Largest helicopter arrives at China

The largest heavy-lift helicopter in the world arrived at Harbin Taiping International Airport on September 8 and will be used for forest firefighting and installation of electric power lines. The Mi-26TC, with eight propeller blades with a radius of 16 meters, was leased by China Flying Dragon Special Aviation Co. from Rostvertol, the helicopter’s manufacturer. Lu Jinglei, general manager of the aviation company, said the helicopter’s length is 40.025 meters with rotating rotors and tail rotors. Its maximum takeoff weight is 56 tons with a load capacity of over 20 tons, nearly the same as the domestic Y-8 aircraft. The Mi-26TC flew out from Rostov-on-Don (Russia), and arrived at Harbin after 30 hours of flight. The helicopter will be delivered after inspection.