MIL Mi-1 (SM-1) 'Hare'

Registration: 2007
Country of origin: Russia
Built: Swidnik, Poland, 1959
Manufacturer: MiL Helicopters
Constructor's Number: S112007
Engine: One 575hp Ivchenko AI-26V radial piston engine

Type: 3/4 seat light utility and training helicopter

Note: Polish built Mi-1 which was the first Russian helicopter to enter large-scale production with 3,500 built.

Details: Designed by Mikhail Mil, who had been involved previously in autogyro development at TsAG the state aviation research facility, the Mi-1 was Russia's first helicopter to enter large-scale production.

First flown in Moscow in 1948, it entered service in 1951 for light transport, training and rescue duties. Some 3500 eventually entered service with the military and civil organisations in Russia and its allies, continuing until it was replaced by the Mi-2 in the 1970s-80s.

The design followed the typical 1940s layout of its Western contemporaries with fabric/wood main rotor blades but with detail differences such as a horizontal rather than vertical-mounted radial piston engine. During the Cold War all Russian helicopters were given code names beginning with the letter H by the Western NATO alliance: the Mi-1 was 'Hare'.

Production was transferred to PZL Swidnik in Poland as the SM-l in 1955 and this example was built in 1959 for delivery to the Polish Air Force. Used primarily for pilot training from 1962 to the late 1980s, if was delivered to the museum in 1993 and restored in Soviet markings.

Performance:
Max Speed: 170 km/h (105 mph)
Empty Weight: 1780 kg (3924 lb)
Range: 590 km (366 miles)
Capacity: 4 persons / 470 kg (1036 lb)
Power: 1x 575 hp lvchenko A1-26V radial engine