Kraków 2018-01-10
193a Section 1968-06-20
PZL WSK Świdnik Mi-2 R
Poland
History PZL Mi-2 R – Agricultural versions.
Description for the photo: This PZL Mi-2 R helicopter was built in 1974 in Świdnik. It was used by the ZEUŚ-Heliseco company. He spent 2,823 hours in the air. He performed agricultural operations in Poland and abroad: Egypt, Iraq, Nigeria. in 2008, it was donated to the Polish Aviation Museum.
The first flight of the Mil Mi-2 helicopter prototype took place on September 22, 1961. One of the first prototype versions of the Mi-2 was the agricultural version. It was probably the third prototype of the Mil Mi-2 helicopter. His trials were carried out in one of the kolkhozes near Moscow in 1962. The helicopter received an installation for dusting with fertilizers. In September 1962, the helicopter was demonstrated to the party and government authorities of the CCCP.
When it was decided to produce the Mi-2 helicopters in Poland at WSK PZL Świdnik, it was known that most of the helicopters built in Poland would go to CCCP. Many of them were to be produced in the agricultural version. Work in Poland began in 1965. The Russians delivered to Poland a complete set of equipment for dusting, i.e. working with loose chemicals. The work in Poland, however, was dragging on, because the supplied equipment was underdeveloped and required modernization. In addition, it was necessary to develop an installation for spraying, i.e. working with liquids, from scratch, which is much more difficult to implement due to the specific design of the atomizers (sprinklers) and the pipe system.
The dusting installation supplied with the CCCP was tested using a PZL Mi-2 helicopter, registration SP-PSC No. H-152. Relatively quickly, small chemical tanks from CCCP were replaced with Polish pear-shaped laminate tanks with a capacity of 600 liters each. There was a separate dusting installation for each tank, located above the tank. It consisted of an electric motor and a fan, the rotation of which induced chemicals into the air stream, in an injector-like manner. Further, the air and chemicals flows through the sleeve, which runs in an arc back and down under the helicopter. There he gets out. The adjustment of such a system is negligible, the dusted area is narrow, and most importantly, unevenly covered. It was not possible to get all the chemicals out of the tank. During the work, the concentration of chemicals decreased. A completely new system had to be developed.
The first change was the use of spreaders located at the base of the chemical tanks. The spreaders are powered by electric motors. Much better coverage was achieved, but not yet satisfactory. The problem was the high speed of the helicopter in relation to agricultural machinery and the air movement caused by the helicopter’s rotor. It was decided to use specially shaped channels right behind the spreader. The channels are made of plastic. As a result, they are relatively strong, but also light. Many weeks of tests have led to the final selection of the shape of the outlet channels, which were adopted for serial production.
The Polish agricultural helicopter was flew on June 20, 1968. The production of the PZL Mi-2 R helicopters for dusting started in 1968. The first two helicopters were left at WSK PZL Świdnik. Others have already found their way to the CCCP.
Written by Karol Placha Hetman
Kraków 2018-01-10
193a Section 1968-06-20
PZL WSK Świdnik Mi-2 R
Poland
Construction PZL Mi-2 R.
The Mi-2 helicopter is a twin-engine machine in a classic layout with a three-blade main rotor and a two-blade tail rotor. The fuselage is made entirely of metal, with a half-shell structure.
Helicopter cabin.
Written by Karol Placha Hetman
Kraków 2018-01-10
193a Section 1968-06-20
PZL WSK Świdnik Mi-2 R
Poland
Tally PZL Mi-2 R
About 350 PZL Mi-2 R helicopters, agricultural versions, were built.
Written by Karol Placha Hetman