Prototype Assembly Looms as First Production Parts Arrive for CH-53K Heavy Lift Helic

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UNITED STATES - 6 AUGUST 2009

STRATFORD, Conn. --- Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. has begun receiving the first of the 8,500 supplier parts that will constitute the new CH-53K heavy lift helicopter Sikorsky is developing for the U.S. Marine Corps. Arrival of the parts -- primarily transmission gear forgings that Sikorsky machinists will intricately refine -- indicates steady and solid progress toward production of the first prototypes. Sikorsky Aircraft is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp.

"The arrival of the first forgings is a significant and visible milestone for the program," said John Johnson, CH-53K Helicopter Program manager. "It means the program is advancing from the 'paper' stages of engineering and design to the hardware stages of castings and forgings. It is exciting to see such an impressive aircraft start coming to life with these forgings for the dynamics system."

The parts will support assembly of the seven prototype vehicles that will be delivered during the system design and development program. Of the seven, four will serve as engineering development vehicles. The remaining three will serve as a dedicated ground test vehicle, a static test article, and a fatigue test platform. The prototypes will be assembled at Sikorsky's Development Flight Center in West Palm Beach, Fla.

The CH-53K will replace the current three-engine Sikorsky CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter. The CH-53E helicopter is currently the largest, most powerful marinized helicopter in the world. It is deployed from Marine Corps amphibious assault ships and land bases to transport personnel and equipment, and to carry external (sling) cargo loads.

The CH-53K helicopter will nearly triple the payload to 27,000 pounds transportable over 110 nautical miles under "hot high" operational conditions. It will maintain the same footprint as the CH-53E and have significantly lower operational costs. The CH-53K helicopter's maximum gross weight (MGW) will increase to 74,000 pounds, versus 69,750 pounds for the CH-53E aircraft, and it will be capable of carrying an external load of up to 88,000 pounds as compared to 73,500 pounds for the CH-53E helicopter.

This new build helicopter will incorporate a joint interoperable glass cockpit with fly-by-wire flight controls; fourth generation rotor blades with anhedral tips; a low-maintenance rotorhead; new GE38-1B engines; a 15 percent increase in cabin size; a cargo rail locking system; external cargo handling improvements; survivability enhancements; and reduced operational and support costs.

"The CH-53K helicopter is the only aircraft that meets the Marine Corps' requirements for heavy lift. It will provide significant improvement in operational capability and significant reduction in cost of ownership. This aircraft also will operate in 'hot high' conditions, all of which translates to a critical tool for the Marine Corps," Johnson said.

Sikorsky Aircraft received a $3 billion System Development and Demonstration contract on April 5, 2006 to develop a replacement for the U.S. Marine Corps CH-53E heavy lift helicopter. The program is expected to produce more than 200 new aircraft.

The CH-53K helicopter team has successfully conducted several risk reduction initiatives on two critical technologies -- split torque main gearbox and main rotor blade -- and has implemented many process and product improvement measures as a result. The program conducted a successful Preliminary Design Review in September 2008, and is tracking toward a Critical Design Review in 2010.

"We are pleased with the current performance of our team and partners," said Mark Cherry, Vice President of Marine Corps Systems. "The receipt of these first parts is validation of our development process."

Source: Sikorsky Aircraft Corp


The Sikorsky CH-53K Super Stallion is a large, heavy-lift cargo helicopter. It will be the largest and heaviest helicopter in the United States military.
The CH-53K is currently under development by Sikorsky Aircraft for the U.S. Marine Corps.

Photo: Concept of the CH-53K

 

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Aurora Reaches Major CH-53K Main Rotor Pylon Milestones
UNITED STATES - 4 JANUARY 2010

Aurora Flight Sciences announced that it reached and successfully completed its Critical Design Review (CDR) and 100% model release milestones for the CH-53K main rotor pylon (MRP) program. These two events define the transition from engineering design to manufacturing of the MRP structure for the System Development and Demonstration SDD aircraft.

"Aurora Flight Sciences is extremely pleased to continue to build on our strong relationship with Sikorsky Aircraft. The CH-53K Heavy Lift Helicopter program is our first design to build aerostructures opportunity with Sikorsky where both companies' engineering teams collaborate toward the design, development, and production of a major weapon system. We look forward to supporting more such opportunities with Sikorsky," said Dan Brady, Aurora's Vice President of Aerostructures.

In addition to the MRP, Aurora also manufactures the CH-53K helicopter's No.1 and No.3 engine nacelles assembly, which is one of the major propulsion sections and houses the aircraft's No. 1 and No. 3 engines. Made primarily of composite and titanium materials, the nacelles will be fabricated by Aurora Flight Sciences of West Virginia and shipped to Sikorsky for integration into the U.S. Marine Corps' helicopter.

The three-engine CH-53K aircraft will be the world's premier heavy-lift helicopter. It is a new design leveraging the lessons learned from almost half a century of manufacturing and operating the earlier CH-53E SUPER STALLION(TM) helicopter.

"Aurora Flight Sciences designs and builds lightweight composite aircraft structures for manned and unmanned aircraft. Our role in building the nacelle for the CH-53K helicopter is a logical extension of our current work on the CH-53K helicopter's Main Rotor Pylon (MRP) which was awarded in May 2007," said Aurora President John Langford.

Nacelle assemblies will initially be built for the test and certification aircraft (four Engineering Development Models and one Ground Test Vehicle). The CH-53K helicopter SDD program schedule runs through the end of 2015.


Source: Aurora Flight Sciences

 

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Sikorsky Unveils $20 Million CH-53K Helicopter Precision Components Technology Center
UNITED STATES - 22 JANUARY 2010

STRATFORD, Conn. --- Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. today formally opened its new Precision Components Technology Center, launching a new path toward strategic competitive excellence beginning with the manufacture of CH-53K heavy lift helicopter components. Sikorsky Aircraft is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp.

The center will produce major dynamic components of the CH-53K helicopter such as rotating and stationary swashplates, main and tail rotor hubs, and main rotor sleeves. It will showcase the magnitude of the CH-53K helicopter and the unique production challenges presented by its size and technological complexity. Forgings to be machined in the center, for example, will be twice the size of the largest forging produced at the facility to date.

Of UTC's total investment of $130 million in the program, Sikorsky has committed more than $20 million to the Precision Components Technology Center.

"Sikorsky's investment in this new technology center is further evidence of the company's commitment to the CH-53K helicopter program," said Mark Cherry, Vice President, Marine Corps Programs. "The heavy lift mission is critical; the size and complexity of the CH-53K helicopter's critical parts necessitated a center dedicated to its production and design iterations as we continue on our path to first flight. We expect the technology center to leverage a number of the manufacturing improvements incorporated in the development of this aircraft, including identifying critical part characteristics to align with manufacturing process capability."

The center currently employs eight personnel.

The Precision Components Technology Center was designed to allow the development of new product lines with "zero setup time" and quick changeover from one component to another. The equipment in the center has the capability to produce any precision rotor and drive system dynamic component including legacy configurations.

Mick Maurer, Senior Vice President of Sikorsky Operations, said the center's primary focus will be to support the dynamic components of the CH-53K System Development and Demonstration program, but the facility also was created with an eye toward the future.

"The grand opening of the Precision Components Technology Center marks a significant program milestone that demonstrates our commitment to the U.S. Marine Corps and the development of the next generation CH-53K heavy lift helicopter. As we expand our global footprint, Sikorsky continues to invest in state-of-the-art manufacturing capabilities that offer a unique competitive advantage in the advancement of flight-critical dynamic component technologies," Maurer said.

Sikorsky Aircraft received a $3 billion System Development and Demonstration contract on April 5, 2006 to develop a replacement for the U.S. Marine Corps CH-53E heavy lift helicopter. The new aircraft program is planned to include production of more than 200 new aircraft. Development money and production quantities will be determined year-by-year over the life of the program based on funding allocations set by Congress and Pentagon acquisition priorities.

Its predecessor, the three-engine Sikorsky CH-53E SUPER STALLION™ helicopter, is the largest, most powerful marinized helicopter in the world. It is deployed from Marine Corps amphibious assault ships and land bases to transport personnel and equipment and to carry external (sling) cargo loads.

The CH-53K helicopter will maintain virtually the same footprint as the CH-53E aircraft, but will nearly triple the payload to 27,000 pounds over 110 nautical miles under "hot high" ambient conditions. The CH-53K helicopter's maximum gross weight (MGW) with internal loads is 74,000 pounds compared to 69,750 pounds for the CH-53E aircraft. The CH-53K helicopter's MGW with external loads is 88,000 pounds as compared to 73,500 for the CH-53E helicopter.

Features of the CH-53K helicopter include: a joint interoperable glass cockpit; fly-by-wire flight controls; fourth generation rotor blades with anhedral tips; a low-maintenance elastomeric rotor head; upgraded engines; a locking cargo rail system; external cargo handling improvements; survivability enhancements; and reduced operation and support costs.


Source: Sikorsky Aircraft Corp.

 

[pak-yes]

Don't Americans get tired replacing equipment every 6 months.