Russian engine for the Mi-38

Russian Helicopters’ Moscow Helicopter Plant is set to begin flight trials of the new Mil Mi-38 helicopter with Russian Klimov TV7-117V turboshafts in June this year. One set of such engines has already been delivered from St Petersburg-based Klimov Plant to the Panki, Moscow Region facility where the first Mi-38 prototypes are being flight-tested. Another set was shipped to Kazan Helicopters which is assembling a third prototype, to be completed by the end of this year.

The Klimov-powered Mi-38, designated Mi-382, was first demonstrated at static display at the MAKS air show in Zhukovsky last year. The first two prototypes were flying with Pratt & Whitney Canada PW 127T/S engines rated at 2,535 hp.

The Mi-38 has been under development since the 1980s; the first prototype took off in 2003. The helicopter has a maximum take-off weight of 15,600 kg; it can carry up to 7 t of freight externally and fits between the Mil Mi-8 medium-lift helicopter and the heavy-lift Mi-26. The Mi-38 was meant to be Russian-powered from the start, but hold-ups in the development of the powerplant forced the airframer to look to foreign-made engine options.