stabilizers on both side of the fuselage to a single stabilizer on top of the tail rotor pylon. Engine oil capacity was increased to 30 gallons (113.6 liters) per engine.
A total of 154 S-56s were built between 1953 and 1960.
U.S. Marines exit the front cargo doors of a Sikorsky XHR2S-1 helicopter during a training exercise. (NAID 74241875
One of the two Mil Design Bureau Mi-12 heavy lift helicopter prototypes, 1971. (Groningen Airport-Eelde)
6 August 1969: The largest helicopter ever built, the four-engine, transverse-tandem rotor Mil Design Bureau Mi-12, registration CCCP-21142, lifted a payload of 40,204.5 kilograms (88,635.7 pounds) to an altitude 2,255 meters (7,398 feet), setting three Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) world records for payload to altitude. These records have never been broken by any other helicopter.
The helicopter was flown by Vasily Kolochenko, with L.V. Vlassov, V.V. Juravlev, V.P. Bartchenkov, S.G. Ribalko, and A.I. Krutchkov.
FAI Record File Num #9916 [Direct Link]
Status: ratified – current record
Region: World
Class: E (Rotorcraft)
Sub-Class: E-1 (Helicopters)
Category: General
Group: 2 : turbine
Type of record: Altitude with 35 000 kg payload
Performance: 2 255 m
Date: 1969-08-06
Course/Location: Podmoskovnoe (USSR)
Claimant Vasily Kolochenko (URS)
Crew L.V. VLASSOV, V.V. JURAVLEV, V.P. BARTCHENKOV, S.G. RIBALKO, A.I. KRUTCHKOV
Rotorcraft: MIL M-12 (V-12)
Engines: 4 Soloviev D-25 VF
FAI Record File Num #9917 [Direct Link]
Status: ratified – current record
Region: World
Class: E (Rotorcraft)
Sub-Class: E-1 (Helicopters)
Category: General
Group: 2 : turbine
Type of record: Altitude with 40 000 kg payload
Performance: 2 255 m
Date: 1969-08-06
Course/Location: Podmoskovnoe (USSR)
Claimant Vasily Kolochenko (URS)
Crew L.V. VLASSOV, V.V. JURAVLEV, V.P. BARTCHENKOV, S.G. RIBALKO, A.I. KRUTCHKOV
Rotorcraft: MIL M-12 (V-12)
Engines: 4 Soloviev D-25 VF
FAI Record File Num #9937 [Direct Link]
Status: ratified – superseded since approved
Region: World
Class: E (Rotorcraft)
Sub-Class: E-1e (Helicopters: take off weight 3000 to 4500 kg)
Category: General
Group: 2 : turbine
Type of record: Greatest mass carried to height of 2 000 m
Performance: 40 204.5 kg
Date: 1969-08-06
Course/Location: Podmoskovnoe (USSR)
Claimant Vasily Kolochenko (URS)
Crew L.V. VLASSOV, V.V. JURAVLEV,V.P. BARTCHENKO,S.G. RIBALKO,A.I. KRUTCHKOV
Rotorcraft: MIL M-12 (V-12)
Engines: 4 Soloviev D-25 VF
This is the first of two Mil-12 prototypes built by the Mil Design Bureau. (Both had the same registration number: 21142.) They were intended to transport intercontinental ballistic missiles and load them directly into underground silos where there were no existing roads. The aircraft was operated by a six-man crew.
The Mi-12 has a length of 37.00 meters (121 feet, 4.69 inches) and rotor span of 67 meters (219 feet, 9.79 inches). Its height is 12.50 meters (41 feet, 0.13 inches). The helicopter has an empty weight of 69,100 kilograms (152,339 pounds) and maximum takeoff weight of 105,000 kilograms (231,485 pounds).
The Mi-12 uses two main rotor, transmission and twin engine systems from the single rotor Mil Mi-6 helicopter. Each rotor had a diameter of 35.00 meters (114 feet, 9.95 inches). The total disc area is 1,924 square meters (20,710 square feet). The left rotor turns counter-clockwise, as seen from above. The right rotor turns clockwise. (The advancing blades of both rotors are inboard.) With counter-rotating main rotors, the torque created by each rotor system is cancelled out, eliminating the need for a tail, or anti-torque, rotor. This makes the total power produced available for lift.
Three-view illustration of Mil Mi-12. (Aviastar)
The Mil Mi-12 is powered by four Soloviev Design Bureau D-25VF turboshaft engines. The D-25VF has a nine-stage axial-flow compressor section and a three-stage turbine. Each engine is 2.737 meters (8 feet, 11.76 inches) long, 0.508 meters (1 foot, 8.00 inches) in diameter, and weighs 1,200 kilograms (2,646 pounds). In the Mi-12, two engines are coupled to a single gear box, and mounted at the ends of the wings. The D-25VF has a maximum power rating of 4,847 kilowatts (6,500 shaft horsepower). The four engines, combined, produce 19,388 kilowatts (26,000 horsepower).
The helicopter’s internal cargo bay is 4.40 meters (14 feet, 5.23 inches) wide, 4.40 meters (14 feet, 5.23 inches) high, and 28.15 meters (92 feet, 4.27 inches) long. It can carry 40,000 kilograms (88,185 pounds) of cargo internally, or 5,500 kilograms (12,125 pounds) as a sling load.
The Mi-12 has a maximum range of 500 kilometers (311 statute miles) with a 35,400 kilogram (78,044 pounds) payload. The maximum speed is 260 kilometers per hour (162 statute miles per hour/140 knots) and the service ceiling is 3,500 meters (11,483 feet).
The Mi-12 was not put into series production. The record-setting first prototype is at the Mikhail Leontyevich Mil helicopter factory at Panki-Tomilino, near Moscow.
World Record holding Mil Mi-12 at Tomolino. (Yuriy Lapitskyi)
Boeing 747-400 N401PW lifts off the runway at Moses Lake, Washington. (Boeing)
27 June 1988: During flight testing of the first Boeing 747-400 airliner, N401PW, serial number 23719, test pilots James C. Loesch and Howard B. Greene took off from Moses Lake, Washington and climbed to an altitude of 2,000 meters (6,562 feet). The total weight of the airplane was 405,659 kilograms (894,325 pounds). This set a new Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Record for Greatest Mass Carried to a Height of 2,000 Meters.¹
N401PW, the first Boeing 747-400 airliner. (Boeing)
The 747-400 was a major development of the 747 series. It had many structural and electronics improvements over the earlier models, which had debuted 18 years earlier. New systems, such as a “glass cockpit”, flight management computers, and new engines allowed it to be flown with a crew of just two pilots, and the position of Flight Engineer became unnecessary. The most visible features of the –400 are its longer upper deck and the six-foot tall “winglets” at the end of each wing, which improve aerodynamic efficiency be limiting the formation of wing-tip vortices. At the time of its first flight, Boeing had already received orders for 100 747-400s. It would become the most popular version, with 694 aircraft built by the time production came to an end 15 March 2007.
The Boeing 747-400 airliner can carry between 416 and 524 passengers, depending on configuration. It is 231 feet, 10 inches (70.663 meters) long with a wingspan of 211 feet, 5 inches (64.440 meters) and overall height of 63 feet, 8 inches (19.406 meters). Empty weight is 394,100 pounds (178,761 kilograms). Maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) is 875,000 pounds (396,893 kilograms). While the prototype was powered by four Pratt and Whitney PW4056 turbofan engines, production airplanes could be ordered with PW4062, General Electric CF6 or Rolls-Royce RB211 engines, providing thrust ranging from 59,500 to 63,300 pounds. The –400 has a cruise speed of 0.85 Mach (567 miles per hour, 912 kilometers per hour) and maximum speed of 0.92 Mach (614 miles per hour, 988 kilometers hour). Maximum range at maximum payload weight is 8,355 miles (13,446 kilometers).
Northwest Airlines’ Boeing 747-451 N661US on approach to Osaka Kansai International Airport, 11 June 2007. (Photograph courtesy of Dennis Lau)
After the test program was completed, the prototype 747-400 was outfitted for airline service configured as a 747-451. It was operated by Northwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines. It was been re-registered as N661US, and carries the Delta fleet number 6301.
Boeing 747-451 N661US, Delta Air Lines, landing at Tokyo-Narita International Airport, 25 July 2009. (Photograph courtesy of Kazuchika Naya)
N661US flew its last revenue flight 9 September 2015, from Honolulu (HNL) to Atlanta (ATL). It was then withdrawn from service. The first 747-400 is on display at the Delta Flight Museum near Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, Atlanta, Georgia.
Boeing 747-400 N661US at the Delta Flight Museum. (AIA Georgia)
