MOSCOW. May 17 (Interfax-AVN) - The Kamov company has started certification of the KA-226 Hoodlum helicopter, chief of the company's design bureau Leonid Shiryayev said on Friday.
The certification is to be complete in late 2002 or early 2003, Shiryayev told Interfax-Military News Agency. The helicopter is to make at least 300 flights in the framework of the certification program that gets no funds from the state budget.
Mass production of the KA-226 is handled by the Strela production enterprise in the city of Orenburg and the Kumertau aircraft production association in the Bashkortostan autonomous republic.
The Kamov company has got orders for production of three Hoodlums for the Moscow city administration, 22 for oil and gas giant Gazprom and five for the Russian Emergencies Ministry, Shiryayev said.
The helicopters ordered by the Moscow city administration will be shipped to the customer in 2003.
"In addition, there are options for supplies of another seven helicopters to Moscow before 2005 and another 28 helicopters to the Gazprom JSO. The Emergencies Ministry is also expected to purchase more KA-226 helicopters," Shiryayev said.
According to him, the Kumertau plant has built one KA-226 and is planning to build another one this year. Ten more helicopters divided in batches of five items are under construction at the enterprise.
Strela is making two Hoodlums under an agreement with the Emergencies Ministry. The first helicopter has recently been completed and the second one will be submitted for tests in late May. Their special equipment will undergo a small volume of tests in the Moscow region. The first helicopter is fitted with emergency rescue equipment and the second with medical equipment.
The KA-226 light helicopter is intended for transportation of up to nine passengers. It is powered with two Rolls Royce 250- C20R/2(SR) engines, 450 horsepower each. The AI-450 engine developed by the Progress design bureau in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia can be installed in the helicopter, too.
The KA-226 has a take-off weight of 3,400 kilograms. The maximum payload is up to 1,400 kilograms in the transport cabin and up to 1,500 kilograms on outer suspension points. The maximum speed is 205 kilometers per hour, cruise speed 194 kilometers per hour and operational range up to 600 kilometers. The aircraft can spend up to 4 hours 34 minutes in the air without additional fuel tanks and up to 6 hours 45 minutes with fuel tanks.