Mon, Mar 03, 2008
Test Vehicle 3, the third helicopter built for the VH-71
Presidential Helicopter Replacement Program, made its initial
flight Feb. 27 in Yeovil, England marking the fourth helicopter to
enter flight test.
TV-3 is due to arrive at the Presidential Helicopter Support
Facility here on Mar. 17 and will then travel to Lockheed Martin
Systems Integration in Owego, N.Y. for final assembly and mission
systems integration. TV-3 will be the first vehicle tested that is
outfitted with mission systems.
Once missionized TV-3 will join the other three test vehicles,
TV-1, TV-2 and TV-5 already in flight testing that have accumulated
more than 650 total hours of flight test.
As a missionized aircraft, TV-3 will be able to validate
in-flight data, which has previously only been evaluated in
laboratories. One additional test vehicle is scheduled for flight
testing and missionization after TV-3 before the initial lot of
production aircraft are delivered to Patuxent River.
With fuel system testing already complete, VH-71 flight test
officials are currently concentrating on satellite communications
and high-powered FM Radio testing with tail rotor and flight load
survey testing on the horizon.
In addition to forward movement on flight testing of Increment 1
test vehicles, which currently meet or exceed all key performance
parameters, a parallel and concurrent effort supporting the flight
test program is the Systems Integration Lab currently operational
at the Presidential Helicopter Support Facility.
The SIL consists of test benches used to evaluate individual
subsystems currently in development. A larger SIL facility at
Lockheed Martin Systems Integration in Owego, NY includes a master
systems bench -- a full-scale functional mockup of the VH-71
cockpit and cabin. The systems integration laboratories allow VH-71
program engineers to test VH-71 avionics and mission systems prior
to installation aboard the aircraft.
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