STRATFORD, Conn., April 10, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Sikorsky
Aircraft Corp., a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE:
UTX), has successfully completed an initial series of tests
required by the Naval Air Systems Command to verify the structural
strength of the CH-53K heavy lift helicopter. Conducted on a
full-size non-flying airframe called the Static Test Article, the
tests are part of a three-year program to validate that the largest
helicopter ever designed and built by Sikorsky has the structural
integrity to operate safely over its entire flight envelope — from
its empty gross weight of 44,000 pounds up to its maximum gross
weight of 88,000 pounds with external load.
"The Static Test Article will enable Sikorsky to replicate the
many stresses, strains and aerodynamic forces the CH-53K helicopter
will experience during all aspects of flight, whether the aircraft
is empty, filled with cargo, or carrying up to 36,000 pounds of
gear suspended beneath the aircraft by an external sling," said
Mike Torok Sikorsky's CH-53K Program Vice President. "By placing
incrementally heavier static loads on various parts of the airframe
assembly — including those well beyond the airframe's analytical
design strength — we can measure structural integrity,
airworthiness and crash worthiness, and verify safety margins for
all expected operational conditions."
The Static Test Article is housed in a specially-built test
facility at Sikorsky's manufacturing plant in Stratford, Conn. Consisting of the cockpit,
the cabin, fuel sponsons, a transition section and the tail rotor
pylon, the complete airframe assembly is suspended off the ground
by the shaft of its main rotor gearbox. Surrounding support beams
hold the numerous hydraulic cylinders that apply the flight and
inertial loads to parts of the airframe assembly. Also attached to
the STA structure are component-representative weights that
simulate the presence of the engines and landing gear, among other
key subsystems and components.
To date, Sikorsky has completed a total of six test conditions
on the Static Test Article, all conducted during 2013 and early
2014. The first four test conditions satisfy pre-flight
requirements ahead of a CH-53K flight test aircraft taking to the
skies for the first time later this year. Replicating the maximum
load conditions encountered while in flight, the four pre-flight
tests measured the structural strength of the tail rotor pylon
during high and low speed flight maneuvers, the landing gear during
impact with the ground, and the full airframe structure while under
maximum rotor power.
Sikorsky will continue to test the structural integrity of the
CH-53K Static Test Article for another two years to validate the
effects of aerodynamic forces and weight distribution on different
sections of the airframe.
The Static Test Article is the first of two non-flying CH-53K
test articles — along with five prototype and four
production-representative heavy lift helicopters — that Sikorsky is
developing as part of a $3.8 billion
System Development and Demonstration (SDD) contract for the U.S.
Navy.
Per the current program of record, the Marine intends to order
200 CH-53K production aircraft, and to stand up eight operational
squadrons and one training squadron to support the Marine Corps'
operational requirements. Eventual production quantities would be
determined year-by-year over the life of the program based on
funding allocations set by Congress and the U.S. Department of
Defense acquisition priorities.
Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., based in Stratford, Conn., is a world leader in
helicopter design, manufacture, and service. United Technologies
Corp., based in Hartford, Conn.,
provides a broad range of high technology products and support
services to the aerospace and building systems industries.
This press release contains forward-looking statements
concerning opportunities for development, production and sale of
helicopters. Actual results may differ materially from those
projected as a result of certain risks and uncertainties, including
but not limited to changes in government procurement priorities and
practices, budget plans, availability of funding and in the type
and number of aircraft required; challenges in the design,
development, production and support of advanced technologies; as
well as other risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to
those detailed from time to time in United Technologies
Corporation's Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
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SOURCE Sikorsky Aircraft Corp.