HA-MZX, HA-MRC, Kamov Ka-26 - test flights

Every year, after the last agricultural jobs the pilots flew the Ka- 26 helicopters to Budaörs airfield for maintenance, which was executed by Hantos-Air Ltd. from the mid '90s to 2012. The helicopters were disassembled, the main parts (such as engines, reductor, fuel tanks, rotor blades, instruments etc.) were checked and repaired. After the maintenance every Kamov went through a "home test" just before the official test flight, done by a pilot from the authorities.

This video was recorded during a test flight day in 2012.

HA-MRC was produced in Kumertau (Russia) in 1978 as the 9th airframe of the 64th batch. After this helicopter, 19 airframes were built then the mass production ceased. MRC started her career as a crop duster helicopter in the fleet of MÉM RSz, Hungary. In the mid '90s a private company bought her and she got to Cegléd with another Ka-26, HA-MPD. She is working there nowadays too.

HA-MZX was produced in Kumertau too in 1971 as the 3rd airframe of the 20th batch. First registration of this helicopter was CCCP-19261 and she flew in the fleet of Aeroflot, in the Ukrainan region. Later she became UR-19261. She arrived to Hungary in 1998, when foreign Ka-26 helicopters were imported to exchange the overused airframes here. She got into Héja-Air with HA-MRW and HA-MZF. In 2009 another company bought her and she was moved to Sárvár. AOG since 2013, deteriorating on a private yard somewhere in Rábapaty.

Kamov Ka-26 is a multi-purpose, light helicopter, invented by N.I. Kamov in the middle of the 1960s. First flight of this type was in August 18, 1965, she was mainly used for training flights, agricultural tasks, passenger transport, cargo transport, pipe inspection and also for traffic controll by the State Automobile Inspectorate (GAI). This type has two Vedeneyev M14-V-26 petrol powered, four stroke radial engines with 9 cyl. and 325 hp each. Due to the relatively low airspeed of the helicopter, to maintain the proper cylinder head and oil temperatures the engines were produced with an iron fan, which makes the unique siren sound, and it is often believed that Ka-26 is driven by gas turbines. Thanks to the co-axial main rotor system this type is extremely benign, the vast majority of pilots loves and loved it to fly.
Agricultural versions had pressurized cockpit, where the pressure was made by that "nose" on the front of the canopy, which is called separator. This thing pumped outside air through a carbon filter into the pilots cabin providing clean air.

#kamovka26 #budaörsairfield #testflight

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Camera: Sony DCR-DVD105E