Black Shark helicopter with maximum heightflight deserves special treatment among Russian combat aircraft. Popularity and its name the Ka-50 helicopter received thanks to the film about the war in Afghanistan with the same name. And what was it really? What is the maximum altitude of the "Black Shark" helicopter flight? Answers in the article!
In the distant 1976, the United States began testingUp-to-date combat helicopter Apache (AN-64). In response, the Council of Ministers of the USSR instructs the design bureau Kamov and Mil to develop a strike combat helicopter that will be better than the then Mi-24, which were in service with the army and had low combat efficiency and maximum helicopter flight altitudes.
"Black Shark" (Ka-50) was the first projectthe combat vehicle of this design bureau, which made this helicopter unique in many respects. Already in 1992, the first prototype was at Mosaeroshow-92 in Zhukovsky, and at the British international air show in Farnborough it became the "nail" of the program.
Bureau them. Kamov in the development of the helicopter went his own way, not having borrowed the experience of either foreign or domestic developments. The uniqueness of the car gave the following innovative solutions:
All this together allowed us to obtain the maximumaltitude of the flight of the helicopter "Black Shark" in meters up to 5500, resistance to side winds, the ability to perform combat mission at any time of the day and in any weather.
Such a system assumes that the helicopter's propellersare located above each other and rotate in the opposite direction. This allows you to reduce the length of the screws, reduce the wave resistance, get rid of the tail rotor in the tail. All this makes the car more maneuverable and fast. The Ka-50 performs such figures as the “dead loop” and “combat funnel”, carries out movement back and sideways, maintaining a speed of 100 km / h. Not all cars in the world can do this. However, in combat, the blades are the most vulnerable part of the helicopter, and the presence of two screws increases the likelihood of hitting them from small arms. To minimize losses, the designers introduced a five-spar structure of the blades - this preserves the machine's efficiency when the blades penetrate. The maximum altitude of the flight of the Black Shark helicopter was recommended as follows - 4,000 meters.
Another problem is the “screwing up” of the screws in the corner attack. It is for this reason that two experienced pilots died. Analysis of the accidents led to the prohibition of the Ka-50 to allow roll in 70about when flying, and limit the angular velocity to 60 deg / s.
Maximum altitude of the helicopter and coaxiality- not the only innovative solution. At that time, all combat vehicles had a crew of two pilots, so the one-person crew in the Ka-50 was unique. This gave both advantages - reducing the weight of the machine and reducing the training time of the pilot, and disadvantages - increasing the probability of losing the machine in case of injury or death of the pilot. Cab reservations and a state-of-the-art ejection system reduced these risks. Electronic stuffing, the autopilot system and about two tons of modern weapons have become the cutting-edge features of the Black Shark helicopter with the maximum flight altitude that has ever been fixed.
The first prototype took to the air in 1982year, and in 1995, these helicopters have already become part of the aviation ground forces of Russia. The combat operation on the terrain with difficult terrain and in terrible weather conditions during the second Chechen company in 2000 showed that the Black Shark is a highly efficient combat helicopter. In a group of Ka-29, Mi-24 and two Ka-50 units, the combat strike operation was performed perfectly. In total, these two helicopters made 49 combat missions and completed more than a hundred shooting. A total of 15 combat vehicles, 11 Black Shark units were built at the Progress plant in Arsenyev and today serve as part of the Russian military air forces.
The fighting machine received its official namethanks to the cinema. In the 1993 film of the same name, the predatory form of the fuselage and the black color of the car made it resemble a dangerous sea predator. The authors of the film came up with the idea to call the car a shark and, accordingly, black. The film took place in Afghanistan, although the Ka-50 did not participate in this company. In the film, for the first time, a real classified project of military equipment was shown, and one of the main characters was the Hero of the Soviet Union, combat major-general Valery Vostrotin.
For many years, the most popular combat vehiclebecame the "Black Shark" with a maximum helicopter flight altitude. Photos of the car were placed on posters about military operations as the most spectacular. Production of these machines ceased in 2009, but the Ka-50 was not in the past - the Ka-52, nicknamed "Alligator", became the continuation of the life of the car.
