HOUSTON, Texas - Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. today announced the continuation of upgrades for the S-92� helicopter, which has already received more than 60 enhancements since entering service in 2004. These upgrades, combined with the aircraft�s rugged and flaw-tolerant design, have enabled the S-92 helicopter to become a leader in the highly demanding offshore oil, Head of State, and search and rescue segments. Sikorsky, a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp., announced the latest upgrade efforts at the Heli-Expo show in Houston.
�The S-92 helicopter fleet has grown to 105 aircraft operating throughout the world, with the fleet recently surpassing the 200,000 flight-hour milestone. Customers have shown strong allegiance to this helicopter as we continue to keep it fully modernized with the latest technologies,� said Carey Bond, President of the company�s Sikorsky Global Helicopters business. �Our practice has been to continually improve all our products, and the S-92 helicopter is no exception.�
S-92 aircraft upgrades to date have included:
� Reliability improvements to the rotor deicing system that have resulted in exceptional availability of aircraft equipped with the system this season.
� Enhanced active vibration control system for greater customer comfort.
� A cockpit noise reduction kit for greater pilot comfort.
� A new two-piece oil filter bowl assembly that reduces wear and tear and is easier to maintain.
� Next generation metal-chip detectors that require less maintenance and cleaning.
� Improved Air Stair Door with increased weight-carrying capacity .
Newly available capability enhancements include:
� Search and Rescue Automatic Flight Control System that allows the aircraft to fly a pre-programmed coupled approach and reduces pilot workload in the search and rescue environment.
� Load-sensing cargo hook that automatically updates aircraft weight and balance readings.
� Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) capability for Gulf of Mexico region operators (co-developed with PHI) that improves safety and on-time performance.
Starting this October, Sikorsky plans to introduce a strengthened main transmission housing that has been developed for the H-92TM helicopter, a militarized variant of the commercial S-92 helicopter. The new housing is currently in the certification process and is designed to reduce unscheduled maintenance by eliminating such possibilities as the foot-mount cracks recently experienced by some operators. The new housing will have a much longer life than the current housing and will be manufactured by Sikorsky for retrofit on existing aircraft and installation on all new S-92 and H-92 helicopters.
�As we continue to develop the higher gross weight H-92 helicopter variant, we will identify additional opportunities to migrate new technologies to the S-92 helicopter platform,� Bond added. �When a customer buys a Sikorsky helicopter, he or she does so with the knowledge that we are committed to keeping it current while reducing operating costs and maintaining high availability rates.�
Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., based in Stratford, Conn., is a world leader in helicopter design, manufacture and service. United Technologies Corp., based in Hartford, Conn., provides a broad range of high technology products and support services to the aerospace and building systems industries.
