Kamov V-80 - Prototypes
In August 1980, it was finally decided whether or not to be a single-seat helicopter in metal. The Commission of the Presidium of the Council of Ministers of the USSR on military-industrial issues adopted a resolution on the construction of experimental helicopters - two V-80s and two Mi-28s - with the aim of conducting their comparative tests. The first prototype V-80 (tail number 010) left the shops of the Ukhtomsk Helicopter Plant (UVZ) in June 1982. On June 17, test pilot N.P. Bezdetnoye first hovered on it, and on July 23 made its first flight in a circle.
V-80 No. 01 was intended for evaluating flight performance and testing of helicopter systems. In particular, flights with tail surfaces of various shapes, without wings, etc., were performed. To mask a single cabin, and therefore to hide the characteristics of the helicopter, windows and doors were painted on the sides of the fuselage, and thin transparent linings were riveted to the "windows" for greater credibility. In one of the flights, the pad located behind the cockpit came off and fell into the engine’s air intake. Fortunately, the pilot managed to land the machine on one engine. After this case, the transparent linings removed.
In August 1983, the second prototype V-80 No. 02 (tail number 011) was released, which was intended for testing aviation equipment and weapons systems; TVZ-117VMA engines were installed on the helicopter instead of TVZ-117V. For the first time, the aiming-flight-navigation complex PrPNK "Rubicon" K-041, the fixed movable gun installation NPPU-80 and the air conditioning system were mounted. The first flight of the deuce took place on August 16, 1983.
The management of the Ministry of Defense followed the course of the competition with great attention. Great interest in the V-80 was shown by the Chief Marshal of Aviation P.S. Kutakhov, then the Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force, is a former fighter pilot. He often visited the design bureau and the Flight Test Complex (LIK), spent a long time in the cockpit of the V-80 model. The Commander-in-Chief not only approved the idea of a single-seat machine, but also helped in every way the progress of work. During one of his visits in 1984, LIK Kutakhov was shown aerobatics at an extremely low altitude. Having appreciated the high flying qualities of the helicopter, the commander in chief, however, made a remark to test pilot E.I. Laryushin for an unjustified risk, although he immediately noticed that in combat conditions helicopters would fight like that.
In July 1984, the factory test program was completed. At the end of the year, the first results of the competition were announced. It was noted that in many ways the V-80 is superior to the Mi-28. Flights began under the program of the first stage of the State comparative flight tests for a deeper assessment of the flight performance of the V-80 and Mi-28 helicopters. At the same time, in GosNIIAS under the leadership of A.G. Zaitseva and V.A. Stefanova at the test benches simulation was intensively worked out sighting-flight-navigation complex "Rubicon" for the V-80.
On April 3, 1985, test pilot E.I.Laryushin died during a demonstration flight on V-80 No. 01. . During the demonstration flight, the pilot demonstrated a complex of aerobatics and combat maneuvers, confirming the high maneuverability of the attack helicopter. The flight ended with a combat maneuver that simulated the helicopter’s rapid departure to the ground for cover after an attack by a target. A downward spiral was performed with a turn of up to 360°. The pilot perfectly mastered this combat maneuver. At the final stage of a turn with a low translational speed with a large roll, the resulting air flow rate (a gusty wind of 15-20 m / s was blowing) acting on the rotors from below turned out to be such that the helicopter fell into the vortex ring zone. An additional increase in the flywheel movement of the blades due to the influence of the "vortex ring".
The introduced structural changes made it possible to further eliminate the risky rapprochement of the propeller blades and ensure the safe use of this effective maneuver in combat conditions. The tragic death of E.I. Laryushina was a heavy blow for OKB. His opinion, experience, and intuition of the tester had a huge impact on the formation of the appearance of a single-seat combat vehicle. To complete the program for assessing the flight performance of the helicopter in December 1985, the third prototype V-80 (tail number 012) was launched.
After the end of flight design tests of V-80 No. 02 in September 1985, at the Gorokhovetsky training ground of the Main Rocket and Artillery Directorate, State comparative flight tests began to evaluate the combat effectiveness of the V-80 and Mi-28 helicopters. The flights were carried out by test pilots of the Air Force Research Institute. V.P. Chkalova. The first military pilot to master the V-80 was Colonel V.I. Kostin. Comparative flight tests from the Ministry of Defense were led by Colonel G.I. Kuznetsov. The tests were completed in August 1986. Their results showed that the V-80 surpasses both the Mi-28 and the AN-64A Apache in terms of efficiency-cost criteria due to its higher combat survivability and better flight performance (especially on high altitudes and high temperatures),
A significant drawback of the V-80, as well as the Mi-28, was the impossibility of warfare at night due to the low characteristics of the Mercury television night vision system. Despite the fact that during flights the level of psycho-physiological loads on the pilot approached the level of loads on the pilot of fighter-bomber aircraft, the fundamental possibility of combining the functions of a pilot and a navigator-operator was proved.
Based on the results of comparative tests, the customer recommended completing the night system refinement, equipping the V-80 with an airborne defense system, reducing the number of operations performed by the pilot when searching for and attacking targets, and pairing the airborne equipment with ground and aviation reconnaissance equipment.
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