First S-70i Helicopter Fully Assembled At Sikorsky Facility In Poland

[Ptkay]

Aero-News Network (http://www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?ContentBlockID=b65099ff-f4cd-4142-ac88-1bf388229a83&)

Sikorsky and its Polish subsidiary PZL Mielec announced the completion of final assembly on the first S-70i Black Hawk helicopter Monday, an international variant of the Black Hawk helicopter. This new international variant is the first Black Hawk helicopter assembled in Europe using a global supply chain.
http://www.aero-news.net/images/content/military/2010/Sikorsky-S-70i-0110a_tn.jpg (http://www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?ContentBlockID=b65099ff-f4cd-4142-ac88-1bf388229a83&#d)
File Photo
The helicopter, a new aircraft in the Sikorsky product line, is also the first rotary wing aircraft to be produced at PZL Mielec, a longtime fixed wing manufacturer in Poland.

The aircraft, fully assembled at PZL Mielec, will be tested and qualified at Sikorsky's Development Flight Center in West Palm Beach, FL. Production flight tests are planned at PZL Mielec later this year as that facility continues to undergo modernization.
The milestone completion took place almost exactly three years to the day of PZL Mielec's acquisition.
http://www.aero-news.net/images/content/commav/2003/sikorsky-logo-0403-1a_tn.jpg (http://www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?ContentBlockID=b65099ff-f4cd-4142-ac88-1bf388229a83&#d)"In just three years, PZL Mielec has become a world-class facility capable of producing one of the finest utility helicopters operating today, the Black Hawk helicopter," said Robert Kokorda, Sikorsky Vice President, Corporate Strategy and Synergy. "The production of the S-70i Black Hawk helicopter here is expected to further the growing network of Polish companies participating in the building of Black Hawk aircraft for the world."
PZL Mielec is planned to be the centerpiece of the S-70i Black Hawk helicopter program for international customers. Debra A. Zampano, S-70i Program Manager, International Military Programs, said, "The S-70i Black Hawk helicopter is an example of the collaboration of superb workmanship, advanced technology and pioneering legacy."

Plans call for approximately 20 S-70i Black Hawk helicopters to be produced per year, beginning in 2012.
Janusz Zakrecki, President of PZL Mielec added, "As we witness the unveiling of the first Black Hawk helicopter built in Poland, we are sharing the pride in this significant milestone as it signals the important contributions of PZL Mielec to the global aerospace marketplace."

[ShyTorque]

I like these all American helicopters.

Is the S-70i the fuel injected version?

[Ptkay]

No, i stands for international.

[Phoinix]

When is the CBi version rolling out? :E

[Ascend Charlie]

Does that mean the S76D they are making is a Diesel variant?:confused:

[ShyTorque]

No, i stands for international.

Ah, I see now. :)

So they're not fuel injected then.

[ferrydude]

jealous biatches:)

[Ian Corrigible]

I hope someone's sent a brochure to Taiwan... :E

Taiwan legislator requests price cut in arms sales with US; compains of 35-87% hike in S-70 & PAC-3 costs (http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:XZ49LJMPCMsJ:www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_content.php%3Fid%3D1204213%26lang%3Deng_news%26cate_img %3D83.jpg%26cate_rss%3Dnews_Politics_TAIWAN+%22taiwan+legisl ator+requests+price+cut&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk)

I/C

[Ian Corrigible]

Sikorsky delivers first three S-70i IBHs to undisclosed launch customer (http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sikorsky-delivers-s-70i-black-hawk-helicopters-to-launch-customer-126822373.html)

Darn. If only there were some way of working out who this mysterious operator was...

Saudi MOI becomes launch customer for S-70i IBH, deliveries scheduled for early 2011 (http://www.sikorsky.com/About+Sikorsky/News/Press+Details?pressvcmid=a87006516dee9210VgnVCM1000004f62529 fRCRD)

:E

I/C

[Lonewolf_50]

UTC, yet another exporter of jobs from America. :p

Did Senator Lieberman have anything to say about this, I wonder?

[NonSAC]

Truly unfortunate to see a lower trim grade of the UH-60M being knocked off in Eastern Europe.

It makes me wonder how UTC's lobbying effort to dillute the domestic content rules for military suppliers is progressing. The UTC 2010 Annual Report appears silent on the subject.

I am happy that the engines appear to be Lynn, Ma built GE machines.

[Two's in]

Truly unfortunate to see a lower trim grade of the UH-60M being knocked off in Eastern Europe.

The foreign content is an attempt to produce an aircraft that can be sold globally without being barred by the US Dept of State under Export Restrictions. It is nothing at all to do with "lower trim" or performance, it simply allows the aircraft to be built without US Defense Articles becoming a barrier to sales.

[JohnDixson]

Two's In, your observation is correct.

Perhaps the NON SAC contributor needs to get a better source on the Housatonic:

From memory:


The first S-70 design with a certified NAV and FMS coupled autopilot to include all approved IFR approaches was delivered to.....Gov't of Brunei.
The first S-70 glass cockpit with all of the above plus an automated GPS/Inertial approach to hover at any global coordinate was delivered to...Gov't of Turkey.

So, some of the "trim" accessories are delivered to meet international customer requirements that may not have yet made the US DoD needs list.

Thanks,
John Dixson

[mfriskel]

Quote:
No, i stands for international.
Ah, I see now. http://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/src:www.pprune.org/get/images/smilies/smile.gif

So they're not fuel injected then.

They are still fuel injected- all the S-70 models are

[NonSAC]

John,

Please, one must have better eyes to monitor the Housatonic from Hobe Sound.

"a certified NAV and FMS coupled autopilot to include all approved IFR approaches" sounds like a critical cold-fusion like magic to sell through Poland. Are you suggesting the "i" is an ITAR/USML dodge engineered to circumvent the tirany of the US FMS framework?

That would be an audacious allegation.

Cheers!
- NonSAC

FYI: The striper fishing is excellent in the Housatonic this year.

[ARRAKIS]

It is nothing at all to do with "lower trim" or performance...

Data from monufacturer's web pages:

S-70i performance:
Maximum Gross Weight 22,000 lbs 9,979 kg
Maximum Cruise Speed 149 kts 277 km/h
Maximum Range - No Reserve 248 nm 459 km
HIGE Ceiling 9,000 ft 2,743 m
HOGE Ceiling 4,300 ft 1,310 m
OEI Service Ceiling 3,700 ft 1,127 m
AEO Service Ceiling 13,200 ft 4,023 m

UH-60M performance:
Maximum Gross Weight 22,000 lbs 9,979 kg
Maximum Cruise Speed 151 kts 280 km/h
Maximum Range - No Reserve 276 nm 511 km
HIGE Ceiling 10,520 ft 3,206 m
HOGE Ceiling 6,010 ft 1,831 m
OEI Service Ceiling 6,500 ft 1,981 m
AEO Service Ceiling 15,180 ft 4,626 m

Arrakis

[JohnDixson]

NON SAC,

FMS stands for Flight Management System.

I don't know which specific coupled autopilot system is in the PZL Hawks, but the point is that an implication that international ships are by definition a " lower trim grade " isn't necessarily true.

Thanks,
John Dixson

[Torquetalk]

Will the S-70i be bio diesel compatible?

TTi

[JohnDixson]

Arrakis, I think if you dig a bit you'll find that the 70i has the L model main blades while the M has the new all composite wider chord blades. I don't know why, but an educated guess is that production priority is the answer. The tip off is that the 70i has the 701D engine but with 701C fuel control software.

Thanks,
John Dixson

[Hilife]

It was all about cost.

I’m sure from early press releases that the S-70i reasoning was about getting international customers into a low cost BlackHawk, as opposed to the more costly UH-60M, which was built to satisfy US military requirements. Although the ‘Mike’ has greatly improved performance, it has a number of unique US mission systems that would not suit foreign buyers and would likely come with additional ITAR restrictions.

With wide chord blades, 701D engines and fuel control software, the UH-60M is a world apart from the UH-60L (and even a baseline S-70i) when it comes to H&H OPS and has proven to be a game changer in both Iraq and Afghanistan, but it lost some of its useful load.

However, take a baseline S-70i (without the US mission systems) and add the EPP options and the maximum performance gains are likely to put a noticeably broad grin on the mugs of even hardened ‘Mike’ crews.

[heli1]

According to Sikorsky the S-70i has the wide chord blades,so why a differnce in performance? Empty weight of aircraft ??

[JohnDixson]

Heli 1, the SA website quotes the 70i as having titanium-composite main blades and 701D motors with 701C controls.

Thanks,
John Dixson

[S92 driver]

The 70i aircraft do not have the HIIRS installed. That's why the difference in performance.

[Hilife]

By HIIRS I suspect you mean the Hover (Improved) Infrared Suppressers. If so, this is not the reason for the performance difference.

As noted by others on this thread, the Baseline S-70i has the old style metal blade (titanium spar, fibreglass skin with honeycomb core) as fitted on the ‘Lima’ and it does have T700-GE701D engines as installed in the ‘Mike’ - although with 701C ‘Lima’ fuel controls (Not FADEC), so an improvement over the ‘Lima’, but not as good as the ‘Mike’.

In simple terms, think of the S-70i as a UH-60L with a digital cockpit and improved T700-GE-701D engines, but without the ‘Mike’ FADEC control system.

The ‘Mike’ has wide chord composite blades (which provide greater lift) and T700-GE-701D engines with FADEC controls, which provides even more power and therefore more lift, so in essence it is these two upgrades that account for the main difference in performance between the ‘Mike’ and the Baseline S-70i.

[industry insider]

John Dixson is correct.

The S-70i has GE 701D Engines with 701 C engine controls. It now has the composite blades with titanium spars as baseline. This used to be available as the EPP option but is now standard.

Heli 1

The S-70i is approximately 1000lbs lighter than the UH-60M.

[JohnDixson]

Industry Insider and Hilife,

In talking to some acquaintances, it seems as if this may a situation overcome by events.

( BTW, the comments re the HIIRS and basic weight are correct )

It now appears that the Ti-composite blades will not be delivered, which in turn allows the FADEC*. So, depending on how the customer specs out his/her 70i, it may well have a bit better performance than an M, simply due to being lighter, and not having the HIIRS engine back pressure related losses ( though relatively small ).

* So why does the basic 70i spec reflect a 701D with 701C controls? I couldn't find anyone this morning who had the specific answer here, but this is my educated guess: there had never been an engine/airframe test program done for the combination: Ti-composite blades and 701D FADEC engines. This is not a trivial subject.If interested, send a PM and I can provide a textbook example about the initial attempt to install Woodward HMU's on the Hawk.

Anyhow, after a second look at the 70i spec, I'd hardly use the pejorative " lower trim grade " to describe the aircraft. The other comment that I'd add is that the SA Test Pilot on station at PZL is highly impressed with the workmanship in their shops.

Thanks,
John Dixson