Aircraft
Life begins at 50 for upgraded Sea Kings
Some aircraft fulfill their missions so well that they seem to last almost forever.

Some aircraft fulfill their missions so well that they seem to last almost forever. The Sikorsky S-61/H-3 Sea King helicopter, the prototype of which made its first flight way back in 1959, appears on its way to achieving this “never die” status.

The U.S. Department of State last month accepted the first two modernized S-61s to come out of a purchase agreement with Sikorsky Aerospace Services (SAS) that could see as many as 110 S-61Ts delivered over five years. U.S. rotorcraft modification specialist Carson Helicopters developed all the modifications, owns the supplemental type certificates (STCs) and rebuilds the modified aircraft.