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CH-53K ground tests

ChuckMK23

FERS and TSP contributor!
pilot
Huh? Is this supposed to be sarcastic or serious?
I'm being slightly sarcastic - but Mil/Kazan have lead in technology around big high power helicopter drive systems/gearboxes/transmissions. Sikorsky / Boeing / etc are stll behind in their capabilities compared to Mil.
 
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Flash

SEVAL/ECMO
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
I'm being slightly sarcastic - but Mil/Zazan have lead in technology around big high power helicopter drive systems/gearboxes/transmissions. Sikorsky / Boeing / etc are stll behind in their capabilities compared to Mil.

Not knowing much about Russian helicopters but a little bit about Russian aircraft reliability in general, I would be wary of Russian claims to just how well their helicopters work.

We are really good about making public much of the testing program results for our new military aircraft, much more than almost any other country, so every flaw and bump in the road for high profile programs is often debated by every internet expert and pundit. So I am a little cynical and leery of when folks compare our aircraft and those of other countries, especially autocratic countries who only build the very best aircraft for you my friend. Like the Su-57 (T-50), that was so much better than the F-35 and supposed to be in squadron service by now.
 

Randy Daytona

Cold War Relic
pilot
Super Moderator
I'm being slightly sarcastic - but Mil/Kazan have lead in technology around big high power helicopter drive systems/gearboxes/transmissions. Sikorsky / Boeing / etc are stll behind in their capabilities compared to Mil.

When you make helicopters as big as the Halo, you get pretty good at tough transmissions.
Chinook: 50,000+ lbs
$hitter: 72,000+ lbs (53K is up somewhere around 88,000 lbs)
Halo: 123,000+ lbs

 

nittany03

Recovering NFO. Herder of Programmers.
pilot
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
I can’t believe we’re having anything approaching a serious discussion about Russian parts ending up in the King Shitter. Seriously, people. Put the bong away before you get caught.
 

phrogdriver

More humble than you would understand
pilot
Super Moderator
What’s the “time on wing” for those trannies before they have to be replaced? How often do they chip out?

We don’t really know how good Russian transmissions are without a little more information than “they’re big and they exist.”
 

ChuckMK23

FERS and TSP contributor!
pilot
The main transmission gearboxes on the Mi-26, Mi-8/17 are virtually leak free and have a history of long service life - pretty much "chip free" - they accomplish this through brute force - the main gearbox on the Mi-26 alone is over 7,000 lbs. The Russian design philosophy is to trade durability over weight - so Russian aircraft have a much lower useful payload as a percentage of maximum gross weight. Where as typically we have aircraft that are in the 50% range, most Russian designs are in the 30% range. But if you scale the shit out of the aircraft, its still a big payload. :)
 

Pags

N/A
pilot
The main transmission gearboxes on the Mi-26, Mi-8/17 are virtually leak free and have a history of long service life - pretty much "chip free" - they accomplish this through brute force - the main gearbox on the Mi-26 alone is over 7,000 lbs. The Russian design philosophy is to trade durability over weight - so Russian aircraft have a much lower useful payload as a percentage of maximum gross weight. Where as typically we have aircraft that are in the 50% range, most Russian designs are in the 30% range. But if you scale the shit out of the aircraft, its still a big payload. :)
What about maintenance requirements? How often do they need to be drained and flushed?

That's a big trade off in capabilities wrt gearbox weight. Not really sure what you're getting in return.
 

ChuckMK23

FERS and TSP contributor!
pilot
Well this is an interesting twist! CH-47 for Marines?


The Pentagon is assessing whether Boeing Co.’s heavy-lift helicopter for the Army, the CH-47 Chinook, could replace Lockheed Martin Corp.’stroubled King Stallion chopper for some or all Marine Corps missions, according to officials.
 
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