{"id":232,"date":"2007-10-27T09:44:26","date_gmt":"2007-10-27T13:44:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hawkdog.net\/wordpress\/?p=232"},"modified":"2010-06-24T11:15:49","modified_gmt":"2010-06-24T15:15:49","slug":"mr-big-stuff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/hawkdog.net\/wordpress\/archives\/232","title":{"rendered":"Mr. Big Stuff"},"content":{"rendered":"

Air.<\/strong> I recently finished William Gibson’s latest: Spook Country<\/a>\"\". A bit part is played by the Hook<\/a>, a Soviet-era heavy lift helicopter. I’ve long been a fan of the American CH-54<\/a>\/S-64<\/a> Skycrane – I built a plastic model of one years ago (you could run the winch line up and down by rotating the main rotor) and I find it’s minimalism appealing.<\/p>\n

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S-64 in firefighting mode – a shout-out to my friends on the West Coast.<\/em><\/p>\n

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I have to confess total ignorance when it comes to big Soviet\/Russian choppers, but not to worry – the Google can help! While nosing around for info on the Mi-6 Hook<\/a> I found another great Soviet heavy lifter. Before we go there, though – the Mi-6 is big!<\/div>\n

If you still doubt the size of this machine, consider this – the Mi-6 can carry twice as much as the largest American helicopter, the CH-64 Tarhe “Sky Crane”<\/a> – in fact, it’s capable of lifting a Tarhe. The accompanying sign said that it had often lifted MiG-17s and MiG-21s; the Vietnamese would conceal their aircraft in servicing areas in the jungle and airlift them to a roughly prepared field for takeoff, then return them to the jungle afterwards. Most remarkable perhaps is the Hook’s ability to transport up to 120 people when it’s in its high-density seating configuration!*<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Even larger and much more bizarre (therefore, cool in my book) is the Mi-12 Homer<\/a> prototype. Two main rotors arranged transversely (left and right, rather than the front and back we’re used to) each powered by two engines. According to Wikipedia, the rotor\/powerplant combo was lifted directly from the Mi-6 (get it? Mi-6 * 2 = Mi-12). Choppers start off as improbable objects – add in that Russian air thing (think ekranoplan) and you get:<\/p>\n

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Land.<\/strong> I’ve been wanting to post on this bit of gorgeousity for a while. I’m very partial to the union (set-wise) of Africa and Garratt<\/a>. Having grown up on a diet of Big Boys<\/a>, Challengers<\/a> and the like, Garratts are strange, alien and – you guessed it – way cool. How do I love this steam engine? Let me count the ways:<\/p>\n