Kazan "Ansat 3 Maksimum"

Stingray · Administrator

Kazan "Ansat 3 Maksimum"

jrbirdman · Moderator

Would this be considered an upgrade to the PZL-W3?

Stingray · Administrator

No, but the roles are generally similar. The original Ansat design was a competitor in a program to replace aging training/utility helicopters such as the Mi-1. Other competing designs were the Kamov Ka-226, Mi-34 (NATO: "Hermit"), and Swidnik SW-4.

jrbirdman · Moderator

Interesting. I always thought that the Hermit was a dead program after the first few prototypes. I certainly believe that the Ansat 3 is quite a nice looking helicopter. However, I think one of the major drawbacks is that it looks very similar to existing designs and it seems that it's slightly underpowered.

Stingray · Administrator

jrbirdman wrote:
I always thought that the Hermit was a dead program after the first few prototypes.

Definitely not. Despite losing to the Ansat in the program it was intended for, it still attracted enough customer interest to be produced since 1993 with 10 specific types known, seeing service with Nigeria and the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

jrbirdman · Moderator

Impressive! I had no idea it was so successful. :)