User Guide

COMANCHE VERSUS HOKUM
7
Ka-52 Hokum B "Alligator"
Created by the Kamov Design Bureau, the unusual co-axial rotor configuration has in some
small way become one of the company’s trademarks. Anti-armor helicopter design usually
copies the Bell AH-1 Cobra configuration, tandem cockpit, single main rotor and anti-torque
tail rotor.
Kamov’s design approach is tempered by the view that the typical tail-rotor configuration
imposes an unnecessarily high-degree of vulnerability to ground fire. Also the long
transmission shaft and associated gearbox places high-loads on the tail boom, a structure
vulnerable to ground strikes and contact damage when hovering in confined spaces.
Eliminating the anti-torque rotor and associated gearbox transmission is achieved by
adopting a twin rotor configuration. One rotor is mounted above the other and spin in
opposite directions thus cancelling the effect of torque. This system makes ground
maintenance easier and more importantly to a pilot - increases helicopter performance,
nearly all the power provided by the two turboshaft engines is delivered straight to the main
rotor. There is no need to use power driving a tail rotor that doesn’t provide any lift.
Increased power allows for heavier armament more armor protection and greater speed –
all of these are fundamental constraints when designing a battlefield helicopter.
The co-axial rotor configuration of the Ka-52 has other benefits; the helicopter is capable of
performing flat-turns throughout the entire flight speed range. This affords an ability to
rapidly turn the nose onto a target even at dash speeds or rapid sideways transitioning to