Sikorsky delivers first S-701 helicopters

Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. has delivered its first three international variant S-70i Black Hawk helicopters to an undisclosed customer. The helicopters were assembled, completed to customer specifications and flight tested at Sikorsky's production facility in Poland. 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 Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. in 2007. Sikorsky said the helicopters departed Poland's Rzeszow-Jasionka Airport in an Antonov An-124 cargo aircraft following a week of flight acceptance activities. "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 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 flown by the U.S. Army. Advanced avionics 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.