Lockheed US-101 / VH-71 Tests At Mojave

E-I-C Note: By prior arrangement with Mojave's ace observer/photog, Alan Radecki, we're pleased to offer these shots and observations of the President's future ride, VH-71. Alan has this amazing weblog that chronicles the many notable comings and goings that make Mojave one of the most intriguing airports on the face of the planet... even when Burt isn't up to something funky. Do check out www.mojaveweblog.com  and get an eyeful of Alan's outstanding work. Just wait til we start testing the Rocket Racing League's X-Racers next year... we're gonna give him a show! -- Jim Campbell, ANN E-I-C, RRL Rocket Jockey. 

The next generation of Marine One, the helicopter that carries the President, is the US-101, which has recently received the official designation VH-71.

Wednesday, the ninth and last pre-production prototype visited winding Mojave for flight testing that is believed to have involved the helicopter's capabilities to auto-hover in high winds. Auto-hover is a feature of some helicopters' autopilot system which allows the pilot highly stable, hands-free hover operations. 

A derivative of the European EH-101, the US-101 raised no small amount of controversy when it beat out its American-designed Sikorsky competitor for the Marine One contract. The team members are publicly emphasizing that the aircraft will be US-build and US-powered, resulting in a lot of US jobs. Lockheed is the team leader and systems integrator for the US-101 program. The original EH-101 is a Westland design, with Agusta collaborating and building many of the components for the European variant. Bell Helicopter Textron will build the American version in Texas, which is powered by GE engines.

Positioned perpendicular to Rwy 8/26, the US-101 was flown slowly sideways up and the down the runway, occasionally stopping to make a 360 degree pirouette. What made this an important test of the auto-hover system was the 15-20 kt quartering tailwind, which is never fun to hover in!

Note the unusual blade tips. These are a derivative Westland's ground-breaking British Experimental Rotor Program (or BERP blades...only the Brits could come up with an acronym like that!).

The blade tips, by their odd shape, fool the air into thinking that their Mach number is lower so that the helicopter can be flown faster. The original experimental BERP-equipped helo set a speed record where the tips were moving at Mach .977, an amazingly high number for a helicopter.

FMI: www.mojaveweblog.com, www.teamus101.com/index.cfm