Tue, Aug 09, 2011
Aircraft Assembled, Completed, And Flight Tested In Mielec,
Poland
Sikorsky has delivered three S-70 Black Hawk helicopters to an
undisclosed customer. The helicopters - assembled, completed to
customer specifications, and flight tested at Sikorsky's production
facility in Mielec, Poland - are the first-ever deliveries of the
international variant of Sikorsky's iconic Black Hawk.
The three medium-lift aircraft are among six S-70i Black Hawk
aircraft assembled and flight tested at PZL Mielec since the Polish
company became part of U.S.-based Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation in
2007. They departed Poland's Rzeszow-Jasionka Airport inside an
Antonov An-124 Ruslan cargo aircraft following a week of flight
acceptance activities in the skies over Poland. "PZL Mielec has
proven it can build and flight test a new variant of the Black Hawk
helicopter to the very highest standards," said Robert Mastronardi,
S-70i senior program manager, Sikorsky Military Systems. "The
aircraft acceptance process confirmed the high quality of these
aircraft and professionalism of the PZL Mielec team." The company
plans to expand production to 10 aircraft in 2012, and to 22
helicopters in 2013.
The S-70i helicopter can be configured for multiple missions,
such as troop support, humanitarian relief, VIP transport, search
and rescue, medical evacuation, and armed patrol. "The S-70i
helicopter features typical Black Hawk reliability, and excellent
performance coupled with the most modern avionics to reduce pilot
workload," said Leszek Pawula, S-70i test pilot at PZL Mielec. "The
aircraft provides a safe and stable platform for equipment needed
to perform many varied missions, retaining its extreme
maneuverability. It's pure pleasure to fly this helicopter."
The aircraft's two T700-GE701D engines, digital avionics, and
modern wide chord rotor blades produce the same power and lift
performance as the UH-60M Black Hawk aircraft flown by the U.S.
Army. Advanced avionics - also standard to the S-70i Black Hawk
helicopter - include a fully integrated digital cockpit, a dual
digital automatic flight control system and coupled flight
director, an active vibration control system, and a dual GPS/INS
system with digital map.
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