As part of an ongoing rehabilitation efforts by the Equatorial Guinea, the country has received has received two new Mil Mi-17 ‘Hip’ transport helicopters from Russia, one of which has been delivered in a VIP configuration with the other being in a standard passenger configuration.
As part of a contract with the government of Equatorial Guinea, Russian Helicopters which is part of Rostec State Corporation has delivered two Mi-172 helicopters, manufactured at Kazan Helicopters (KVZ) production facility in Russia.
The Equatorial Guinea Mi-172 “Hip” helicopters has been certified specifically for the VIP transportation for up to twelve (12) passengers as against the standard aircraft for 26 passengers.
“Equatorial Guinea is a long-time partner of Russian Helicopters,” said the CEO of the Russian Helicopters holding company, Andrey Boginsky. “In 2006, we also delivered two Mi-172 helicopters in VIP and passenger modifications to the country. I would like to note that Russian helicopters are popular in Africa due to their advantages: reliability, easy operation, good price/quality ratio. Therefore, I am sure that this contract will not be the last one.”
The Mi-172 is a variant of the Mi-17 helicopter that is certified for passenger transportation and has established itself as a reliable aircraft with a high level of safety. Specific features of the Mi-172 include the large power reserve of the power unit, excellent altitude characteristics, a spacious cockpit, various options of avionics, and autonomous preparation for flights and maintenance.