Mi-6 "Hook" Fire Fighting Helicopter (Unusual Aircraft Collection)

When the Mi-6 "Hook" first flew in 1957 it was the first Russian helicopter powered by jet engines, and the first helicopter in the world with two jet engines.   For 12 years it was the world's largest helicopter until it was overtaken by the colossal V-12 "Homer" The "Hook" held other world records including fastest helicopter (211 miles per hour around a circuit) and heaviest payload (26400 pounds).

It measures 108 feet long and has a rotor diameter of 114 feet, making it quite a bit larger than the B-17 Flying Fortress bomber, which was 74 feet long and had a wingspan of 104 feet.   When used as a passenger transport it normally seats 90 people, but when fitted with a high-density seating arrangement up to 120 people can be squeezed inside.

Most Hooks were fitted with 49 foot long wings part way down the fuselage, which provided about 20% of the lift when flying forwards.   The one you see here at the Russian Air Force museum at Monino, nearMoscow, doesn't have these wings because it's equipped to operate as a fire tanker, ready to use the nozzle below the nose to put out park bench fires whenever and wherever they happen!   When putting fires out the helicopter usually hovers, which makes the wings useless and can even cause problems because of the turbulence which occurs above a fire.