Mil, Mi-2 Bord211, gets a Garmin

In the old days, a pilot could land in a farmer's field and ask directions. At the Cold War Air Museum, our pilots would prefer not to have to do that. So they asked for something in the Mi-2 to tell them where they were, and where they might be headed.

Since their portable GPS kept slipping off the top of the instrument panel (and its hard to get a hand free to chase anything loose in a helicopter), we decided to secure a GPS in the panel.

The Mi-2 panel seems big, but from a human factors standpoint it has some drawbacks. Because of the seating arrangement, it is difficult for the co-pilot to reach the left side of the panel and the pilots knees can get in the way (contrary to U.S. helicopters, the pilot sits on the left). And, as might be expected, there is always a heated discussion regarding anything being moved or eliminated. In this picture, the old radio control head that will be removed is in the lower right corner.

With a bit of "adjustment" to both the opening in the panel and an AirGizmos panel mount, a Garmin GPS now snaps in place. A cover hides the empty mount (or the GPS) when desired.

As soon as the antenna and power wiring are completed, our guys will now be able to tell us where they're going (and perhaps where they've been). ;-)

To keep an authentic appearance while on static display, a decal or picture of the old radio may be placed over the blank cover.