Belarus take bronze in slalom at 2018 FAI World Helicopter Championship

The Belarusian crew has clinched bronze in slalom at the FAI World Helicopter Championship in Minsk, BelTA reports.

Gold and silver were bagged by Russian crews. Gold went to former world champions Maksim Sotnikov and Oleg Puodzhukas. Silver went to Alexander Zhuperin and Nikolai Burov. Nikita Laptev and Vladislav Kurs from Belarus clinched bronze.

Slalom is one of the most spectacular helicopter events. A bucket full of water is held on a rope by the crewman out of site of the pilot, the object is to fly the bucket through a course containing several gates. After flying all the gates, the co-pilot extends the rope to approach the target table. Penalties are incurred for losing water from the bucket, inaccurate placement on the table and not completing the course in the right time.

The 2018 FAI World Helicopter Championship in Minsk brought together 36 crews from several countries. Russia’s delegation is the biggest with 13 crews. Other participating countries include Poland, Austria, Germany, China and Ukraine. National crews perform on Mi-2 and Robinson-44 helicopters. Most of the crews have brought their own helicopters; others use helicopters from the Minsk helicopter pool.

Helicopter racing will take place during the #Pronebo aviation festival in Minsk on 28-29 July. The event will be held on the Borovaya air field; the entrance is free.