Rotorcraft
Company Seeks Partner To Build Certified S-52 Helo
Vertical Aviation Technologies is seeking a strategic partner to produce an updated, certified version of the Sikorsky S-52.
Kit helicopter maker Vertical Aviation Technologies has manufactured the Hummingbird—the experimental version of the Sikorsky S-52—since 1991 and is now seeking a strategic partner to produce an updated, certified version. (Photo: Vertical Aviation Technologies)
Kit helicopter maker Vertical Aviation Technologies has manufactured the Hummingbird—the experimental version of the Sikorsky S-52—since 1991 and is now seeking a strategic partner to produce an updated, certified version. (Photo: Vertical Aviation Technologies)

Florida-based kit helicopter maker Vertical Aviation Technologies (VAT) is seeking a strategic partner to produce an updated, certified version of the Sikorsky S-52. VAT has manufactured an experimental kit version derived from that aircraft under the name Hummingbird since 1991 after acquiring the engineering data, flight-test data, and drawings from Sikorsky in 1987. It now plans to enter the commercial market.