On the Record with
TOMMY THOMASON, VICE-PRESIDENT CIVIL PROGRAMS,
SIKORSKY AIRCRAFT CORP.

Slow and Steady on Sikorsky's S-92

Sikorsky's Tommy Thomason

"We want to make sure we introduce the aircraft and don't disappoint," Sikorsky civil aircraft programs VP Tommy Thomason says about the S-92 Helibus. It's been a long time in coming, but Sikorsky has firm orders now for the 19-seat, stand-up cabin aircraft, deliveries of which are to commence in 2002, with full production in 2003.

"We're going to go fairly slowly," Thomason says. Production is to ramp up to 20 aircraft per year from 2003 on, as compared for 15 aircraft per year for the 12-13-passenger S-76.

The S-92 is priced at $15 million, in 2002 dollars, 'North Sea equipped.' Target operating cost is $800 per hour, said to be the lowest in the class.

That may or not be important to one of Sikorsky's target markets, high-rollers in the New York area who might like to use a helicopter to whisk them to casinos in Atlantic City and the eastern part of Connecticut. "The S-92 is very attractive to the casinos," Thomason says.

Sikorsky's careful, deliberate approach to the S-92, which is a technological growth derivative of the company's famed Seahawk and Black Hawk military machines, was further illustrated this past summer, when the firm pushed back its market debut in response to customer requests that the aircraft be fitted with a larger door. Sikorsky is increasing S-92 cabin length by 16 inches, and to maintain current payload and range is reducing the height of the tail pylon by about 40 inches (thereby removing mass) and relocating the horizontal stabilizer.

The result will be a 50-inch wide door "to improve hoisting capabilities and accommodate a Stokes litter" for SAR. The changes yield an improved fold configuration for shipboard use, and increased bird-strike protection as tail rotor driveshaft and controls are being relocated aft of the tail spar. Center of gravity shifts forward, for a flatter hover attitude with better visibility for confined landings, and increased aft fuselage ground clearance.
Two aircraft built to the new design have logged some 400 test flight hours. S-92 certification is now slated for late 2001 with initial deliveries commencing in April 2002.

Sikorsky's S-92 helibus recently completed thermal deep-cold tests to show versatility in all climes.

Sikorsky is developing the S-92 with an international team including Embraer of Brazil, Gamesa of Spain, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries of Japan, Jingdezhen Helicopter Group/CATIC of the People's Republic of China, and the Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC) of Taiwan. Subcontractors include General Electric for CT7-8 engines with FADEC, Rockwell Collins for an all-glass integrated avionics suite, and Hamilton Sundstrand.

Sikorsky has a firm order with deposits for five S-92s from Canada's Cougar Helicopters, which will use them for offshore support out of St. John's, Newfoundland and Halifax, Nova Scotia. Vancouver's Helijet and Finland's CopterAction (Copter Line) have signed letters of intent for two aircraft. Norway's Aircontactgruppen has signed an MoU for six aircraft.

All that reflects good initial demand for a powerful new commercial helicopter, but Thomason still seems just a bit bemused. "It seems odd to me that Sikorsky isn't widely regarded as a civil helicopter company," he says. "We've a long history of continuously producing civil helicopters," he notes, since helping pioneer the field in the 1940s. "Sikorsky is very much a civil helicopter company."

As the company works the civil marketplace, it's clear that Sikorsky is a victim of its success in the military marketplace-at least as far as perceptions go. While orders for five and MoUs for six S-92s constitute news at NBAA, on the military side the company is talking up expected deliveries of 323 more Black Hawks to the U.S. Army alone, and a staggering 1,200 RAH-66 Comanche attack helicopters through 2024.

"We have a very proud heritage, and were among the first in the civil helicopter business," says Thomason. The S-92, he told Show News, is a means of "re-engaging" that sector.