Most heads of state and important politicians changed from conventional transport to air transport. Now they fly helicopters. Let's see what helicopters they fly and what their price is.

Russian President Vladimir Putin - Mi-8

Crew: 3 people;
Passenger capacity: 28 people (in military version);
Length: 25.31 m;
Height: 5.54 m;
Speed: up to 250 km/h;
Estimated cost: $8.2 million
Mi-8 is a Soviet helicopter developed in the early 60s. It is the most massive twin-engine helicopter in the world, and is also included in the list of the most massive helicopters in the history of aviation. Vladimir Putin flies exclusively on the Mi-8, even after purchasing Italian AgustaWestland helicopters for Russian officials. A helipad was built in the Kremlin specifically for Putin's Mi-8.
The President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko also flies the Mi-8.

US President Barack Obama - VH-3D

Crew: 2 pilots and 2 operators;
Passenger capacity: 10 people;
Length: 22.15 m;
Height: 5.13 m;
Speed: up to 267 km/h;
Estimated cost: $6.4 million
This is a modification of the famous Sikorsky S-61 Sea King helicopter, manufactured by the American Sikorsky Aero Engineering Corporation since 1961. The VH-3D is expected to end its service life in 2014.
Helicopters flown by Barack Obama are painted green and white colors and are part of No. 1 Squadron of the US Marine Corps, based in Quantico. This helicopter is better known to the public under the name Marine One - both helicopters of the US President bear this name.

President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych - AgustaWestland AW139

Crew: 1-2 people;
Passenger capacity: up to 15 people;
Length: 16.65 m;
Height: 4.95 m (with tail rotor);
Speed: up to 309 km/h;
Estimated cost: $17 million
Yanukovych has been flying an Italian AgustaWestland AW139 helicopter to Kyiv from his residence in Mezhyhirya since 2010. This is possibly the most expensive helicopter used by heads of state. The cost of the car, according to Yanukovych, is about $6-9 million, but the media had previously reported that the helicopter of the Ukrainian president was equipped for $17 million, excluding interior decoration.
In early March, two such helicopters were purchased for the Russian government aviation squadron. Dmitry Medvedev was the first to test one of them. It is assumed that in the future the helicopters of this company will be assembled in Russia.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel - Super Puma 332

Crew: 2-3 people;

Length: 19.5 m;
Height: 4.97 m;
Speed: up to 315 km/h;
Estimated cost: $15 million
The German chancellor uses a Super Puma 332 helicopter manufactured by Eurocopter. In March 2011, Merkel's helicopter nearly crashed due to engine failure. The pilots regained control of the aircraft when about a hundred meters remained before the collision with the ground. The Chancellor was not on board the helicopter at the time.

Queen Elizabeth II - VIP S-76C++

Crew: 2 people;

Length: 16 m;
Height: 4.42 m;
Speed: up to 287 km/h;
Estimated cost: $7.9 million
In addition to the American White House, Sikorsky has traditionally served the fleet of the English Queen since the 1950s. The model that Elizaveta has been flying since 2009 is the VIP configuration of the civil Sikorsky S-76 helicopter.

President of Argentina Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner - Sikorsky S-70-A-30

Crew: 2 people;
Passenger capacity: 12-13 people;
Length: 16 m;
Height: 4.42 m;
Speed: up to 287 km/h;
Estimated cost: $10 million
Unlike Elizabeth II, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner flies a regular, not a VIP, Sikorsky model. Helicopters of this model have been produced since 1977 and are widely used in the armies of the countries of North and South America, China, Japan, the Philippines, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and a number of others.

French President Francois Hollande - Super Puma 332

Crew: 2-3 people;
Passenger capacity: 20-24 people;
Length: 19.5 m;
Height: 4.97 m;
Speed: up to 315 km/h;
Estimated cost: $15 million
François Hollande, as well as German Chancellor Angela Merkel, flies on Eurocopter products.

President of India Pranab Mukherjee - AgustaWestland AW101

Crew: 1-2 people;
Passenger capacity: 30 people;
Length: 22.8 m;
Height: 6.62 m;
Speed: up to 309 km/h;
Estimated cost: $21-25 million.
The Government of India in 2009 ordered a batch of 12 helicopters from the Italian AgustaWestland. One of them is flown by President Pranab Mukherjee.

It's time to leave work, and the Moscow road map is colored blood color traffic jams. Instead of a trip to a country residence, one has to look for business in the capital. And then they blocked traffic: a helicopter rises from the White House and heads west. Thoughts following the propeller begin to spin around the flying machine. Neighboring villages with helipads and air taxi service come to mind. You involuntarily think about how your own helicopter could make life easier.

The commercial director of the Aerosoyuz helicopter company, Maxim Blagodatsky, explained to the correspondent of the Elitnoye.RU online magazine how much it costs to buy a helicopter in Russia, and what additional costs threaten its owner.

Where can you fly a helicopter.

The airspace of the country is divided into three zones. "A" is where large aircraft fly. "C" is the area of ​​responsibility of airports, it is suitable for small aircraft, but with the notification of dispatchers. And "G", where no agreement is required. If you need to fly from one residence near Moscow to another, and at the same time both are in zone G, then you don’t need to tell anyone, you sit down and fly. If in the nearest suburbs you can fly directly between the sites (there are already about 200 of them), then in the rest of Russia - only on special air routes.

Over Moscow, movement is allowed only for the first persons of the state. The rest can still fly to the Moscow Ring Road in any direction, but soon they will be allowed to move to the Third Ring Road, as well as over riverbeds and forest park areas.

How much does a helicopter cost.

Let's turn to the understandable language of cars. Both air and ground vehicles can be divided into "economy", "business" and "premium" classes.

Economy class. The most popular representative of the "economy" is the four-seater Robinson 44. This is an airy Toyota Corolla - a simple and reliable car to maintain. Prices for this device start at $616,000. A five-seat Robinson 66 helicopter powered by a Rolls-Royce engine is a more powerful, faster and more comfortable helicopter, similar to the Avensis, and costs from $1.3 million.

Business Class. The French Eurocopter 350 (the only helicopter that landed on Everest), the American Bell 407 and the Italian Agusta 119 are Mercedes E-class. Six seats, and prices for these helicopters range from $1.6 million to $2.9 million.

Premium class. The next line is twin-engine eight-seat helicopters. It is documented that twin-engine helicopters will be allowed to fly over Moscow. Agusta 109, Eurocopter 135, Bell 429. Prices start at $6 million. By the way, this is far from the limit. For example, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev flies an Augusta 139 for $14 million.

However, expensive helicopters have their downsides. The main one is that the weight grows faster than the power, and at the same time the carrying capacity drops. In addition, it is believed that two engines are more reliable, but at the same time there is not a single fact confirming that if one engine breaks down, then the helicopter will land on the other: they have one fuel system and a gearbox too.

Helicopter maintenance costs.

Decor. Consider the costs on the example of Robinson 44, reliable as a ZIL refrigerator. He even landing with the engine off is considered a regular procedure, which is taught in the courses. Here sailed from the ocean after ten long weeks, three boxes with a helicopter, what's next? It must be assembled, flown around, handed over to the Federal Air Transport Agency for verification, get numbers and documents. Registering a helicopter costs about 300 thousand rubles, CASCO - 1.8% per year of the cost, property tax and horsepower are also charged. At vehicle Robinson 44 only 260 horsepower, which is about 50 thousand rubles a year.

Repair. A visual inspection of the helicopter must be carried out after 50 flight hours; technical inspection, the cost of which is 4.5 thousand dollars, is carried out every hundred hours. And, finally, every 2.2 thousand hours in the Robinson 44 almost all the filling changes and a new helicopter is obtained. The price of overhaul (overholed) is 300 thousand dollars. Thus, if the first thousand hours of "run" reduces the cost of the car to about 500 thousand dollars, then a helicopter with a flight time of 2 thousand hours costs no more than 100 thousand dollars.

Fuel consumption. The cost of aviation gasoline in Moscow is about 109 rubles per liter. But even the modest Robinson 44 "eats" a liter per minute. That is, the cost per flight hour will be about 6 thousand rubles. It is worth noting that the fuel tanks of helicopters are quite capacious and at one gas station from Moscow you can fly, for example, to St. Petersburg (about 3-3.5 hours of flight).

Helicopter parking area.

Robinson 44 can be kept on site country house, it only occupies 2 parking spaces. Registration is required if the helicopter lands more than ten times a year. To obtain official permission, the site must meet only two requirements: the size is 35 by 35 meters, and in addition, there should be no obstacles along the take-off course at an angle of 45 degrees.

Helicopter control courses.

A full piloting course lasts from three to six months. During this time, the student will receive 42 hours of practice and 179 hours of theory. The cost of the course is about a million rubles. After completing the training, you need to pass exams at Rosaviatsia, after which the student receives an amateur pilot certificate with the right to pilot a Robinson 44 helicopter. To fly on other models, you need to retrain and open new categories.

In general, buying a helicopter is not a cheap pleasure, to put it mildly. But, no doubt, it saves time, and time is money. And today there are more and more people for whom these words are not just a beautiful phrase.

It's time to leave work, and the road map of Moscow is painted in the bloody color of traffic jams. Instead of a trip to a country residence, one has to look for business in the capital. And then they blocked traffic: a helicopter rises from the White House and heads west. Thoughts following the propeller begin to spin around the flying machine. Neighboring villages with helipads and air taxi service come to mind. You involuntarily think about how your own helicopter could make life easier.

The commercial director of the Aerosoyuz helicopter company, Maxim Blagodatsky, explained to the correspondent of the Elitnoye.RU online magazine how much it costs to buy a helicopter in Russia, and what additional costs threaten its owner.

Where can you fly a helicopter.

The airspace of the country is divided into three zones. "A" is where large aircraft fly. "C" is the area of ​​responsibility of airports, it is suitable for small aircraft, but with the notification of dispatchers. And "G", where no agreement is required. If you need to fly from one residence near Moscow to another, and at the same time both are in zone G, then you don’t need to tell anyone, you sit down and fly. If in the nearest suburbs you can fly directly between the sites (there are already about 200 of them), then in the rest of Russia - only on special air routes.

Over Moscow, movement is allowed only for the first persons of the state. The rest can still fly to the Moscow Ring Road in any direction, but soon they will be allowed to move to the Third Ring Road, as well as over riverbeds and forest park areas.

How much does a helicopter cost.

Let's turn to the understandable language of cars. Both air and ground vehicles can be divided into "economy", "business" and "premium" classes.

Economy class. The most popular representative of the "economy" is the four-seater Robinson 44. This is an airy Toyota Corolla - a simple and reliable car to maintain. Prices for this device start at $616,000. A five-seat Robinson 66 helicopter powered by a Rolls-Royce engine is a more powerful, faster and more comfortable helicopter, similar to the Avensis, and costs from $1.3 million.

Business Class. The French Eurocopter 350 (the only helicopter that landed on Everest), the American Bell 407 and the Italian Agusta 119 are Mercedes E-class. Six seats, and prices for these helicopters range from $1.6 million to $2.9 million.

Premium class. The next line is twin-engine eight-seat helicopters. It is documented that twin-engine helicopters will be allowed to fly over Moscow. Agusta 109, Eurocopter 135, Bell 429. Prices start at $6 million. By the way, this is far from the limit. For example, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev flies an Augusta 139 for $14 million.

However, expensive helicopters have their downsides. The main one is that the weight grows faster than the power, and at the same time the carrying capacity drops. In addition, it is believed that two engines are more reliable, but at the same time there is not a single fact confirming that if one engine breaks down, then the helicopter will land on the other: they have one fuel system and a gearbox too.

Helicopter maintenance costs.

Decor. Consider the costs on the example of Robinson 44, reliable as a ZIL refrigerator. He even landing with the engine off is considered a regular procedure, which is taught in the courses. Here sailed from the ocean after ten long weeks, three boxes with a helicopter, what's next? It must be assembled, flown around, handed over to the Federal Air Transport Agency for verification, get numbers and documents. Registering a helicopter costs about 300 thousand rubles, CASCO - 1.8% per year of the cost, property tax and horsepower are also charged. The Robinson 44 vehicle has only 260 horsepower, which is about 50 thousand rubles a year.

Repair. A visual inspection of the helicopter must be carried out after 50 flight hours; technical inspection, the cost of which is 4.5 thousand dollars, is carried out every hundred hours. And, finally, every 2.2 thousand hours in the Robinson 44 almost all the filling changes and a new helicopter is obtained. The price of overhaul (overholed) is 300 thousand dollars. Thus, if the first thousand hours of "run" reduces the cost of the car to about 500 thousand dollars, then a helicopter with a flight time of 2 thousand hours costs no more than 100 thousand dollars.

Fuel consumption. The cost of aviation gasoline in Moscow is about 109 rubles per liter. But even the modest Robinson 44 "eats" a liter per minute. That is, the cost per flight hour will be about 6 thousand rubles. It is worth noting that the fuel tanks of helicopters are quite capacious and at one gas station from Moscow you can fly, for example, to St. Petersburg (about 3-3.5 hours of flight).

Helicopter parking area.

Robinson 44 can be kept on the territory of a country house, it takes up only 2 parking spaces. Registration is required if the helicopter lands more than ten times a year. To obtain official permission, the site must meet only two requirements: the size is 35 by 35 meters, and in addition, there should be no obstacles along the take-off course at an angle of 45 degrees.

Helicopter control courses.

A full piloting course lasts from three to six months. During this time, the student will receive 42 hours of practice and 179 hours of theory. The cost of the course is about a million rubles. After completing the training, you need to pass exams at Rosaviatsia, after which the student receives an amateur pilot certificate with the right to pilot a Robinson 44 helicopter. To fly on other models, you need to retrain and open new categories.

In general, buying a helicopter is not a cheap pleasure, to put it mildly. But, no doubt, it saves time, and time is money. And today there are more and more people for whom these words are not just a beautiful phrase.

Last week, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Vladimir Putin has a hyper-congested schedule, but the president's movements around the capital will not create problems for drivers on the roads - Putin will fly by helicopter. He has been actively using this mode of transport for several years now, leaving armored limousines in the Special Purpose Garage from time to time. Lenta.ru decided to take a look at what the head of the Russian state flies and drives.

flying around traffic jams

In October 2012, on his birthday, Vladimir Putin announced his decision to move as far away from the Kremlin as possible so as not to create traffic jams on Moscow roads. And he retired to the Novo-Ogaryovo residence near Moscow. And Dmitry Medvedev boarded a helicopter. To do this, a helipad was built in front of the White House from the Krasnopresnenskaya embankment. However, this tactic was not successful. Six months later, the press secretary of the President of Russia actually admitted the senselessness of this undertaking. Traffic jams, which Putin and Medvedev tried to avoid, did not decrease.

However, the helipad in the Kremlin's Tainitsky Garden was nevertheless equipped. "Turntables" landed on the territory of the Kremlin before, including with the first president of Russia, Boris Yeltsin, on board. But the site was located on Ivanovskaya Square, and the vibration from the helicopter could damage the historic buildings. Here it is moved away.

President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko on Sunday, August 20, controlled the course of the harvesting campaign. Heads of state don't usually use helicopters as a means of monitoring their harvest, but world leaders take to the air in helicopters frequently. TUT.BY found out which ones.

Belarus

As we managed to find out, there are at least three helicopters in the Belarusian government fleet.

The first helicopter of Alexander Lukashenko was the Mi-8 with tail number EW-25049.

Mi-8, tail number EW-25049. Photo: Sergey Konkov, russianplanes.net

The president also uses a modified Mi-8 helicopter with tail number EW-001DA.

The president also has a Mi-172 helicopter with tail number EW-002DA. A few years ago, he came to the attention of journalists at the Kazan Helicopter Plant during repairs. According to experts, the helicopter was manufactured at Kazan Helicopter Plant on special order. The cost of the helicopter was not announced, but 20 years ago the cost of a Mi-172 helicopter for a VIP was about $4 million.

On which helicopter the President of Belarus controlled the course of the harvest, it is difficult to say from the photo taken in the cabin, but, most likely, on the Mi-172, it is this helicopter that Alexander Lukashenko uses more often than others.

Russia

But in Russia, 9 (!) Helicopters are used to transport Vladimir Putin. All of them are Mi-8s, made to special order, and the cost of each of them is estimated at $8.2 million.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev prefers helicopters from the Italian manufacturer Leonardo Helicopters (formerly Agusta Westland), or rather, a modification for VIPs AW139 worth about 15 million euros.

At will, the interior of the salon is developed taking into account the individual preferences of the customer.

USA

The President of the United States can compete with the President of Russia in the number of helicopters. Donald Trump can be carried by any of the 23 HMX-1 Nighthawks, but usually a relatively large VH-3D or a more modern VH-60N.

VH-3D is a modification of the famous Sikorsky S-61 Sea King helicopter, VH-60N is a modification of the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk. It should be noted that 12 helicopters of the presidential squadron Sikorsky VH-3D were produced in the 70s of the last century, and 8 Sikorsky VH-60N - in the 80s of the last century.

Judging by the pictures of news agencies and the White House press service, Donald Trump prefers VH-3D helicopters and does not like to be photographed on board. But you can see what helicopters look like from the inside thanks to former US President Barack Obama.

It is planned that in 2020 these helicopters will replace the VH-92A manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft. A prototype of the new US presidential helicopter is already being tested, according to Lockheed Martin. Among the changes being introduced to the presidential board being tested are the integration of special systems and the installation of an exclusive interior.

Great Britain

In addition to the American White House, Sikorsky has traditionally served the fleet of the English Queen since the 1950s. The VIP S-76C++ model, which Elizaveta has been flying since 2009, is the VIP configuration of the civil Sikorsky S-76 helicopter. The approximate cost of the "royal" modification is 7.9 million dollars.

Germany

IN special unit The Bundeswehr Air Force, which provides transportation for German statesmen, has three AS532 Cougar Airbus helicopters. Angela Merkel flies a modified AS 332 Super Puma worth about 15 million euros.

In March 2011, Merkel's helicopter nearly crashed due to engine failure. The pilots regained control of the aircraft when about a hundred meters remained before the collision with the ground. The Chancellor was not on board the helicopter at the time.

And in 2016, the German Ministry of Defense notified the Chancellor that she could not yet fly AS532 Cougar Airbus helicopters. This decision was made at the time of the investigation of a plane crash with a similar helicopter in Norway, which killed 13 people.

At the end of 2016, Merkel's helicopter was redesigned. He received not only a new color, but also specially made carpets, curtains and covers.

“The main problem was the lack of time. We used the helicopter almost all the time, so we had very short periods of time - 6-7 hours during downtime, ”said Roger Hohl, member of the board of ACM Aerospace, a company that modernizes air transport, about the difficulties with the helicopter of the German Chancellor.

France

The French government fleet has three AS 332 Super Puma helicopters.

But just flying government helicopters is boring for the young French president.

In addition to the inspection of "hot spots", Emmanuel Macron is no stranger to other risky adventures. On July 4, the President of France spectacularly descended into a submarine - directly from the presidential helicopter.