Mil Mi-26: The Biggest Helicopter Ever Built

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[@megaprojects9649]

Sign up for your FREE trial to The Great Courses Plus here: ow.ly/Sa0n30r36GM

[@pyeitme508]

Ok cool

[@NikhilChaudhariimbevda]

Do a video on Kailasa Temple complex (India)

[@chronus4421]

Suggestion: The Chinese man made islands in the South China Sea (Northwest Philippine Sea?)

[@camerancole8433]

Can you explore the tempest project in the UK (jet fighter)

[@Real_Claudy_Focan]

Speaking with a pilot of one in AFG, he told me that these were mainly used to refill remote ICBM silos or remote ICBM mobile sites somewhere in vast Siberia.. with missiles...

[@MidnightSt]

The soviets decided they needed something smaller, and that is how the largest helicopter in the world was created.

[@kirillart]

mod this post up

[@renatoimperatori5289]

Here before its blows up

[@leonzhang7821]

Here

[@andrewmorris483]

@Baxter James I don't think he was trying to be. It was factual basically.

[@cambobby2011]

LOL

[@craigorchard1701]

When that airliner was being lifted at the end, all I could hear in my head was Jeremy Clarkson screaming “POWER!!!!!!!!”

[@flitsertheo]

Clarkson would have dropped the airliner on purpose.

[@imrekalman9044]

@@flitsertheo And then blame Hammond.

[@gkess7106]

So why don’t you marry it?

[@harrier1830]

@@imrekalman9044 He'll then shout HAMMOND!!!!

[@paikh1]

flitsertheo with a hammer

[@FalbertForester]

I think this helicopter exemplifies the old adage about helicopters: "Helicopters don't fly! They just beat the air into submission!"

[@lanetokack8816]

Allegedly

[@Not-Great-at-Gaming]

They're the Chuck Norris of aircraft.

[@Kyle_Da_Frog]

Lane Tokack Analogy

[@davidtuttle7556]

UH-1's do exactly that. WHOP WHOP WHOP!

[@jed-henrywitkowski6470]

Let us forgive him, for he is a Brit.

[@thomasrenault2952]

Simon: "Im only going to use metric" Also Simon: "It goes 14 Eiffel Towers high"

[@gamergaming6604]

How tall is an Eiffel tower?

[@Musikur]

And using horsepower 😢🙄

[@mihan2d]

@@Musikur Bruh horsepower is commonly used in both Metric and Imperial countries. And kW are used mostly for electrical output or in more specialist-oriented documentation.

[@alexsimion7190]

He is just testing our knowledge ;)) because some don‘t even know where Paris is. ;))

[@MrChillerNo1]

@@gamergaming6604 around 270 liberty bells. 😉

[@atomicskull6405]

The Mil V-12 was actually a bit larger than a C-130 cargo plane. Let that sink in for a moment.

[@av8tor261]

you are correct

[@robbypolter6689]

MiL V 12 payload normal: 20 to. Maximal: 40 to. Range empty: 1000km. With 25 to. payload: 500 km.

[@imransaifi4160]

Yeah you are correct

[@carlhuffman454]

I saw the Homer in Berlin back in 1971, when I was in the Army. It and the Tu-144 showed up at Schoenefeld airport across the Wall from our work site. Quite impressive aircraft.

[@PolymurExcel]

@Law Dorherty I think it's a cost thing, I mean, it clearly isn't for the US and Russia as both the Chinook and the KA-50 have duel-rotors. A CH47F I believe goes around $38 million per unit, I mean, it is still less than half the price of the CH53K King Stallion. I think maintenance is also another issue.

[@KyleMontanaro]

I was lucky enough to see one in Malta and I couldn't fully comprehend its size until the guy doing the pre-flight, simply walked into the exhaust duct.

[@alephkasai9384]

I'm sorry what

[@Blazo_Djurovic]

@@alephkasai9384 upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/92/Russian_Air_Force_Mi-26_Beltyukov.jpg Look at the exaust. Now look at the window of the heli. Now look at the size of pilots. You can COMFORTABLY sit inside one of those and have a lunch...

[@nitescuvalentin6872]

Yeah, that is massive.

[@markfryer9880]

That is pretty amazing!

[@LizardVideoDude]

@@Blazo_Djurovic Holy geez! Thanks for sharing the pic.

[@alimohammad1934]

They say everything is bigger in texas Russian: hold my vodka

[@woodonfire7406]

Nah I prefer big arse aircrafts than some economy no one gives a shit about

[@einundsiebenziger5488]

@@woodonfire7406 ... aircraft* (plural same as singular)

[@cristiandemirel1918]

USA: We need a heavy-lift helicopter for a very difficult task. How much can the Mi-26 lift? Russia: Yes!

[@rushthezeppelin]

Da*

[@cristiandemirel1918]

@@rushthezeppelin Spasiba!

[@WycliffStudios]

What is America doing with its massive budget? The helicopters are not top class, planes are not top class, China is going to overtake them in the Aircraft carrier sector also. Soviet-era weapons are stronger and better than current-day overpriced American weapons. USA needs to crack down on the corruption in Lockheed and Northtrop

[@Justme-to6yu]

@@WycliffStudios theyve got lgbtq+nshrjenfbheiwmf warriors that can decimate enemies. Sit back down sir.

[@Lucinat0r]

@@WycliffStudios lol Russia has 38 Mi-26's the US army has 460+Ch47's, and the marine corp has 98 Ch-53's. there is a quality in quantity, something any russian like yourself should know well. Also if you want to know how wrong you are about the soviet era equipment you seem to think is so good, ask the iraqi's how desert storm went? or any of the countries in the middle east that Israel has wiped the floor with. If you want a good example look at Bekaa valley 88 syrian planes lost 1 Israeli plane lost

[@ozzie2545]

I was in the lucky circumstance that I was a passenger on one of these during my 1992/1993 Cambodia UN tour, it loaded my whole company of 130 Royal Dutch Marines with no problem, truly amazing piece of machinery.

[@MrJimheeren]

Elite Osiris well that is a cool story

[@netyimeni169]

@Obi Wan Kenobi it was 28 years ago, chill

[@c_rock3512]

Holy shit. What a machine.

[@spudtaterson6281]

Speaking of old commies. Would the Soviets moving all their industries when the nazis invaded be a megaproject? Over a million rail cars was used to move all the machinery and workers.

[@Drskopf]

That could be very interesting to see!! They definitely are the master of mega projects of any kind..

[@dorrisgonnawreckyou7111]

good idea!

[@EburdeyGordei4]

Actually, the whole USSR industrialization process during 20-s and 30-s after a complete destruction of the country in civil war was the largest megaproject of all times. The destroyed agrarian country was converted into industrial superpower. PS MIR space station was the first object build at the orbit by humans - an impressive megaproject too.

[@davidhamilton2093]

Indy covered that in ww2 channel... fascinating feat.

[@TheVirtualObserver]

I would count that. It was a monumental undertaking after all and it was done in record time.

[@bushboy5324]

When I first went to Papua New Guinea in 1994, the company that I joined had 1 of these operational, previously they had two, This was in addition to Bell 206's, Bell 212's, Mil 171's and Kamov's I spent many hours as a radio operator on the 171's, but only managed to get into the flight deck of the Mil 26 when on the ground. IT IS IMPRESSIVE. They were used in the early stages of setting up a new mine or gas platform and were able to long line in a caterpillar D6 bulldozer and all the materials required. Some other random charters were to pick up a Douglas A-26 from a swamp near Madang in northern PNG and lifting a yacht from a reef in the Trobriand Islands. I remember some angry villagers arriving at our main operations base in Mt. Hagen one day. The Mil 26 had gone to retrieve a bulldozer from a village. When they went to lift the bulldozer, the downwash blew a roof of a house and did some other damage. On another occasion, they had to pick up two Bell 212's and seven tons of beer from the old Lae airport, as the main highway was closed due to a landslide. Half the town of Lae turned out to watch the monster take off. Even though the police had tried to get people back from the departing helicopter, many children went rolling off into the grass due to the downwash. This was just with half a load! Such a big machine that an engineer fell off and broke some ribs, while doing the post flight checks in Port Moresby. I medevaced him to Cairns Australia, single pilot in a Beechcraft Kingair B200. I'd shine a torch back at him every now to get a thumbs up, as he lay strapped to a plywood board with a dirty blanket over him. He arrived back at work a couple of weeks later with a couple of bottles of duty free Stolichnaya. Amusing times.

[@bigstrongrobertmcbuilt3209]

Great story 👍

[@bushboy5324]

Robert Jardine Thanks.

[@vumba1331]

What a great set of experiences!

[@smeggels]

Hevilift. Got a ride in the machine out of Hagen. I seem to remember it picked up a stranded Yacht near POM in the early 90s.

[@user-uc4vg4rg9e]

you did work in bouganville or mainland png either way cool story

[@jeffthreat66]

When I was a kid a Chinook frequently landed at the local hospital. Bright yellow. Incredibly loud. It used to fly in over the neighbourhood so low that it blew the power lines off the poles. Everybody hated it. I loved it.

[@friskytwox]

😂😂😂😂

[@justinwalker5274]

$20MM seems like a pretty good price for such a beast, honestly.

[@rabbi120348]

How much does it cost to operate per hour?

[@Wiromax3]

@@rabbi120348 Fuel Economy: 0.38 nautical mile / gallon 0.186 kilometres / litre

[@rabbi120348]

@@Wiromax3 At 250 kph that's about 1350 litre/hr. I don't know what kind of fuel it takes (regular gas? aviation fuel? jet fuel?) or what that costs in Europe (regular gas is about 58¢ / litre in the US at the moment) or in Russia, which has its own oil. Then add maintenance and cost of a 5-person crew plus a loadmaster on the ground, and it adds up.

[@Wiromax3]

@@rabbi120348 I have no idea. Other costs would be salaries for the pilots and mechanic. Rent for runway/helipad and hangar. And ofcorse as all things in life, TAXES.

[@operator0]

@@rabbi120348 It uses Jet fuel, which is very similar to Kerosene. I do know the Russians, and to some extent the Americans, like to engineer their military jet engines to be able to use both fuels, so it would not surprise me at all to find out that this thing can fly on kerosene.

[@AdarColussi]

Quick funny fact, The MI-26 has a Tail rotors diameter that's almost the same as the Main rotor on a Robinson R-22.

[@Vatharian]

As having flown R-22 I can only say - what the actual fuck. I've seen up close and flown as a passenger Mi-6, but this is ridiculous.

[@AdarColussi]

@@Vatharian I felt the same way the first time I found out XD

[@112-DavidL]

Wow I fly an R-44 on my farm here in Australia, that's bloody massive ( :) that's what she said)

[@joewilson941]

I read somewhere years ago that the MI-26 tail rotor is the same diameter as the H500D/MD500 main rotor

[@callespringer9718]

The Mi-26 tail rotor is about as wide as the original Hughes/MD 500 (also known as H-6/MH-6 etc) main rotor. Just that fact is crazy. EDIT: On the topic of Soviet megaprojects, I know of a fascinating but rather lesser-known example of this, if you guys ever read the comments that is. Near Krasnoyarsk, there is a gigantic hydroelectric dam. The building of which inhibited the oftentimes rather vital shipborne transports that utilized the Yenisei river. To overcome this, they first envisioned a regular lock system, but the height difference involved would have made regular locks unfeasible, it would have required a several miles-long continuous lock system, which apart from being complicated would have been painfully slow. Instead, they opted for a humongous "ship lift" -- a giant dock that can hold several vessels at a time, and that transports them uphill on huge railway tracks. It holds several world records, such as "railway" track width. The giant spinning wheel at the top that grabs the "dock" and aligns it for release is similarly crazy.

The Mil-26 rotors are about the same diameter as the A320 wingspan, not the A380

[@C_Becker]

And even there is a 6.2 percent difference. 32 to 34.10 meters.

[@dewiz9596]

Pi r squared

[@coolruehle]

His videos are rife with errors. Still good topics!

[@daniloonuk]

hey you, you do see why i do not use Finnish-Hungarian works - karamosh

[@daniloonuk]

russhia now fights not United Shitdome, but Brasillia and I will say YT you have to stink like Simon :(

[@michaelaron9375]

Never mind the power of the helicopter. The cables used to transport that airplane must be incredibly strong.

[@Drskopf]

Strong and flexible enough that it didn't cut the fuselage of the plane

[@dr.eurobeat619]

Did you forget that cables can hold entire bridges?

[@Aldoranovec]

@@Drskopf do you really think the cable was just wrapped around the plane?

[@jgbreezer]

@@dr.eurobeat619 but thats usually 10s or 100s of cables for big bridges, and in flight it would swing around more than a static-tension bridge cable (excluding occasional storms).

[@jakobholgersson4400]

More like the balls of the pilot. I feel kinda queezy when towing a trailer, I can't imagine having an airliner swinging from a rope underneath me.

[@NousagiMechanic]

ACKSHUALLY SIMON: The An-225 is the record-holder for payload. An-22 is rather smaller.

[@dataman6744]

True.

[@valrabellkeys9867]

Yep, AN22 is just the largest for *turboprop* aircraft.

[@yarpenzirgin1826]

An -225 was not mass produced. There is just 1. Simon said largest payload for mass produced aircraft.

[@dataman6744]

@@yarpenzirgin1826 Considering it's size, one can argue it was 'mass' produced.

[@NousagiMechanic]

@@yarpenzirgin1826 C-5 Galaxy exceeds the An-22s payload by 1600kg (81,600kg vs. 80,000kg). The An-124 (also mass-produced) has a payload of around 136,000kg.

[@secdup2510]

True fact: The rotor blades where made from the last remaining ingots of Stalinium in existence.

[@Squidz66]

That's so silly I had to thumbs up! Well done

[@DilbertMuc]

Stalinium was soon replaced by the more durable Adamantium. ;)

[@bubassvaba6221]

We are getting used to putinium after replacing leninium and stalinium

[@crackedemerald4930]

@@bubassvaba6221 there's talks of using another alloy every few years, but putinium is always chosen.

[@Self-replicating_whatnot]

10:34 Lol the sight of Mi-26 carrying Chinook as if it's baby Mi that is yet to molt and shed the extra set of blades to emerge in it's full adult glory...

[@MountainDewbies]

Didn’t know I wanted to learn about this today yet here I am again🤣

[@mattpeacock5208]

Right?!?!? These videos suck me in too.

[@jeffk1482]

Same!

[@MithunKumar-ok7ye]

Very sorry the mammoth didn't make it🤪

[@erikroberts3545]

😂😂😂... EVERY. DAMN. TIME.

[@BON3SMcCOY]

Welcome to Megaprojects

[@KarlBunker]

Now there's something you don't see every day: An airliner flying through the sky. Um ... wait a minute ...

[@JeanLucCaptain]

iN RUSSIA... GRAVITY IS A MINOR NUISANCE.

[@davidthorne7712]

Simon, how about the Hyundai Heavy Industries shipyards, they apparently construct about 1/4 of the World’s cargo ships, thank you

[@operator0]

Don't they build all the supertankers since about 20 years ago? Also, if Simon hasn't done a video on those things, that would be a good video.

[@AshrakAhmed]

Also Samsung Ship Building Yard, one of the largest in the world!

[@pedinomefaux]

No one cares.

[@jakekaywell5972]

@@pedinomefaux At least 106 people do care, so no.

[@kenhelmers2603]

I have spent the last two full days watching these, mostly the aircraft ones, but had to add the Typhon, Yamato and Nimitz in too. Great videos. Thanks Simon!

[@EburdeyGordei4]

The Soviet MIR space station was the first object build at the orbit by humans - an impressive megaproject too!

[@lukeboyuk83]

How about one on the B2 stealth bomber? At like a billion dollars each i think it qualifies

[@nathanjohnwilliamson7675]

I’ve seen one in person and seeing it flying in person. Quite a scary plane to see. Pilots were boring though, every question was answered with “doesn’t exist” “classified” apparently they couldn’t confirm that they have ever flown it, despite them standing in front of it, on a runway, in the U.K., at an air show 🤷‍♂️

[@hatman4818]

@@nathanjohnwilliamson7675 Lol, sounds about right. Saw one flying into Buckley AFB one time while hiking in Rocky Mountain National Arsenal. Flew almost straight overhead at probably about 200-500 feet, it was very low. It was surprisingly quiet, makes me wonder if sound dampening measures were taken as part of the stealth profile.

[@Absol152]

@@nathanjohnwilliamson7675 that is due to the controls and functions of the electronics being sensitive information. Same with our vehicles overseas. You can look at the outside, but stuff inside is classified.

[@nathanjohnwilliamson7675]

Combat Mind yeah, I know. Doesn’t take away from it been kinda funny

[@nathanjohnwilliamson7675]

Hat Man I would not be shocked, at $1b a plane it better be quite for stealth purposes haha

[@Laenthal]

Wow. This training Tu134 is just outside of my apartments' window, and i thought it was a mockup since there is no way to drive a real plane into that area. Turns out it's a real plane snuck in by a helicopter the day i was away from home :D

[@DrZond]

The one thing you didn't address was the engineering challenges and how they were overcome. I watched the video hoping to see that. I find the list of things it lifted to be rather dull. How about answering these questions: What limits the size of a helicopter? Why one rotor instead of 2 like the sikorsky sky crane? There are ground effect problems when a helicopter come in low, doe size make that worse or better? How is a turboshaft engine different from a regular jet engine? A cross cut illustration of the interior would be fantastic. What are the trade offs they had to make? How did they make it able to do certain things? The most exciting thing about a vehicle like this is the problems they solved to create it. That's what would make this truly interesting and make me feel like I really learned something.

[@sultanofswingdrift3021]

If you know these things you should definitely make a video yourself, I would watch it!

[@netyimeni169]

Russian wikipedia contains some information and list of used books. ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9C%D0%B8-26#%D0%9E%D0%BF%D0%B8%D1%81%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B5_%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%BD%D1%81%D1%82%D1%80%D1%83%D0%BA%D1%86%D0%B8%D0%B8 i don't know if you'll find answers but you can try

[@kzar33]

The Sikorsky S-64 Skycrane is a single rotor helicopter. You must be referring to the Boeing CH-47 Chinook.

[@cynicalmedic252]

The CH-54/S-64 "Skycrane" is another interesting "big helicopter."

[@ISo404]

Was about to comment this very thing, however, while the Skycrane can certainly lift heavy things, it itself is (relatively) a normal-sized project :)

[@jjmcrosbie]

Yes it is. Its payload is about a ton less than that of a Chinook. The Skycrane program was taken over by Erikson who call it the Aircrane. Some Skycranes were taken back in by Erikson, updated and re-issued as Aircranes. I saw a 52 year old example of the latter serving in Western Australia as a water bomber. It was equipped with a 7.5 cubic metre water tank for this purpose. Its past included duty with USAF and the Air National Guard.

[@PieterPatrick]

SKycrane is American big. MI26 is Russian big. ...That's a big difference in scale. Lol

[@harryballz9486]

We called these helicopters “mosquitoes “. They were used in northern bc for logging on very mountainous terrain back in the late 70’s and early 80’s.

[@CowboyCree63]

Think the CH-54 and CH-47 are big helos, then you've never seen a CH-53E Super Stallion, out does both those handily

[@nts821]

Almost a quarter of videos on this channel are about Russia. Top megaproject country.

[@economicsinaction]

Would it be a megaproject channel without the Soviet Union projects, I think not

[@willrehmus9952]

So is China

[@danielziemba8045]

He’s in Putin’s pocket!

[@danielziemba8045]

@EmperorJuliusCaesar Dude, the comments were all in good fun. Lighten up, Francis.

[@SaintMarneusCalgar]

@EmperorJuliusCaesar looking at the amount of money any american military projects costs in comparison to so many other country your are absoluteley wrong. Lol...

[@jamesb7807]

In 1996 I was fortunate to be select in participating in a world record attempt at building the biggest skydiving formation to date. This was preformed in Anapa, Russia and the government gave us the use of four Mi-26s. If memory serves me, we pit approx 75 jumpers in each and jumped from FL180 to FL220. It’s was an absolute beast. One day with low ceilings someone got the bright idea as to how many skydivers could be hauled up and deployed in one pass. One 26 was used and I think some 250+ jumpers made the jump from 10k. Rotor turned so slow at the hub you could count the rpms from looking at the linkage on for the collective. Horizontal tail plane looked like the size of a Cessna 172 mail wing and the tail rotor the size of a Hughes 500 main rotor. Tail rotor drive shaft looked like a drive shaft off a Mack truck. One of the most impressive events of my skydiving career.

[@laeda39]

(stuck when read about 10k, until remembering about feets :)

[@Fish-kz8xw]

*"Russia makes big heli"* General: comrade get a cargo plane Engineer: ok General: make it shorter Engineer: this is gonna be epic! General: put a heli tail on its back Engineer: wait wha- General: *i said put a heli tail on its back!* Engineer: ok ok fine! General: then put a rotor blade on the top Engineer: *sigh~* General: then give it a power that could lift a passenger plane Engineer: *WTF!?*

[@agneyfernandes]

Underrated comment

[@MikhailPetrov36]

HaHaHahahahaha !

[@leandrochavez6480]

And deliver it or be delivered to the gulag

[@asianfighter62]

Lil' Legit The soviets did build one larger then the MI-26 half airline half helicopter. They just never mass produced it for the military

[@BlakeBigfoot]

Except it was literally just designed by engineers... and the world's best at the time.

[@Crashed131963]

Two things the Russians master. Helicopters and Icebreakers ships.

[@andreizav7040]

Also gigantic airplane transporters (even though Ukrainians claim it to be a Ukrainian plain, I think everybody else on this planet know that the only thing Ukrainians are capable of producing is Neo nazism🤷‍♂️)

[@dickmelsonlupot7697]

Also rockets. Their rockets meant for space are still being used up to this day while NASA's has been dead for years. And rockets for Anti-Air as well. They did manage to shoot down U2s where America and the West were stupid enough to assume that Russian AAs were just like theirs and had limited range.

[@ratagris21]

Avtomats Kalashnikovas....AKs

[@patlab555]

You forgot caviar, vodka, and many other things Also they got one of the most well known scientist ever: Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev -> the periodic table of elements.

[@pashapasovski5860]

How about all artwork, from architecture to ballet!

[@boksininkas_ltukaras5005]

Anatoly: Hey Sergey can I take your helicopter for a spin ?? Sergey: Where are you going, Anatoly Anatoly: To America, I want to borrow there big lady for decoration of my yard Sergey: Do you mean the statue of liberty? Anatoly: Yes yes that one, can your plane lift it? Sergey: Yes it can lift it with no problems, don't worry

[@jed-henrywitkowski6470]

Lol! I'm an America btw.

[@2727daqwid]

I now realized that in a game Tropico, where you are a communist dictator of an island, you can steal monuments of the world, like Statue of Liberty for example, and it flies to your island by helicopter carrying it in. I never looked close enough at the 3d model, but i imagine it could be Mi-26 as thinking of it now.

[@Abby_Liu]

@@2727daqwid makes sense lore wise since you're supposed to be Cuba or something

[@theblankettruth]

I was able to take a short ride in one of the civilian operated MI-26 when I was working in Afghanistan. I will say videos and pictures do not do justice to its size. On the other hand the feel of it being maintain at the bare minimum and lack of trust in the capabilities of the crew made me feel relieved when our movement was complete.

[@Alan_Hans__]

The image of the Mi-26 with what almost looks like a toy Chinook underneath it fairly blew my mind. I've seen Chinooks before and the Mi-26 really did make it look toylike.

[@The_Dipster]

Simon, please do the CN Tower, and Sky Dome, in Toronto. Alternatively, Canada's Railway Palaces would be great! Thank you!

[@Crashed131963]

The Sky Dome? It's a 50,000 seater small in stadium terms. The 2,000 year old Roman Coliseum sat that much.

[@Morhaxvith]

Or the "Tokyo Skytree" would be fun

[@dandutre2272]

That would be awesome.

[@duncanmcgee13]

@@Crashed131963 i think its roof is pretty cool

[@amandahug-n-kiss3749]

Canada 😂😂😂😂

[@Not-Great-at-Gaming]

$25 million for a MI-26? I'll just get one with Pepsi points.

[@littlearsehole75]

You Legend!

[@bushmanPMRR]

OG BB alegendly ;-)

[@ignitionfrn2223]

2:00 - Chapter 1 - Background 5:15 - Chapter 2 - 1st flight 6:45 - Mid roll ads 7:55 - Chapter 3 - Operational history 12:10 - Chapter 4 - Variations & exports 13:30 - Chapter 5 - A true stalwart

[@stephenlane9168]

Fantastic video Simon & production team. Well researched as always and well presented Simon 👌

[@suprabhanayak9012]

Simon, a video on the ka-52 alligator would be awesome !

[@AtheistOrphan]

Suprabha Nayak - Not exactly a ‘Mega Project’.

[@aay2003]

But it's a unique design with two counter rotating rotors, so it's worth

[@teamidris]

I now want to see a mil 26 steal the Statue of Liberty :o

[@vitalys5395]

Oceans 27 movie 😆

[@timothy1837]

amazing collection of short video clips you presented..

[@videowilliams]

It's nice to hear about a Soviet beast with a happy non-ending to it, i.e. they're still being built and modified today.

[@user-qy1ov2xt2p]

Izdelye 90 doesn't translates as project 90. It is more close to "product 90"

[@devnull464]

And it's not pronounced as "Ayzdelay" :)

[@user-qy1ov2xt2p]

@@devnull464 ahahahhahah

[@09041995101]

Or maybe even as "Item 90"

[@grahamstrouse1165]

What happened to the first 89 products?

[@darkalligator]

The Mil Mi-12 is the largest helicopter ever built. Launched in the early 60's by Mil Helicopters (Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant)

[@marcks-3980]

Glad you actually mentioned the V-12. I'm sorry for bashing you. "It's not the biggest ever built. The biggest is the Mi V-12. It could lift 88,000 pounds." All I'm saying is that the V-12 deserves it's own video.

[@GrumpyGoliath]

Hey 3 suggestions Soviet Zubr-class LCAC, the worlds largest hovercraft French Char 2C Tank, largest operational tank ever made German Bismarck-class battleships, of which the lesser known Tirpitz was modified through the war and became the largest battleship used by a European country.

[@Vox_Unius]

That lifted aircraft is Tu-134, not Tu-135, which does not exist.

[@andrewvandyke1956]

Speaking of this videos problems, the largest helicopter ever but was the mil mi-12 not the mi-26

[@travisscavoni369]

@@andrewvandyke1956 did you watch the video? For one, there was no Mil Mi-12 since the Mil V-12 never went into production. The Mil Mi-26 is the largest helicopter to go into production.

[@skull1161]

@@travisscavoni369 "ever built"

[@rifter0x0000]

@@skull1161 He talks both about the largest helicopter ever built and the largest to go into production, if you would actually watch the video.

[@skull1161]

@@rifter0x0000 I know. But that is not what Andrew van Dyke was saying. If you read the comments.

[@bicyclist2]

That was absolutely awesome! Thankfully I got to ride in a Vietnam era helicopter at military school. It was something I'll never forget. The Russians do a few things better than we do, and this is one. Thanks.

[@RichieRouge206]

Such an amazing machine! Love your videos fella! Your narrative skills are superb

[@nunyobidniz]

Loving your work, Simon. Just the right amount of business blaze in this megaproject.👍

[@Abh2122]

I seriously don't know why helicopter fascinates me so much

[@jgbreezer]

14:45 The only VTOL passenger jet journey ever (that did it without fuel on board I'd presume too) 😉

[@jacobzimmermann59]

A VTOL passenger jet that needs no fuel. Now that's something.

[@georgobergfell]

I guess that Mil needed quite a couple of Liters of fuel to do this job :P

[@nicholasmazzarella2720]

Wow fantastic video. I just discovered your channel. Absolutely amazing. Keep up the great work.

[@weswarhammer9713]

What Simon missed was the extreme power of the single cable holding up the plane.

[@dadillen5902]

And exactly how much "POWER" would the be? Is it measured in kilowatts or horsepower, continuous or intermittent.

[@DJWyre]

How about Salisbury Cathedral? 123m tall on only 4 feet of foundations _in a marsh_ .

[@GustavSvard]

Sounds like something that wouldn't get approved today. And if built today would be deemed unsafe to enter and cordoned off. But I guess it has proved itself by now, and can stay open :D

[@konradkarlovich5801]

Petrov and Boshirov entered the chat ...

[@JeanLucCaptain]

how about Venise, the city off... BUILT-IN A MARSH.

[@prettycoolcat7039]

Hey @megaprojects I’d like to correct something you said in this video, that the Antonov a22 has the record for the largest payload capacity, which is 176,000 pounds, that’s incorrect. The Antonov 225, a 6 engine mass produced jet has a payload capacity of 551,000 pounds

[@noeyewar]

Yeah. I was wondering about that one too., But the AN-22 is the largest turboprop aircraft in the world and an absolute beauty!

[@damirkvajo]

he also misspronounced Antonov as Anatov.

[@KeithZim]

I went to a grand opening for a new outdoors retail store here in the US. They had "free chopper rides". The copper was something like the plexiglass bubble thing from the TV show MASH intros. No doors. My foot was hanging outside. IT WAS EFFING AWESOME!!!

[@keithg7298]

Hey Mega Projects, I’ve left a similar comment in 2 other subject videos. First, let me say that this was another great video and thank you for educating and entertaining me once again. Back to the reason I’m trying once more to give you a subject for one of your videos. In a field in Moorestown N.J., right next to Rt. 295 and the Jersey Turnpike is the mast of a US navy guided missile destroyer. It’s the strangest thing, right outside of Philly, within a couple hundred yards of one of the busiest highways in the county is the top of a Navy ship. It was built for the development of the Aegis radar and fire control system. It was also a development site of the Phalanx(sp) close weapon defense system. So at one time, right in front of the ship, is a giant Gatling gun. I know RCA owned the building and developed Aegis. My step dad worked there in the 80s on the over night shift for some reason. The first floor or 2 where typical office building type. I know when you walked in there was a glass case with a guided missile destroyer model, that the mast was based from. Above the second floor or so, it became a exact replica of a ship. The metal doors with the wheel in center, everything battleship gray. All the radar was active and constantly watching Philly skies. Somehow as a kid I was able to go to work with him overnight, every once in awhile. They would lock all the doors, all the lights would go red and the radar would go blank and they would run a simulated war game. Sorry this was so long. It really is an awesome building, an amazing memory, and if you can find the info I think you could make it a great video.

[@Jason-iz6ob]

That’s interesting about the Chinook. I was in JROTC at my high school, which is probably a pretty close equivalent of your “cadets.” My freshman year the Army Guard sent an old UH-1H Huey out to land on our football field and take turns taking us up. That helicopter had been in Vietnam. The crew chief showed us some patched bullet holes. The helicopter never came again, so I barely made it. But we did still get to go out to the nearby Air Force base every year for a C-130 ride.

[@blockstacker5614]

They would never let anyone land on a high school football field today

[@redram5150]

If you wondered when Pauly Shore’s big comeback was gonna happen, visit your local theater soon for “Encino Mammoth”. The mammoth will be played by Brenden Fraser

[@veteran011]

Not even the Mi-26 could lift Paulie back into relevance.

[@jasonhesson1030]

Cheers for the vid' Simon. I did ask for the Mil V-12 . . . but you still managed to get it into the vid' about Mil 26, that'll do! Thanks.

[@abdullahbokov]

Greetings from Chechnya and Ingushetia!! Thanks for the episode from Chechnya - I was there then!! And thank you for your language, this time I learnt two new words: indomitable and stalwart!!!

[@wino0000006]

This is what happens when you use inches instead centimeters.

[@akhidukahi6838]

What do you mean

[@1988dgs]

Works out better that way as opposed to using cm instead of inches (as nasa found out)

[@HardlyNormal12]

When I was five Father Christmas came to my school in an RNAS helicopter. Everyone got to have a look inside it and the pilots were really cool.

[@msgtpauldfreed]

I'd never seen anything about this copter that I can recall. Amazing!. Thanks!

[@mamadiedaramy7757]

Nice to see you here Simon. Missed seeing you on "VisualPolitik"

[@MurdochGuitar]

I rode in a Chinook helicopter when I was in the Army. It's like a loud, cramped bus. You did not miss much

[@scottcarter6623]

Please do the SS Great Eastern. the first mega ship.

[@AtheistOrphan]

Scott Carter -Good call.

[@madhanaero]

Happy to see Simon back !!! Miss him in visual politik.

[@GeorgeWMays]

Very interesting. Thank you. It is appreciated.

[@ericvanbeek5237]

PLEASE do the AH-64 Apache. The worlds deadliest helicopter! The $30+ million dollar helicopter first designed in the 70's and later adopted in the 80's.

[@michaelb1478]

Actually not as bad, price wise than what I thought.

[@skyden24195]

I'll wait until they go on sale. Black Friday or something.

[@andreizav7040]

Richard Hopkins nah, it’s because one thing you don’t rob in Russia - is military development budget.. unlike the US, where there is no limits on what could be robed.. and in fact military development budget is the one that gets robed more than any other 😏

[@dickmelsonlupot7697]

@Richard Hopkins There have been numerous and I mean numerous accusations, lawsuits, complaints, whatever regarding the acquisition of equipment with regards to the US military. Do you really not hear any news about how uber expensive the F22s are? Or the F35? Or the fiasco regarding the Bradley? Even manufacturers have been slapped with counts of bribery and corruption before.

[@dickmelsonlupot7697]

@Richard Hopkins https: // www .google .com /amp/s/www.thenation.com/article/archive/pentagon-audit-budget-fraud/tnamp/ www. google. com/amp/s/mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKCN10U1IG You do know you could just Google all of this, right?? Sure not all purchases has some agenda behind it but a lot of it has been stolen or used stupidly. Though not proven yet, you can obviously see that something isn't right with how the F35 is made i.e manufacturing facilities for different parts being scattered waaaaaaayyy to far away from each other thanks to lobbying by different senator, congressmen, etc. To favor their specific states instead of having a proper supply line and manufacturing line. Hell, it could even be done in a single factory yet has to be divided just to appease politicians. The F35 wasn't made by a consortium like with the case of Airbus where different subsidiaries produce some parts and would all be transported to France for assembly and proper test flights.

[@andreizav7040]

Richard Hopkins i have actually studied this phenomenon whilst obtains my degree in politics.. it’s called the concept of “iron triangles” and “revolving doors” - that’s how public funds get embezzles/stolen by the US military complex.. do you own research on these concepts 😏

[@russellmardling7156]

Simon. Love the videos. Please keep them coming!! One possible suggestion for a future video, maybe a side project is the Supermarine Spiteful.

[@EmilyJelassi]

Yet another fascinating video!

[@seangannon6081]

I wonder how many times during the day Simon says “ I think I made a video about that”.

[@14gears55]

At this point, at least once per video

[@Flies2FLL]

Welcome to Russia, where helicopters literally pick up DC-9's.....

[@markpolk232]

During the Russian Afghanistan Conflict the Afghans were quoted "we do not fear the Russians we do fear their helicoptors."

[@mauriziopane7714]

Love the channel. More of everything!!!

[@jean-yvesmead3972]

I was at a boarding school a couple of miles from RAF Odiham, which is home to the UK's Chinook squadrons. Impressive beasts during the day, but absolute sods when they flew low over the dorms in the middle of the night. And yes, we got a flight in one with the school cadets.

[@charlie15627]

I Was hoping you would use the; MI-24 Hind attack helicopter. It’s basically a flying tank lol

[@deemond5289]

I'm getting the impression Simon likes helicopters. Great episode.

[@stevepirie8130]

I remember two of them at Kandahar and would struggle to get high enough to get over the mountains around the city. After 30 mins it was still in sight of the base climbing but had an impressive cargo capacity.

[@LeBrit1209]

I remember back in primary school we used to get visits from the nearby air station, usually around november/december time. They would land in the school field in a westland lynx and stay for a few hours to talk with everyone however during one of their visits they ended up getting stuck and were forced to stay the night which at the time was quite funny. It is safe to say that those moments were truly exilerating!

[@jjmcrosbie]

Sir, Thank you for an interesting video. 1 - A bit more attention to detail would help, eg at 1:19 the Tu 135 was a projected delta wing bomber - never made, ie not an airliner. Evidently a Tu134. And whatever the blurred image at 3:00 was, it wasn't a Mil V12. 2 - The AN22 payload capacity - is that volume or weight? - must have been exceeded by the Tu225 Mrya. Did you mean for turboprop types? Anyway, another interesting video delivered with your customary enthusiasm.

[@skunkjobb]

I reacted to that about the payload capacity of the An-22 too. The payload capacity in both weight and volume is exceeded by several aircraft like An-124, An-225 (there's no Tu-225) and C-5. The thing I can think of might be heaviest cargo (and maybe also by volume) for propeller aircraft. The helicopter at 3:00 is a Mi-10 Harke, the Soviet analogy of the Sikorsky Skycrane.

[@rucker69]

I also noted that at 1:50 the claim about the rotor diameter measuring longer than the A380 wingspan is laughably inaccurate.

[@cattibingo]

You can tell simon is really speaking to the "um, actually" people a lot in this episode

[@zublacus]

I have experience working with the Erickson Crane S-64 SkyCrane helicopters. These can "only" lift around 25,000 lbs or 12.5 tons. Interesting fact of the S-64, after specific number of flight hours, each blade is pressure tested, yes pressure tested. Each blade is filled with nitrogen, and that pressure is measured regularly to ensure no micro-fractures have occurred and the nitrogen has escaped. This preemptively gets blades replace prior to failure. As for the blades, in 2018 the last year I worked with an S-64, the cost per blade was $685,000. Sillar Aviation had 30 blades in storage for spares. That's a lot of $ just for spares.

[@deananderson7877]

We used this lots in northern Alberta oil fields. For distance they have 4-6 bug fuel containers that are huge so it’s a flying gas can. We used it to carry a stand alone snubbing unit mounted on a semi truck. All we had to do is take off the smoke stacks to fit it in the helicopter.

[@FoxURA]

MH 53 Pave low. A multi purpose and military helicopter used for everything from a NASA capsule recovery vehicle for the Apollo space program to special forces operations.

[@juanstepbehind]

Can you do the Millennium Falcon? Ooh what about the Death Star? 😂

[@koushikroy7718]

Lovely video! Good job, keep it up!

[@KaiNeknete2012]

Great video again, Simon! But have you ever heard of the Fairey Rotodyne? It was Helicopter-airplane hybrid, designed to take off and land like a helicopter, but have a cruising speed close to that of an airliner (at that time, though). An incredible machine, but it was not continued because it was just too loud to be operated in urban areas (which was its purpose).

[@surferdude4487]

At $25 million, these Choppers are a bargain!

[@garethfairclough8715]

Tee hee! I've got something over Simon! I've flown in the back of a Chinook and he hasn't! :D :D :D :D :D :D :D (Great vid, as always, by the way.)

[@petethebastard]

...so many times, I used to wish for a trip in a UH-1. Chinooks rides are generally dull.

[@M_0892]

It definitely qualifies as a mega project, what a beast!

[@gbangercorp]

Love this thnx mate

[@abelgerli]

Actually I was devastated that Japan didn't asked Russia or the US to get Helicopter beasts to transport diesel generators for the power supply for the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant to set up an alternative power supply to cool the reactors. When they blew up after some time after the batteries went dead I just was devastated feeling with the people of Japan

[@bobbyvee9950]

FYI The Chinook Indian Nation, is pronounced shĭ-no͝ok′. Like look.

[@Drskopf]

Aho!! Brothers from central America. Chorotega tribe!

[@aaravtulsyan]

Chinook Indian Nation? What?

[@bobbyvee9950]

@@aaravtulsyan Army helicopters are named after native tribes. Apache, Soiux, Mojave, Iroquois (yes everyone calls it Heuy), Black Hawk, Lakota, Cheyenne, Chinook, etc...

[@aaravtulsyan]

@@bobbyvee9950 so how are they related to India? Since it's a US helicopter

[@bobbyvee9950]

@@aaravtulsyan You don't watch many westerns or read much US history I guess. The term 'Indian' is historically used for people here prior to europeans arrived. The road signs when I drive by the Tulalip still reads "Tulalip Indian Reservation". There might be a few people from India there but not many.

[@bonzoschlacendaker1057]

I want to thank you. And commend you on your interesting. Topics that you covered in such a delightful way very good. Very very good indeed.