[Alex Blair (RIP)]

The Russian MI-26,capeable of 20 Ton loads is now going to be working out of northern Canada as an airborn supply delivery system..

Here is the news release..

World's Largest Helicopter to Improve Access to Mackenzie Delta
CALGARY, May 22 /CNW/ - Russian and Canadian business partners will host
official ceremonies at Calgary's Petroleum Club (319 8th Avenue SW), at 5:30
pm tomorrow, to celebrate the arrival of the world's biggest helicopter, the
Russian MI-26, to support the exploration and development of potential oil and
gas fields in the Mackenzie Delta and Mackenzie Valley.
The biggest helicopter in the world, the Russian designed and
manufactured MI-26 heavy-lift helicopter has a lifting capacity of 20 tons
externally or internally. The aircraft is managed by a crew of ten (five
flight crew and five maintenance Engineers) and cruises at 150 mph with a fuel
burn of 3000 litres/hour. The largest load carried by a Western helicopter is
12 tons with the American-built Chinook.
Currently, the Mackenzie delta has a short drilling season relying on ice
roads from mid-December to late-March. These areas do not have a surface
transportation infrastructure and are sensitive to fragile eco-systems and
native land stewardship issues. The MI-26 is capable of delivering an air-
portable drilling platform allowing for an extended drilling season and
addressing critical environmental issues. The helicopter will airlift
virtually all equipment, structures, and supplies both into and out of the
drill site from early spring to late fall - approximately mid-April to mid-
December. Airborne Energy Solutions, Nabors Drilling LLP, SkyLink Aviation
Inc., and Utair Aviation have formed an association to jointly explore and
introduce the MI-26 into Canada for this specific purpose.
The helicopter's route to Canada was as follows: from the manufacturer's
plant in Southern Russia (Rostov-on-Don) to Moscow, to Northern Siberia
(Surgut), across Northern Russia, to the East Coast at the last point of
Russia Providenia, then across the Bering Sea to Anchorage, then into
Whitehorse for official importation to Canada. It was then dispatched to
Yellowknife where it is already helping local mining operations that are
suffering from the lack of ice roads this past winter.