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Navair Progresses Toward Mid-Year VH-92 Maiden Flight

By Dan Parsons | April 5, 2017

Executive Transport

Image courtesy of Navair

Sikorsky’s U.S. presidential helicopter replacement, the VH-92, is scheduled to make its maiden flight this summer under a plan to replace two legacy fleets of “white top” VIP rotorcraft.
Three years into the Naval Air Systems Command program, Sikorsky has delivered two engineering development model aircraft and is ahead of its contractual schedule, according to U.S. Marine Corps Col. Robert Pridgen.

“I’m looking forward to seeing this thing break the surly bonds this summer,” said Pridgen, head of Navair’s Joint Presidential Helicopters Program Office (PMA-274), during Navy League’s annual Sea Air Space conference south of Washington Tuesday.
Once it achieves first flight, the first engineering development model and a second are to undergo a year of manufacturer qualification testing. Only then would the Marines get their hands on the aircraft;that is scheduled for mid-2018 at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland.
A milestone C decision to begin low-rate initial production is expected in fiscal 2019. The USMC plans to declare initial operational capability in fiscal 2020 with four aircraft, crew and necessary spare parts, Pridgen said.
Based on Sikorsky’s S-92, the VH-92 will replace the 11 Sikorsky VH-3D Sea Kings and eight Sikorsky VH-60N White Hawk that Marine Helicopter Squadron One (HMX-1) operates as an executive rotorcraft fleet assigned exclusively to the president, vice president and other heads of state.
“Once this lands on the South Lawn, you won’t see any more H-3s or H-60s. This is 'the' aircraft,” Pridgen said.
The Marine program of record is for two test and 21 operational aircraft. The first four are under construction and the remaining 17 are to be procured over a three-year period beginning in fiscal 2019.
Because the S-92 already has FAA certification, the VH-92 only will have to prove its airworthiness in the Marine Corps’ required configuration before it is cleared for service. Pridgen said retaining that FAA certification was key to keeping the program on schedule and budget.
Major aftermarket modifications to the basic S-92 include installation of communications equipment that meets government specifications and survivability enhancements. Sikorsky expects to be able to integrate those systems and install the executive interior while remaining within the FAA-certified weight limits and Marine Corps lift, speed and range requirements, Spencer Elani said. He is the VP for the VH-92A program for Sikorsky parent Lockheed Martin.
Sikorsky has been able to increase the maximum gross weight at takeoff from 26,500 pounds to 27,700 pounds while building in margin for growth in power generation, Elani said.
This report originally appeared on Defense Daily. It has been edited for style.

60 Years Ago: First US Presidential Helicopter Takes Off

By S.L. Fuller | July 12, 2017

1957, on this day, presidential helicopter, VH-92, Executive Transport

Major Barrett departs the White House with President Eisenhower on July 12, 1957 for Camp David. White House Photo.

On this day 60 years ago, the first U.S. president took the sky, en route to Camp David, according to Smithsonian Institute’s National Air and Space Museum. The institute’s article, written by Roger Connor, said that Dwight D. Eisenhower flew in a Bell Helicopter Ranger July 12, 1957.
“Though helicopters had been in operational use by the American military since 1944, concerns over their safety caused the Secret Service to bar their use for the nation’s chief executive except in case of emergency,” Connor wrote. “However, by 1956, the nuclear capability of the Soviet Union had reached the point where any evacuation of the president by roads could not be guaranteed and the head of President Eisenhower’s flight section, Air Force Col. William Draper, began shopping for helicopters.”

Eisenhower’s next flight, he continued, came the following September. Instead of the Bell UH-13J, he rode in a U.S. Marine Corps Sikorsky HUS-1. According to Connor, Eisenhower preferred the Sikorsky. To not show favoritism between the Air Force, who did not operate the HUS-1, and the Marine Corps, Eisenhower alternated flights between the two services’ special flight detachments.
Six decades later, the U.S. presidential helicopter is due for a replacement. Sikorsky’s VH-92, which is scheduled to take its maiden flight within the next few months, should be fully operational come 2020.