Sikorsky S-92 - Development

Development

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 June 2009, Sikorsky Aircraft entered into a joint-venture with Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) for S-92 manufacturing in India for export and domestic markets. A US$ 200 million manufacturing plant will be operational in Hyderabad by 2010. Initially, TASL will supply the complete cabins for the S-92 to Sikorsky. The first cabin was delivered in November 2010.