Dave, in his own style, has captured the essence of what I was saying. Flight dates have been published before, and have not happened. It's not just a sikorsky thing, not just an experimental aircraft thing. Look at the headlines for the Boeing dreamliner slips. Look at the eclipse jet. It would seem to me to make more sense to quietly chug along, fly or certify whatever it is you are working on, then announce it to the world. Maybe that works better for experimental stuff, as there is no customer waiting for an airframe.
-- IFMU