Will Be Used For First S-70i Helicopter

PZL Mielec, an affiliate of Sikorsky Aircraft based in Poland, celebrated Thursday the rollout of the first Black Hawk helicopter cabin produced at the facility. The event took place on the second anniversary of the acquisition of PZL Mielec.

Employees, managers of PZL Mielec, representatives of Sikorsky Aircraft, and guests representing the local and regional authorities attended the ceremony. Among them were Janusz Chodorowski, Mayor of Mielec City, Andrzej Chrabaszcz, Governor of the Mielec County, and Krystyna Skowronska, a Member of Parliament representing the Mielec region.

"The workforce at PZL Mielec has enthusiastically embraced this challenge, and today we are seeing the culmination of their efforts with the first of the initial group of 200 Black Hawk helicopter cabins to be built in Mielec rolling off the production line," said Janusz Zakrecki, President of PZL Mielec. "This cabin symbolizes the progress we have made, as well as the significant milestone leading us to the production of the S-70i Black Hawk helicopter."

The cabin will be used in the first S-70i Black Hawk helicopter. The next cabin to roll off the line will be sent to the United States later this month to be assembled into a US Army UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter.

Guests at the ceremony viewed the first Black Hawk helicopter cabin produced at PZL and toured the newly renovated, semi-assembly plant.

"The modernization and improvements introduced into the company's operations in work safety and comfort demonstrate our long-term commitment and contribution to the labor market in Poland and the Aviation Valley," said Carey Bond, Sikorsky Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer. "The improvements have transformed PZL Mielec into a world-class facility capable of producing Sikorsky's Black Hawk helicopter cabins and subsequently producing S-70i Black Hawk helicopters, designed for the international marketplace."

Delivery of the first S-70i Black Hawk helicopter from Mielec is expected to occur by the end of 2011.

FMI: www.sikorsky.com