Stretched S-92 Takes Shape

Sikorsky's 19-passenger S-92 has now racked up 550 hours in flight test toward certification next year.

Shown above is the first aircraft to fly, lately modified with the horizontal tail lowered and moved to the starboard side. This aircraft does not incorporate the shorter vertical tail and 18-inch forward fuselage stretch that are currently being built into aircraft #5 as part of the new standard configuration.

Sikorsky (Booth 1177) sees a market for about 1,000 S-92s, with perhaps 200 earmarked for civil use as offshore transports, corporate shuttles, and feeder-airliners. Seven S-92s will be built in 2002, followed by 20-24 in 2003, with 100 deliveries in the first five years.

And the name Helibus? That's been dropped.