Sikorsky Points to Commercial Record as Customers Seek Airline Standards

Fighting a perception that Sikorsky is not really in the civil market, the company is launching a campaign at Heli-Expo to establish its 50 year history of commercial operations firmly in the mind of the staunchest doubter.

At stake: the future market for commercial helicopters-and specifically the new S-92 Helibus-that will increasingly insist on airline standards of comfort and reliability.

Sikorsky is anxious to show that it knows and understands the demands of the commercial world. "We've been building and selling commercially certified helicopters for more than 50 years," says Tommy Thomason, new vice president in charge of civil programs at the helicopter manufacturer perhaps best known for its military Black Hawks and CH-53 Jolly Green Giants.

Thomason points to an unbroken chain of experience from the piston-powered S-51 entering service with Los Angeles Airways in 1947 to the S-76, which was designed specifically for commercial requirements and is in use with several airlines. And next the S-92, which is also aimed at the replacement market for the popular but elderly S-61.

Sikorsky is showing its latest S-76C+ helicopter here at Heli Expo, as well as promoting the S-92.

Production of the S-76 remains around 15 a year, as it has for the last 15 years, "and we're about to be sold out for 2000," Thomason said.
Some 500 S-76C+ helicopters have been delivered since 1980. About a third have gone to corporate users, a third to offshore oil support, and the remainder to special mission and medevac.

Thomason believes the 20-year-old design has at least another 20 years left in it. Sikorsky is considering several update programs, including a quieter tail rotor, more powerful Turbomeca engines, a Honeywell Primus Epic "business jet" glass cockpit, and increased-lift rotor blades, but no decisions have yet been made, he says.

Meanwhile, the 19-passenger S-92 is achieving significant milestones in its flight test program toward certification in 2001 and first delivery in April 2002. Performance and range predictions have been validated, and better-than-expected reliability points to a lowest-in-class direct maintenance cost of $800 per hour.

"There is a lot of pent up demand out there," says Thomason. "It's across the board. The offshore industry is looking to replace S-61s and Pumas with a stand-up cabin, airlines are interested, and we've had unsolicited inquiries for executive transport where the S-76 isn't quite big enough."

Of course there is a military market, too. Sikorsky is betting its future on the S-92, which president Dean Borgman recently said is expected eventually to account for half of Sikorsky's total sales.

Casinos Gamble on S-92

Three casinos are ready to put their chips down on the S-92 Helibus. Quick to recognize yet another way to pamper punters while speeding them from airport to gaming table, the three have independently asked Sikorsky about executive versions."To some extent it's a little premature, as they said they want the aircraft right now," says Tommy Thomason, vp for civil helicopter programs. "We'll have to see if they still want them in 2002."