Russian Helicopters, part of state defence holding Oboronprom and a leading global designer and manufacturer of helicopters, is proud to congratulate Russia’s helicopter sportsmen and women on their victory in the 14th World Helicopter Championship. Russia took first place in the overall classification at the event, which took place on August 22-26 at the Drakino airbase in Moscow Region.

According to the organizers, Russian crews took first place in all events – Navigation, Precision, Slalom and Fender Rigging, in which Russians took all three medal places. Russia’s Lyudmila Kosenkov and Elena Prokofyeva won the women’s competition, while the title of overall champion went to Alexander Zhuperin and Nikolai Burov.

Helicopter sport crews comprise a pilot and a navigator. The crews have to work confidently together as team to complete a series of events that test their speed and skill and demand experience and professionalism.

Navigation is the most complex discipline. The teams are given a map five minutes before take-off. Over the 90km-long course they have to find three turning points, identify ten targets in the search zone, drop two loads onto targets, reach the finish at a precise time and perform a rectangular approach pattern in 60-seconds before finishing for the second time and dropping skittles into marked openings in less than 20 seconds.

The top three teams were:
– Maxim Sotnikov and Oleg Puodzhyukas (Russia)
– Andrei Orekhov and Viktor Kalinin (Russia)
– Yevgenia Kurpitko and Vladimir Strienok (international crew)

Precision is a helicopter sport classic. The crews navigate along a marked course at a constant height of 2.5 meters while controlling two loads hanging under the helicopter. They steer forward, to the right, backwards, to the left and along a diagonal, and also make two 360-degree turns. To finish, they must land on a line 5cm wide. The winners were:
– Alexander Zhuperin and Nikolai Burov (Russia)
– David Monks and Caroline Gough-Cooper (UK)
– Yevgenia Kurpitko and Vladimir Strienok (international crew)

The goal of the Fender Rigging event is to drop three loads into three containers. The winners were:
– Viktor Degtyar and Pyotr Vasilyev (Russia)
– Sergei Tupikov and Alexei Pintelin (Russia)
– Alexei Maiorov and Sergei Kostin (Russia)

The Slalom is one of the best disciplines for spectators to watch. Crews have to steer a bucketful of water through 12 gates and then place it on a table at the first attempt. The course is navigated at an altitude of 5m, and the bucket must be placed on the table from a height of 11m. Scores are awarded based on accuracy of navigation, and the crews must finish within 200 seconds. The winners were:
– Maxim Sotnikov and Oleg Puodzhyukas (Russia)
– Lyubov Prikhodko and Sergei Shvarts (international team)
– Alexander Zhuperin and Nikolai Burov (Russia)

Second and third place overall went to the teams from the UK and Germany, who proved to be skilful helicopter pilots and worthy competitors.

Teams from 11 countries took part – Austria, Belarus, Belgium, China, France, Germany, Poland, Russia, Switzerland, the UK and Ukraine – and about 7,000 spectators attended the Championship.

The Russian team’s victory was confirmation of the exceptional skill of the country’s helicopter pilots, which has brought deserved recognition throughout the aviation world. Russian Helicopters was general partner of the event and actively promotes helicopter sport in the country.

HeliHub.com editor note – the above is a press release and clearly slanted towards the Russian team.  The official results can be found here http://14whc2012.org/en/results/