Sikorsky Aircraft has completed the first round of flight tests of the new X2 demonstrator and is on target to reach 250 knots by year-end, according to Jim Kagdis, Sikorsky’s manager of advanced programs.
Since August, the aircraft has completed three flights at the company’s Schweizer subsidiary in Elmira, N.Y., and reached 32 knots forward speed. The first flight lasted 0.8 hours; the second, 0.3 hours; and the third, 1.1 hours. “We’re really pleased with the testing we’ve done up to this point,” Kagdis said, adding that the company’s goal is to reach 40 knots during the first phase of flight tests. The goal of the second phase is to reach 120 knots, the goal of the third is to reach 180 knots and the goal of the fourth phase is to hit 250 knots. “The aircraft is now out of flight status for several months, but we’ll come back up in the spring and resume our flight-test program.”
