The MIL V-12 was a enormous twin-rotor helicopter developed
by the USSR during the height of the cold war. The Mil
V-12 went by the western reporting name 'Homer'. Measuring
37 meters (121 ft) in length, and with a rotors measuring
35 meters (114 ft) in diameter the MIL V-12 was the largest
helicopter ever built.
Unlike most twin-rotor transport helicopters - like the
Chinook - which have their rotors at the ends of the fuselage,
the Mil V-12 employed a side-by-side layout with the rotors
housed at the end of long booms.
The Mil V-12 made its first full flight in 1968, and by
1969 the aircraft had set no less than seven load-carrying
records. Including one lift of 40,204 kgs (88,635 lbs)
to a height of 2255 meters (7,400 ft).
The Mil V-12 had a crew of six, and under normal circumstances
could carry up to 120 passengers, or a load of 35,400
(77,162 lbs). The aircraft had a top speed of 161 mph
(259 km/h). At maximum capacity the Homer had a range
of 311 miles (500 km).
In total three prototype examples of the Mil V-12 Homer
were constructed. In the end however the Russian military
opted for a more conventional heavy-lift transport helicopter
in the form of the Mi-26 (reporting name 'Halo'). The
Mi-26 was a single main-rotor helicopter which first flew
in 1977, and also took the title of 'worlds largest production
helicopter'.
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