Sikorsky S-92
Sikorsky S-92
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Sikorsky S-92

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Sikorsky S-92

The Sikorsky S-92 is an American twin-engine medium-lift helicopter built by Sikorsky Aircraft for the civil and military helicopter markets. The S-92 was developed from the Sikorsky S-70 helicopter and has similar parts such as flight control and rotor systems.

The H-92 Superhawk is a military version of the S-92 in the utility transport role, capable of carrying 22 troops. The H-92 can also be configured for specific missions, including search and rescue and executive transportation. The CH-148 Cyclone is a shipboard maritime helicopter variant developed for the Royal Canadian Air Force to support naval operations of the Royal Canadian Navy. The Sikorsky VH-92 is a variant under development to replace the United States Marine Corps' Marine One U.S. Presidential transport fleet.

After the 1973 oil crisis, major oil and gas companies began exploration further offshore, thus creating a need for aircraft such as the S-92 with sufficient capability.

Sikorsky Aircraft first displayed a S-92 mockup of the planned helicopter in 1992. The S-92 was to be offered for sale beginning in 1993, but due to a decline in the international market for helicopters, this was delayed. In 1995 Sikorsky formed Team S-92 with international partners and launched the helicopter program at the Paris Airshow that year. Sikorsky developed the S-92 to compete with civil aircraft such as the Aerospatiale/Eurocopter Super Puma. The helicopter uses a new airframe with dynamic components based on the S-70/H-60 components. The S-92 took its maiden flight on December 23, 1998 at the Sikorsky Development Flight Center, West Palm Beach, Florida.

In July 2000, Sikorsky announced design changes to the S-92. The fuselage of prototype #3 was lengthened by 16 in (40 cm) aft of the cockpit, the tail pylon was shortened by 41 in (1.04 m), and the horizontal stabilizer was repositioned from the left side opposite the tail rotor to the right side at the base of the tail pylon. The modifications to the tail solved a pitch stability issue discovered during flight testing, and were reported to allow the aircraft to meet a key requirement of the Nordic Standard Helicopter Program (NSHP) for shipboard stowage. The lengthening of the fuselage and shortening of the tail pylon shifted the aircraft center of gravity (CG) forward, permitting a more level attitude in flight. The longer fuselage allowed for an additional row of three seats, as well as a larger passenger door option for Search and Rescue (SAR) customers. Sikorsky incorporated the changes into the following two prototypes as the production standard configuration. Some reports suggested that the modifications were actually to resolve damage from structural design flaws.

The S-92 is built and customized in Sikorsky's Coatesville, Pennsylvania facility. The S-92 received Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) part 29 type certification on December 19, 2002, and received International European Aviation Safety Agency/Joint Aviation Authorities (EASA/JAA) certification on June 8, 2004.

In February 2007, the then United Technologies Corporation's subsidiary, Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation and India's Tata Advanced Systems (TASL) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to create opportunities for aerospace operations in India. On 12 June 2009, Sikorsky signed an agreement with TASL for manufacturing helicopter cabins of S-92(R) in India for export and domestic markets. The first cabin would be delivered in late 2010 from a new greenfield manufacturing facility near Hyderabad, the then capital of Andhra Pradesh. On 12 November, the companies signed another agreement to form a joint venture (which led to the formation Tata–Sikorsky Aerospace Limited) to manufacture aerospace components in India. The venture would be open to manufacture components for other OEMs in the aerospace sector as well. The joint venture's operations would be based in a second greenfield facility beside the cabin manufacturing building. The construction of the second facility, initially meant for production of over 5,000 "detailed aerospace components", is scheduled for completion by 2011 with production commencing from 2012.

The first consignment of S-92 cabins was delivered in November 2010. The facility is located in the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Adibatla. As of April 2012, Sikorsky planned to double the manufacturing capacity of helicopter cabins in the Hyderabad facility. The enhanced capacity would be enhanced in a phased manner with two cabins per month in June 2012 and then to 3 cabins per month or 36 units annually in December 2013. The workforce would be increased to match the planned capacity. As of May 2015, the joint venture was also producing 4,000 components besides the cabins which is expected to achieve an indigenous content of 80% by 2013. There were also plans to establish a helicopter manufacturing facility with a capacity of 2–3 S-92 helicopters monthly after 2015–16 in addition to other manufacturing facilities in China, Holland, Turkey and Columbia and other South American countries. On 24 October 2013, the joint venture delivered the first fully indigenous S-92 cabin which would be then shipped to the US for final assembly and delivery. Meanwhile, the company delivered the 50th cabin earlier that month. Its production capacity had been increased to four cabins per month in the first facility along with 5,000 different components in the second facility.

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