6 ms·

You get to a certain age where you think you've seen everything. Then something like this comes along and you realize you haven't seen anything.

systemvoltage 6y ago
It is pretty shocking from many points of view: 1) Are these people barred from legitimately selling helicopters? Perhaps some sanctions? 2) Making a helicopter fly with the right engineering and control system is monumentally difficult - doesn't matter if its a knock off, assembled from parts or OEM. 3) Where did they get the skills and how did they acquire them? Did they have the capital to purchase a few originals and take them apart? 4) At this point, why not just sell them legitimately? Regulatory requirements prohibitive?
- pvg 6y ago
  It's worth keeping in mind where this happened - a place where there's still a lot of gear, expertise, parts etc kicking about. Nearby Romania was once a licensed producer of this particular type of old Soviet utility helicopter. Corruption is endemic and the line between 'legitimate' business and one that isn't can be blurry and change over time, both intentionally by the operators and due to shifting political fortunes.
  - cameldrv 6y ago
    Yeah and Russia has had a big military presence in Transnistria for a long time. They mention a lot of the workers coming across the river into Moldova. I bet they are all ex-helicopter mechanics for the Russian army that used to work on this model, and someone had the idea that they could make more money building the helicopters instead of fixing them.
  - nineteen999 6y ago
    It's possible that they didn't pay their "taxes" or grease the right palms, and were shut down.
refurb 6y ago
The exact same thought occurred to me. The good thing is I get a chuckle out of bootlegged products when an error can kill you. I figured most people would say “no” to bootleg helicopters, heart valves, baby toys, but apparently I’m wrong. There is a market!
- TedDoesntTalk 6y ago
  I don’t think the buyers are aware they are buying fakes: “illegally producing copies of Soviet-type Kamov KA-26 helicopters...”
- wolco 6y ago
  What about used helicoptors? Would you prefer used over non-liceased?
  - refurb 6y ago
    Assuming the used helicopter has been maintained to the correct standard, sure, used is fine.
- saagarjha 6y ago
  Heart valves I can understand, if the difference is between not being able to afford them at all and a bootleg version…relevant username, by the way ;)
cs702 6y ago
I can't help but wonder: Who, exactly, wants to buy helicopters from such fly-by-night operators? For there must be demand. Otherwise all the planning, capital raising, investment, hiring, construction, accounting, etc. necessary for starting and operating this bootleg helicopter factory would have never been done in the fist place. Who would want to buy bootleg helicopters? Is it developing countries seeking to save a bit of money by buying them in the black market? Or two-bit dictators who cannot buy helicopters through more, ahem, official channels due to trading sanctions? Assorted unsavory characters from the criminal underworld? Self-made entrepreneurs who want to get a good deal on a "genuine-looking" Soviet helicopter? Surreal.
- moftz 6y ago
  The parts for the helis might have come from an old factory that shut down, the parts might have been bought very cheap. Someone then decided to build some helis with the parts but clearly decided to forego the permit process and just forge all of the paperwork the customer gets. Someone buying them might have just been expecting a good deal on an older design but still legit helis or they knew they were not legit and were planning to resell them to other groups. I'm not sure anyone would actually want to fly in a heli they knew had forged paperwork.
  - latchkey 6y ago
    Like trying to save money on a motorcycle helmet.
    - manquer 6y ago
      Perhaps if they were part of organized crime groups and/or people in the disputed region and are unable to buy and maintain a legal helicopter, it might be of consideration. The buyer is not necessarily sitting in it, people have built submarines powered by humans to smuggle drugs after all.
  - willcipriano 6y ago
    >I'm not sure anyone would actually want to fly in a heli they knew had forged paperwork I don't know anything about aircraft. However if I was to fly myself one I'd want to know enough about it to verify its safety independently. If I had the skill to verify the safety independently (effectively I'd have to be a pilot/helicopter mechanic), I wouldn't care all that much about the paperwork.
whalesalad 6y ago
2020 is knocking them out left and right.
pcurve 6y ago
Sure reads like Onion headline doesn’t it?

systemvoltage 6y ago

It is pretty shocking from many points of view: 1) Are these people barred from legitimately selling helicopters? Perhaps some sanctions? 2) Making a helicopter fly with the right engineering and control system is monumentally difficult - doesn't matter if its a knock off, assembled from parts or OEM. 3) Where did they get the skills and how did they acquire them? Did they have the capital to purchase a few originals and take them apart? 4) At this point, why not just sell them legitimately? Regulatory requirements prohibitive?

pvg 6y ago
It's worth keeping in mind where this happened - a place where there's still a lot of gear, expertise, parts etc kicking about. Nearby Romania was once a licensed producer of this particular type of old Soviet utility helicopter. Corruption is endemic and the line between 'legitimate' business and one that isn't can be blurry and change over time, both intentionally by the operators and due to shifting political fortunes.
- cameldrv 6y ago
  Yeah and Russia has had a big military presence in Transnistria for a long time. They mention a lot of the workers coming across the river into Moldova. I bet they are all ex-helicopter mechanics for the Russian army that used to work on this model, and someone had the idea that they could make more money building the helicopters instead of fixing them.
- nineteen999 6y ago
  It's possible that they didn't pay their "taxes" or grease the right palms, and were shut down.

refurb 6y ago

The exact same thought occurred to me. The good thing is I get a chuckle out of bootlegged products when an error can kill you. I figured most people would say “no” to bootleg helicopters, heart valves, baby toys, but apparently I’m wrong. There is a market!

TedDoesntTalk 6y ago
I don’t think the buyers are aware they are buying fakes: “illegally producing copies of Soviet-type Kamov KA-26 helicopters...”
wolco 6y ago
What about used helicoptors? Would you prefer used over non-liceased?
- refurb 6y ago
  Assuming the used helicopter has been maintained to the correct standard, sure, used is fine.
saagarjha 6y ago
Heart valves I can understand, if the difference is between not being able to afford them at all and a bootleg version…relevant username, by the way ;)

cs702 6y ago

I can't help but wonder: Who, exactly, wants to buy helicopters from such fly-by-night operators? For there must be demand. Otherwise all the planning, capital raising, investment, hiring, construction, accounting, etc. necessary for starting and operating this bootleg helicopter factory would have never been done in the fist place. Who would want to buy bootleg helicopters? Is it developing countries seeking to save a bit of money by buying them in the black market? Or two-bit dictators who cannot buy helicopters through more, ahem, official channels due to trading sanctions? Assorted unsavory characters from the criminal underworld? Self-made entrepreneurs who want to get a good deal on a "genuine-looking" Soviet helicopter? Surreal.

moftz 6y ago
The parts for the helis might have come from an old factory that shut down, the parts might have been bought very cheap. Someone then decided to build some helis with the parts but clearly decided to forego the permit process and just forge all of the paperwork the customer gets. Someone buying them might have just been expecting a good deal on an older design but still legit helis or they knew they were not legit and were planning to resell them to other groups. I'm not sure anyone would actually want to fly in a heli they knew had forged paperwork.
- latchkey 6y ago
  Like trying to save money on a motorcycle helmet.
  - manquer 6y ago
    Perhaps if they were part of organized crime groups and/or people in the disputed region and are unable to buy and maintain a legal helicopter, it might be of consideration. The buyer is not necessarily sitting in it, people have built submarines powered by humans to smuggle drugs after all.
- willcipriano 6y ago
  >I'm not sure anyone would actually want to fly in a heli they knew had forged paperwork I don't know anything about aircraft. However if I was to fly myself one I'd want to know enough about it to verify its safety independently. If I had the skill to verify the safety independently (effectively I'd have to be a pilot/helicopter mechanic), I wouldn't care all that much about the paperwork.

whalesalad 6y ago

2020 is knocking them out left and right.

pcurve 6y ago

Sure reads like Onion headline doesn’t it?