At the end of 2016, the first civilian Ansat helicopters were received by the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Tatarstan and the first private operator - Russian Helicopter Systems (RHS). Moreover, RHS not only became the first private company capable of operating and servicing new types of helicopters, but also flew a new helicopter around Moscow sites built by the company in the framework of the state program for the development of transport.

Helicopter Systems), entered the air navigation space of the capital, landed on the Moscow City and Music House sites and returned safely to the site based in the area of Odintsovo of Moscow region.

Ansat type helicopters are, in fact, a breakthrough for domestic helicopter manufacture: the Russian company for the first time has developed and successfully launched a light multi-purpose twin-engine helicopter that, in its consumer qualities, not only successfully competes with Western counterparts in the Russian market, but also imposed them sharp competition abroad.

The light multi-purpose helicopter Ansat is built on a classic single-rotor scheme with a steering rotor. Ansat was developed in accordance with the norms of AP-29 (FAR-29), category "A" and has a high constructive level of safety. Initially, the machine was produced with a fly-by-wire electrical control system, which, due to the flexibility of the settings and the ability to control various parameters of the system response, makes it a universal "flying desk" for the Air Force. However, the civil market has its own specifics, conditioned by the terms for certification and operation of helicopter equipment. Due to the fact that certification of the helicopter with the fly-by-wire system was impossible within a reasonable time, the Helicopters of Russia Company developed and launched the Ansat helicopter with a traditional hydromechanical control system, as we told in the article «Ansat With the Hydromechanical Control System»  and others.

Such a machine went into the operation of RHS. According to Alexander Mikheev, the former CEO of Russian Helicopters, Ansat's advantages are not only in its price, but also in the better adaptability of domestic helicopters to Russian conditions and operational features.

Pilots and ground personnel of the RHS agree with him - in terms of easy maintenance Ansat doesn't concede to the main competitors - light twin-engine helicopters produced by Airbus Helicopters, Leonardo Helicopters (ex. Agusta Westland) and Bell Helicopter.

The Chairman of the Association of Helicopter Industry Mikhail Kazachkov noted that today the main rival of Ansat in the world market is Bell 429. However, the Russian helicopter bypasses its American analogue in a number of parameters. In particular, Ansat offers the most spacious cabin in its class, which makes it possible to fulfil the cabin in the VIP passenger version as comfortable as possible. The passenger cabin is equipped with ventilation and air conditioning systems with individual blowing and lighting points. The cabin is equipped with energy-absorbing armchairs with armrests, shock absorbing vibration. In the traditional configuration, the passenger cabin allows up to 7 seats to be accommodated, and when assembled for 5 seats, equip the cabin with a wardrobe, a full luggage compartment and a built-in minibar.

However, in the Russian Helicopter Systems fleet, the passenger version of Ansat will not be the main one: according to company representatives, the main mission of Kazan vehicles will be medical transportation within the framework of the HeliMed project. As part of the project, the company works with more than 150 medical institutions not only in Moscow and the Moscow region, but also in Orel, Kostroma, Yaroslavl, Bryansk, Ryazan, Ivanovo, Kursk, Tula, Tver and Smolensk regions.

For these purposes that the RHS also acquired the fully medical version of Ansat. The medical module installed on the helicopter allows using it to evacuate a victim in a severe and even extremely difficult condition, on stretchers. During transportation, the medical team can conduct continuous monitoring of the victim's condition, maintain vital functions of his body and conduct intensive therapy in the scope of specialized medical assistance.

The signing of this agreement took place within the framework of the Eleventh International Exhibition and Scientific Conference on Hydroaviation - Hydroaviasalon-2016, which took place in Gelendzhik from 22 to 25 September. Deputy director general of the Russian Helicopters holding on sales Grigory Kozlov and general director of the RHS company Alexey Zaitsev put their signatures under the document.

Holding "Russian Helicopters" has its own aircraft leasing program and cooperates with the largest Russian financial institutions. An agreement on the supply of an Ansat helicopter to the company "RHS" for leasing is carried out jointly with Sberbank Leasing.

However, financial support is not limited to interaction with Sberbank alone. Within the framework of the Transport of Russia Forum, a contract was signed between Helicopters of Russia and PJSC State Transport /Leasing Company for the supply of 27 helicopters, including Ansat helicopters, which, subsequently, are going to be leased, including medical facilities. According to the estimates of the Russian Helicopters, voiced at the round table Helicopters in the Medical Evacuation System, with a leasing period of 10 years, the Ansat helicopter rental rate will be 2.3 million rubles a month. At the same time, an advance for aircraft leasing is not required, and the state will subsidize a significant part of the funds within the program of sanitary aviation development, for which 3,3 billion rubles have already been allocated in 2017.

Ansat today is the main hope of Russian Helicopters for a breakthrough in the niche of light twin-engine helicopters for the needs of commercial operators both in Russia and abroad. Not only the marketing services of the Russian Helicopters and the Kazan Helicopter Plant are working on the helicopter today, but also the specialised branch departments - the Federal Air Transport Agency and the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade.

According to Andrei Boginsky, the CEO of the Russian Helicopters holding, who until recently was the Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of Russia, are now preparing to submit specific proposals to the State Aviation Industry Development Program for the period up to 2025 for manufacturers and operators of helicopter equipment (so far the State Program only applies to aircraft). They will be aimed at ensuring that the future operator is profitable to work with new domestic equipment. According to Boginsky, such measures should appear and earn this year. At the same time, it is specially noted that it is necessary not only to support the operator when introducing new type of equipment, but also to help the manufacturer correctly organise the timely order and delivery of spare parts so that the machinery isn’t stand idle on the ground, but is in operation.

The new helicopter reflected the current trends in the Russian helicopter industry and the entire aviation industry, primarily related to the replacement of foreign units and units with domestic counterparts. Ansat can be fully attributed to the transitional type, which for several years will be equipped with engines produced by Pratt & Whitney Canada, with a gradual replacement for Russian engines. Now several Russian companies are working on the creation of the domestic engine for Ansat. Among them, Klimov (part of the UDC) from St. Petersburg and Tekhnodinamika holding. The latter, during the exhibition HeliRussia 2016, announced the launch of work on a family of marching engines for light helicopters, including for Ansat. "The project is designed for four years, during which 12 engines will be created (including five for flight tests).

TD-701 will be certified according to international standards, - the statement of the holding says. One of the key advantages of the new engine will be the use of a unified gas generator, which will reduce the cost of development. The cost of the serial engine will be reduced by 15% compared to analogues. In addition, the use of new materials in the turbine will provide the possibility of forcing, which will allow the most rapid modification of power plants for different requirements of customers. For the engine family, a single hardware part of the automatic control system (ACS) will be developed. In this case, the two-channel automatic control system created by Technodynamika will have additional functions, such as a turbine safety device, and a system for monitoring the residual life of the units, which will allow the engine to run on condition and significantly reduce operating costs. The first tests of the prospective power plant for the Ansat helicopter are planned to be held in 2018.

Work is continued on Klimov VK-800 engine, which should become one of the basic for light Russian helicopters and which successfully passed bench tests in 2015.

The main advantage of Ansat lies both the price of the board and components, as well as the better adaptability of the domestic machine to Russian conditions and operational features. Ansat can develop a maximum speed of up to 275 km / h and cover distances over 500 km. It can be used to assist victims in areas with complex terrain, in remote areas with difficult transport access. In order to increase the flight range of the aircraft, exceeding 700 kilometers, an additional fuel tank with a capacity of about 200 liters is installed, which increases the flight time by almost 40 minutes. The developer and the manufacturer continue to make other design changes.

In addition to the realised multi-functionality the modern equipment of the helicopter is equally important. Ansat has installed the newest pilot-navigation system that provides piloting in automatic and manual control modes in simple and difficult weather conditions, as well as complete autonomy in preparation for flights and helicopter maintenance.

At present also new blades are being developed, which allow increasing, according to some data, the efficiency of the machine by 30%.

The pilots of the RHS note that Ansat is comfortable in piloting with an excellent reserve of power. If the pilot "feels the handle" and the machine itself, there should not be any difficulty in retraining. The pilots separately noted that the helicopter proved itself well as a training desk in the Russian Air Force, allowing without any complaints from instructors to transfer pilots to other types of domestic helicopters, including Mi-8, Mi-24/35, etc. The main thing is to make sure that the helicopter continues to be constantly used. This will allow not only to gain additional experience with the aim of further improvement and modernisation of Ansat class vehicles, but also to create a certain reserve for the development, production and operation of future domestic helicopters of all classes.