VIP cabin for Mi-38

The new Mil Mi-38 medium-class helicopter is still in testing at Moscow’s Mil helicopter plant but there is already a VIP/corporate configuration being developed. Its mock-up, created jointly with interior specialist Air Taxi Service, was first unveiled at the MAKS 2011 air show in August.

Sources at Mil say the forward part of the VIP cabin features four luxury seats in double club arrangement with two tables. The aisle between the sets of seats is more than 60 cm wide. In the aft section there are two four-seat sofas lining the sides of the cabin, each seat 50 cm wide. Optional equipment includes in-flight entertainment and a minibar. Entry is through an airstair door on the port side. The baseline passenger version of the Mi-38 accommodates up to 30 people (29 passengers plus one flight attendant), with a seat pitch of 75 cm.

Two Mi-38 prototypes are currently in tests; one is powered by two Pratt & Whitney PW 127/5 engines, the other with Russian-made Klimov TV-117 powerplants. The latter airframe has been modified to bring it up to the national AP-29 airworthiness standards (equivalent to the US FAR 29). Series production should begin in 2014.

Alexei Sinitsky