FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
2000
2000-1 - 0408.PDF
9-92 UPDATE E^EESSHiEEIl PA1 - Ground tiedown vehicle first ran in August 1998 and completed 200h of static running in July 1999 to qualify the drive system. Since converted to a main tenance trainer. PA2 - First CT7-6D-powered flight test vehicle flew in December 1998 and has since completed 174h. Used for auto flight control/handling qualities devel opment and will soon be fitted with new modified empennage. PA3 - First CT7-8 and auxiliary power unit-equipped test machine flown in October 1999. Completed 150h. Fuse lage to be stretched by the end of the year and new Collins avionics installed in early 2001. PA4 - Planned avionics test helicopter, this will be the last to fly in early 2001. PAS - Performance and structural loads test vehicle due to fly later this year once its fuselage has been stretched. Collins cockpit to be retrofitted in mid-2001. "That is an option that offers some interesting features," says Thomason. "For initial produc tion, we're going to stick with die CT7-8, but we're aware of the capability of the RTM3 2 2 and compatibility with the S-92 and we're going to keep an open mind with respect to what the customer requires for that particular engine." GE is almost certainly planning its own growth strategy based on either a further devel opment of the CT7/T700 series, or an all-new centreline engine competing for the US Army's planned Common Engine Programme. Given Sikorsky's flight test schedule and the likely need to uprate the S-92's 3,1 lOkW-rated dual engine transmission to take a larger engine, it will not be reality before 2006 at the earliest. Two-thirds of the S-92s predicted 600-800 sales will be military machines ;>^1 ™ • --^^^^^^ ^ggUSa HSk JBB l ml ©Ssl *• <^^ ^^H MB* v ! 5 - Major changes are afoot for the helicopter's tail section The S-92 is expected to be demonstrated this summer to the four nations in the Nordic Standard Helicopter Programme (NSHP). In April, Sikorsky submitted a bid for an all- encompassing package of 73 machines to replace Denmark's SAR S-61s, Finland's Mi-8 troop transports, Norway's shipboard GKN Westland Lynxes and Sweden's Kawasaki/ Vertol kV-107 land-based anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopters, starting in 2003. Closely following NSHP is a tender submit ted to Oman in June for up to 50 troop transport and SAR helicopters. In anticipation of Canada kick-starting its Maritime Helicopter Project (MPH) later this year, Sikorsky has teamed with Bombardier. Elsewhere, it is manoeuvring to compete for a Japanese Antarctic support, SAR and airborne mine countermeasures helicopter replacement programme. Sikorsky has conducted a series of computer- aided designs and mock-ups of the helicopter equipped with an array of different mission sys tems, such as a search radar, forward-looking infrared imager and dipping sonar. NSHP feedback has also led Sikorsky to modify the S-92's overall design by adding a 400mm (16in) plug aft of the cockpit, cropping the vertical tail by 1.04m and moving the horizontal stabiliser forward from the upper left side of the tail to the lower right. The increase in cabin struc tural weight is partially offset by the smaller, lighter tail, the net benefit of which is flatter attitude in hover transition and easier shipboard stowage - a key NSHP requirement. "There was a nose-up tenden cy. . .the change moves the heli copter's centre of gravity forward and also enables us to put a 50in [1.3m] door on the aircraft for the folks who want to use the S-92 for SAR," says Thomason. The 200mm wider door will come with a choice of a hinged clamshell configuration with lower airstairs for airline operations, or a 1.8m high sliding door to allow for an overhead res cue hoist for SAR missions, and the option of a bubble window. The longer fuselage has room for an extra row of seats in the civil S-92, but this would cost an extra attendant. Earlier in the year, Sikorsky announced a decision to replace the five Sanders avionics suite displays with a Rockwell Collins avionics system based around MFD-268EP screens. Because of these changes, Sikorsky has had to extend its 1,300h flight test programme, delay ing initial US Federal Aviation Administration FAR Pt 29 certification until early 2002. FIRST DELIVERY The first helicopter is set for delivery to Cougar in mid-2006. "We have to follow very quickly with Transport Canada certification to support Cougar and because the North Sea is very like ly to be an application for the helicopter, then Joint Aviation Authorities JAR 29 becomes necessary almost right away as well," says Thomason. By mid-June, Sikorsky had logged 324h fly ing time, while the ground tiedown vehicle had completed a 200h drive system qualification. The first flight test helicopter will resume flying in August equipped with the new horizontal sta biliser and will be joined by a third stretched machine at the year-end. A final pre-production machine will fly early next year with new avion ics, enlarged fuselage and reconfigured tail. The company has mapped out a relatively conservative schedule for ramping up produc tion, with only five machine set for delivery in 2002 and 20 the year after. "We want to watch the first aircraft very closely and establish if there are any remaining problems to fix or improvements that can be made early on," says Thomason. "After the first two years of produc tion, it's kind of who wants some?" J 60 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 25 - 31 July 2000
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
