AUSA 2015: Sikorsky to ramp up Raider flight testing

[Zarvan]

Sikorsky has begun a planned 110-120 hours of flight testing of its S-97 Raider. Source: Sikorsky
Key Points

• Sikorsky is planning 110-120 hours of test flights of the S-97 Raider
• The technology is expected to feed into the Sikorsky-Boeing offering for the US Army's JMR-TD and the Pentagon's Future Vertical Lift (FVL) programmes.

Sikorsky has begun what is expected to amount to 110-120 hours of test flights of the S-97 Raider coaxial rotor helicopter prototype, company officials said during a 13 October press briefing at the Association of the United States Army's (AUSA) annual conference in Washington, DC.

The company has already logged two successful flights to initiate the test regime, according to Bill Fell, Sikorsky's experimental test pilot for the programme.

The S-97 programme began in September 2010 and has been funded entirely by Sikorsky and its industry partners. The coaxial contra-rotating main rotors and pusher propeller are expected to provide cruise speeds of up to 240 kt (276 mph).

Sikorsky has completed assembly of two Raider prototypes. The first aircraft logged its maiden flight in May and then flew again in September, Fell said. The aircraft was in the air for a total of 2.2 hours between the two flights. He said ground testing on the aircraft is now under way.

"We are going to put that time [in] on the ground test asset to give us the confidence in the components for the flight tests," said Fell. "Once we get the time on the ground asset we are going to continue to expand the envelope on that aircraft."

The envelope expansion will include flying at low speeds initially and then progressively increasing to high speeds. That will be followed by high-G testing, with plans for a sustained 3-G turn at speeds of up to 220 ks. The envelope expansion could be completed by mid-2016, according to Fell.

The second Raider prototype was weaponised for display at the conference, but the company has not yet decided which capabilities it plans to integrate onto the aircraft, said Mark Miller, Sikorsky's vice president for research.

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AUSA 2015: Sikorsky to ramp up Raider flight testing - IHS Jane's 360