Naryan-Mar operator takes delivery of first new helicopter in quarter century

Naryan-Mar based operator claims it won’t be able to continue fleet renovation without government assistance (Photo by Naryan-Mar United Aviation Group)

Naryan-Mar United Aviation Group, based at Naryan-Mar, a Russian city on the coast of Barents Sea, has taken delivery of a Mi-8MTV-1, a medium utility helicopter. This helicopter is the first new rotorcraft acquired by this Russian operator since 1991.

The aircraft was delivered by the Russian Helicopters on schedule. NMUAG’s deputy general director Yakov Menshakov told earlier that the group was expecting to start operating the helicopter in October 2016 after all formalities were complete and the Mi-8 was ferried to the operator’s base. The helicopter was acquired trough a seven-year financial leasing contract provided by Sberbank Leasing.

The helicopter has a passenger configuration and is fitted with 26 seats. It may be converted into a cargo variant and is capable of carrying up to 4 tons of cargo on external sling. Older Mi-8MTV-1s operated by NMUAG take only 3 tons of external cargo. The new helicopter may be used for medical evacuation missions.

Equipped with external auxiliary fuel tanks, floats for emergency ditching and avionics with all-weather instrument navigation capability, the aircraft will reportedly be used for operations north of the Arctic Circle.

NMUAG’s fleet, according to Menshakov, consists of obsolete Mi-8T, Mi-8MTV-1 and Mi-8TP helicopters, and the operator is not capable of renovating it without funding support from the government.

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