Kazan Ansat

The Kazan Ansat is a Russian light, multipurpose helicopter manufactured by Kazan Helicopters.

Development
Kazan Helicopters in Kazan, Tatarstan, Russia has been one of the main Russian manufacturers of helicopters of the Mikhail Mil bureau design. In the 1990s management realized that there would be a need for light helicopters in Russia, as the fleet of standard Mi-2's was getting older, and the design itself became obsolete. The Mi-2 was the lightest helicopter in large-scale use in the former USSR, despite being larger than most light Western helicopters. At first Kazan Helicopters wanted to develop a helicopter based on the AS 350 Ecureuil in cooperation with Eurocopter, but it failed.

As a result in 1993 Kazan Helicopters organized its own design bureau in order to create a new helicopter (the bureau was officially certified by the Russian authorities in January 1997). The helicopter was named Ansat (meaning "easy" in Tatar language).

In 1998 the first prototype for ground static tests was completed. The second prototype (no. 02, then 902) first flew on August 17, 1999, but the first official flight was made on October 6, 1999. It was powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW206 engines. Another prototype, with a longer and slimmer fuselage, and powered by two PW207K engines, flew on December 27, 2001 (no. 03, then 904). From 2002 it was undergoing the certification process. The third prototype introduced clam shell doors for the cabin opening upwards and downwards, instead of the sliding ones. It was offered as the Ansat-U military trainer variant with dual controls. , apart from the fourth prototype, no further Ansat's had yet been built.

In September 2001 the Ansat-U won a contest for a trainer helicopter for the Russian Air Force. By 2010 four were in service with the Russian Air Force's Syzran Military Pilot Flying Training School. A further 20 are planned, to be powered by Ukrainian Motor Sich MS-500V engines replacing the Pratt & Whitney engines of the first four Ansats. Ansat-UT's are to be fitted with wheeled landing gear, instead of skis. It is offered by Kazan Helicopters for Russian and foreign market, and for the Russian Air Force. Estimated price is about US$2–2.5 million.

There are projected Ansat variants: Ansat-M air ambulance for two stretchers and Ansat-UM military medevac for 4 stretchers.

Design
The Ansat is of a classic construction. It takes a pilot and 10 passengers (one of them sits next to the pilot). The fuselage has a pair of doors in pilot's cab, and a pair of upwards and downwards opening side doors in transport compartment. After the seats have been removed, it can take 1000 kg of cargo inside. On external hook, it can take 1300 kg of load. It is powered with two PW207K turboshaft engines, which produce 630 shp each. It features a four-blade main rotor and two-blade tail rotor.

Derivatives
Kazan Ansat-2RC Derived from the civilian version  equipped with a 12.7mm (0.5 inch) machine gun above the front skid support, as well as four hardpoints spread across two stub wings. The company has already displayed the helicopter carrying a mixture of rocket launcher tubes, bombs and anti-aircraft missiles.