60 years of the Ka-26 multi-purpose helicopter

August 18 marked the 60th anniversary of the Ka-26 light multipurpose helicopter. On that day in 1965, its first prototype took to the skies.

The machine was created by Nikolai Kamov's Design Bureau. It was equipped with a coaxial rotor system characteristic of this team. While the vast majority of Soviet helicopters were ordered by the military, the Ka-26 was developed for civil aviation. Its main task was considered to be work in agriculture, for which special equipment was designed. However, the designers went further. Using the “flying chassis” design, they created a multi-purpose helicopter with interchangeable modules for various purposes. This allowed the Ka-26 to be used not only for agricultural work, but also for transporting passengers and small cargo, aerial photography, various types of monitoring, and more.

Production of the Ka-26 was launched at the aircraft plant in Kumertau (since 1972 – helicopter plant). By 1985, 816 units had been built there. The serial machine was equipped with two AI-14M-26 air-cooled piston engines with a power of 325 hp each. They were created by the Zaporizhzhia DKB-478 under the leadership of Alexander Ivchenko. The helicopter was 7.75 m long, with a rotor diameter of 13 m, a maximum take-off weight of 3.2 t, a payload of up to 900 kg, a maximum speed of 170 km/h, and a practical range of 400 km.

Outside the USSR and post-Soviet countries, the Ka-26 was operated by operators in Bulgaria, Mongolia, Germany, Romania, Hungary, and Sri Lanka. The unpretentious and highly maneuverable helicopter was popular with its crews. The Ka-26 proved to be very effective in its agricultural version. For example, when fighting plant pests, the specific airflow from the rotors ensured that chemicals reached not only the upper but also the lower surface of the leaves.

In Ukraine, until 1991, the Ka-26 was operated by the Zaporizhzhia, Kyiv, and Kherson combined aviation squadrons. In independent Ukraine, such machines were used until 2006 by several airlines, including ARP-410.

The O.K. Antonov State Aviation Museum has two Ka-26 helicopters in its collection. Aircraft USSR-24064 (factory No. 6900403) is exhibited with a passenger module. It was built in 1969 and has been operated by the Kherson aviation squadron since then. The helicopter with factory number 7706119 (formerly UR-CAV) is exhibited with equipment for spraying fields and an 800-liter tank. It was manufactured in 1977, transferred to the Ukrainian Civil Aviation Administration, and in 1993 to the airline Avialinii Ukrainy. Both machines were decommissioned in 2002, and on July 1, 2014, they were transferred to the Zavod 410 CA Museum.

In addition, the hangar of the Kyiv Aviation Institute (KAI) displays a Ka-26 (registration number USSR-24056, factory number 6800204) in a passenger version. It was built in 1968 and operated by the Leningrad Civil Aviation Administration until 1975, and then by the Vyborg Aviation Technical School until 1980. After being decommissioned, the helicopter was transferred to the Kiev Institute of Civil Aviation Engineers (now KAI), where it was used as a training model.