There’s a saying that advises not to “put all your eggs in one basket,” but it appears that Russian Helicopters has not heard it or has chosen to ignore it. Has it made any difference to the company’s huge investment in its Ansat light multipurpose helicopter – it appears not!
The recent installation of an Ansat simulator at the Kazan Helicopter Plant (KHP) of the Russian Helicopters Holding (part of the Rostec State Corporation) is an indication of how much faith the company has in the type.
“The popularity of Ansatov in the market is constantly growing, and therefore it became necessary to train representatives of operating organisations on this type of helicopter. In order to carry out a full training cycle, in addition to theoretical and practical training is also needed for the training of specialists. With the advent of the aviation training centre KHP integrated simulator, Ansat helicopter will be provided with a full cycle of quality retraining of pilots,” stated Yury Pustovgarov, the MD of the Kazan Helicopter Plant.
Just days later, further announcements focusing on the Ansat revealed that approval had been granted by the Federal Air Transport Agency to produce the type with a superior cabin style from the Aurus brand. This announcement will allow mass production of the Ansat to begin with this modification. The layout of the cabin includes two seats for VIP passengers and a further three for accompanying passengers. In order to increase passenger comfort several modular concepts were tested. The result means that the Ansat has the largest cabin in its class, which, combined with the newly installed design solutions offers a significant upgrade in passenger comfort.
As if this was not enough, the People’s Republic of China has approved validation of the type, which means that the type can now be supplied to the nation under a previously agreed contract. It was back in 2018 that Russian Helicopters signed a contract to supply 20 Ansat helicopters to the Chinese Emergency and Disaster Relief Association.
At this rate, I just wonder how long it will be before the Ansat starts making inroads into Europe in a multitude of roles.
