Sikorsky’s S-76D, the latest S-76 medium twin variant, made its first flight February 7 at the company’s West Palm Beach, Fla. test facility. The flight came a few months behind schedule and Sikorsky blamed the delay on “supply chain and some resulting rework issues.” Two other prototypes are currently under construction at Keystone. Sikorsky says it has “more than 100” orders for the
S-76D. Certification is anticipated in early to mid-2010.
Power-on electrical and avionics testing on the first prototype was achieved in September. The Thales TopDeck avionics suite is undergoing qualification bench-testing and the Thales autopilot is being evaluated in the S-76 simulator. The new composite main rotor blades are in fatigue testing and the tail rotor blades were whirl tested in December. Seven Pratt & Whitney Canada PW210S engines (fadec, 1,050 shp takeoff) have accumulated 1,800 hours in test cell runs at OEI power and are “exceeding expectations.”
