Today we have an interesting video of the largest flying crane helicopter the Soviet Union built in the 1960s. With the need of the military for transporting heavy load growing steadily, a transport vehicle was needed as soon as possible. The Soviet Union already had the Mi-6 for this exact purpose, but this model came with heavy limitations. The most notable one of all was the inability of the crew who piloted the helicopter to see where they unload the cargo!
Thus, the concept of the Mil Mi-10 was born! It was a huge hit in the Soviet Union, even to the point of taking part in national parades! The reporting name NATO used for this specific helicopter was Harke. This behemoth quickly took over the transporting role from the Mil Mi-6, who couldn`t carry as much cargo as this newer model.
The Mil Mi-10 was quickly dubbed as the largest flying crane helicopter, and rightfully so. This engineering masterpiece was capable of carrying its load externally, unlike the previous version, the Mil Mi-6. It was able to load up to 33,000lb of cargo on its load platform! That is more than enough to transport cars, just like it is shown in the video. On top of that, it was quite spacious, being able to hold up to 6,600lb of cargo inside! It is no wonder this flying crane helicopter is still operating!
That`s correct, these babies can still be seen in the skies! A total of 55 models were built, of which 17 are a short legged version of the original (this also includes two conversions of the original model to this version). The short legged version is known as a Mil Mi-10K. Check out the video to find out more about the largest flying crane helicopter!
Lastly, click here to see this homemade helicopter (made of drones) that can carry a grown man!
