Rotorcraft
Sikorsky Resumes S-97 Flights
Second Aircraft Joins Test Program
Sikorsky is building the S-97 Raider as a technology demonstrator and as a possible contender for a future vertical lift aircraft.
Sikorsky is building the S-97 Raider as a technology demonstrator and as a possible contender for a future vertical lift aircraft.

Sikorsky resumed test flights of its S-97 experimental compound helicopter last month with a second aircraft. The program was grounded after the first S-97 technology demonstrator sustained a hard landing and was substantially damaged at Sikorsky’s test facility in Jupiter, Florida, last August. The S-97 features a rigid coaxial main rotor system and an aft thruster and is designed to achieve forward speeds of up to 240 knots. The first S-97 had achieved a forward speed of 150 knots during a truncated flight test campaign. Sikorsky plans to fly the second S-97 to 200 knots by this summer’s end.