Russian Helicopters Holding of the Rostec Corporation will equip the Ansat helicopter with an external sling, which will enable the helicopter to carry oversized cargo weighing up to a tonne. Once the new option is certified, the Ansat helicopter will also be able to be used to extinguish fires using a spillway device on the sling.
During tests at the Kazan Helicopters, the rotorcraft reached a height of 3.7 km with 600 kg of cargo on board. Its speed with cargo on the external sling was 180 kilometres/hour. At the same time, the maximum take-off weight of the Ansat has been increased from 3,600 kg to 3,800 kg when using the external load sling.
Earlier, the Kazan Helicopters received approval from the Federal Air Transport Agency for the installation of an airborne boom with a winch on the Ansat helicopter. The new option allows people and cargo weighing up to 272 kg to be safely lifted on board and lowered down. The fixed-wing boom is indispensable for search and rescue operations and allows for loading and unloading operations in hover mode.
Ansat is a light twin-engine multirole helicopter, serial production of which has been established at the Kazan Helicopters. According to the helicopter’s certificate, its design allows to convert it into a cargo version or into a passenger rotorcraft that can lift up to seven people. In May 2015, an addition to the type certificate was obtained for a modification of the medevac helicopter.