Operational History
The Ka-26 was used by some WARPAC armies in the light desant or airborne role, but its slow (150 km/h) cruise speed compared with the Mil-2 (220 km/h) limits its military use but its shorter length (7,75m) compared with the Mil Mi-2 (11,9m) was an advantage when operating in an urban area, also a smaller rotor (13m) than the Mil-2 (14,6m) is an advantage, it has a longer range than the Mil-2 as well. It is, however, eminently useful for cropdusting. The coaxial main rotor configuration, which makes the Ka-26 small and agile, also results in a delicate airflow pattern under the helicopter, providing a thorough yet mild distribution of chemicals onto the plants. The Ka-26 is often used to spray grape farms in Hungary, where conventional "main rotor and tail rotor" layout helicopters would damage or up-root the vine-stocks with their powerful airflow. Hungarian Kamov operators claim that coaxial rotors of the Ka-26 creates an airflow which allows pesticides to settle underneath, rather than on top of, the leaves, this means a much more effective distribution of pesticides, as most pests and parasites do not live on the top side of foliage. Additionally, the coaxial vortex system is symmetrical, allowing the distribution of the pesticide to be more uniform. Symmetrical vortices
Read more about this topic: Kamov Ka-26
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