Maksimov Ma-18
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| Maksimov Ma-18 | |
|---|---|
| File:Ma-18.png | |
| The first Ma-18 delivered to the Nikolian Royal Air Force | |
| Role | Utility/transport helicopter |
| National origin |  Nikolia
|
| Manufacturer | Maksimov Helicopters |
| Designer | Maksimov Design Bureau |
| First flight | 1963 |
| Introduction | 1966 |
| Status | In service |
| Primary users | Nikolian Royal Air Force Nikolian Coast Guard, Nikolian Royal Army, Nikolian Royal Navy |
| Unit cost |
20 million NĐ (8 million NSD)
|
The Maksimov Ma-18 Pčela (meaning Bee in Serbian) is medium sized, two turbine helicopter designed and manufactured by Maksimov Helicopters in Nikolia. Its primary role is transport, however during the development, several different versions were designed with roles such as search and rescue, command post, firefighting, armed gunship and reconnaissance platform. In 2001, Maksimov Helicopters officially stopped the production of Ma-18 in favour of its modern variant, the Ma-20 and a new platform, Ma-22.
Development and design
Following the Nikolian involvement in Caranad Conflict, the Nikolian forces on the ground lacked proper transportation aircraft. Although the helicopters that were in use by the Air Force and the Army were used in the conflict, they had major flaws: they were of low capacity, they were slow and they had one engine which was unreliable in climate of Caranad. This led to army officials rushing Maksimov plant to introduce and manufacture the long forgotten and postponed project. In late 1965, Maksimov plant developed the first prototype for the army, the HP-10. However, the board, consisted of air force experts quickly rejected the first prototype due to constant mechanical failures of the engines and the rotor shaft, and due to vibrations in the cabin. Maksimov team of developers went back to the drawing board, redesigned the engines and the shaft and added one extra rotor blade to reduce vibrations. The second prototype was approved by the army board and went into mass production under the designation Ma-18A. The newly produced helicopter had 5 rotor blades, two turboshaft engines producing 1,950 shp each, cruise speed of 230km/h and capacity of up to 26 soldiers, or 4 tonnes of cargo. The first 10 helicopters delivered to the army were immediately sent to Caranad.
