The Kamov Ka-92 is a high-speed coaxial

compound helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attribut ...

design proposed by

Kamov JSC Kamov () is a rotorcraft Aerospace manufacturer, manufacturing company based in Lyubertsy, Russia. The Kamov Design Bureau (OKB, design office prefix Ka) has more recently specialised in compact helicopters with coaxial rotors, suitable for ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

in competition with the

Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant () is a Russian designer and producer of helicopters headquartered in Tomilino. It is a subsidiary of Russian Helicopters. The Moscow Mil Helicopter Plant includes a design bureau and an experimental production plant. ...

for a $1.3 billion project by the Russian government for development of a high-speed helicopter.

Design and development

The Kamov Ka-92 is part of a program of the newly established

Russian Helicopters JSC Russian Helicopters () is a helicopter design and manufacturing company headquartered in Moscow, Russia. The company designs and manufactures civilian and military helicopters. The company's principal shareholder is Rostec. It is the world's ...

company, intended to create a new generation of medium-class helicopters capable of cruising at about 500 km/h (312 mph) and flying over a distance of up to 1400 km. Its preliminary design and some specification data were unveiled at the HeliRussia 2009 exhibition near Moscow. The Ka-92 will feature a

coaxial rotor A coaxial-rotor aircraft is an aircraft whose rotors are mounted one above the other on concentric shafts, with the same axis of rotation, but turning in opposite directions ( contra-rotating). This rotor configuration is a feature of helicopt ...

system which is distinctive of Kamov products. As on the

Mil Mi-X1 Mil Mi-X1 is a high-speed helicopter being proposed by Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant, Mil of Russia. The aircraft belongs to the same program as its competitor Kamov Ka-92 intended to create a new generation of middle-class helicopters cruising at ab ...

, a pusher propeller will be used on the Ka-92, but the Kamov will use two instead of one as Mil has chosen. As Kamov Chief Designer Sergey Mikheev explained, the traditional design when the main rotor both lifts and pushes the aircraft forward functions only up to a speed of about 300 km/h due to

retreating blade stall Retreating blade stall is a hazardous flight condition in helicopters and other rotary wing aircraft, where the retreating rotor blade has a lower relative blade speed, combined with an increased angle of attack, causing a stall and loss of lift ...

. "Now we plan to split the functions of horizontal and vertical flights between different rotors", said Mikheev. The Ka-92 is planned as a 30-seat passenger helicopter with a takeoff weight of 16 tons. According to Mikheev, the first prototype will be powered by two Klimov VK-2500 engines equipped with a new gearbox.Novichkov, Nikolai
Russia plans to challenge the West in high-speed helicopter market
''Aviation International News'', 1 August 2009. Accessed: 7 February 2011. However the designers plan to install more powerful 3,200 hp VK-3000

turboshaft A turboshaft engine is a form of gas turbine that is optimized to produce shaft horsepower rather than jet thrust. In concept, turboshaft engines are very similar to turbojets, with additional turbine expansion to extract heat energy from the ex ...

s as soon as the St. Petersburg-based Klimov Company finishes their development. With improved aerodynamics and two rear-mounted counterrotating pusher propellers, the Ka-92 is expected to reach a cruise speed of 420 to 430 km/h. Development of the Mi-X1 and Ka-92 was switched from Ministry for Industry and Trade to Ministry of Defence in 2015 due to reduced government funding and high operating cost. A Russian Air Force general planned for a prototype to fly in 2018, with production in 2022.Vladimir Karnozov.
Russian Military Still Funding High-Speed Rotorcraft
''Aviation International News'', 3 September 2015.

References

* Russia & CIS Observer, May 2009. {{Kamov aircraft Kamov aircraft Soviet and Russian helicopters Proposed aircraft of Russia Coaxial rotor helicopters Twin-engined single-prop pusher aircraft Aircraft with contra-rotating propellers Compound helicopters

Design and development

See also

References