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Aviation / Aerospace

Sikorsky S-92 (Superhawk)


Medium-Lift Multirole Transport Helicopter [ 2004 ]



International partners were needed by Sikorsky to bring the S-92 product to market - over 200 have since been built for multiple parties the worldover.



Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 09/04/2020 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site.

VIEW SPECIFICATIONS [+]
In 2004, Sikorsky introduced its latest helicopter market entry through the S-92 medium-lift helicopter product. The helicopter was developed to succeed the aging and outgoing line of S-3 series helicopters and has since been built in over 200 examples serving civilian, military and governmental entities. Some high-profile variants have also been born from the base S-92 design.

Development of the S-92 achieved momentum during the early 1990s when a mockup was revealed at the time. However, faced with an economic downturn in the international helicopter market, Sikorsky was forced to pull back the reigns of the S-92 project and sought international help in bringing the product to market. The group - involving Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) of Japan, Gamesa of Spain, Jingdezhen of China, Taiwan Aerospace, Embraer of Brazil, and MIL of Russia - became known as "Team S-92" and the S-92 program was officially launched during the 1995 Paris Air Show.

The S-92 was designed upon several key proven components and qualities seen in the earlier H-60 family helicopters (the H-60 forming the basis of the successful UH-60 "Black Hawk" family). At least 40% of the new aircraft's construction involved composites. A ramp with applicable access was fitted to the fuselage rear for expediting loading / unloading of cargo. The cockpit was all-modern with four large LCD panels and sat its crew of two in a side-by-side arrangement. The passenger area could be reworked to seat between nineteen and twenty-two depending on seating configuration or cleared out altogether to haul cargo containers. The twin turboshaft engine arrangement was used to power a four-bladed composite main rotor with a four-bladed tail rotor seated to starboard. The elevated tail stem provided good clearance and access to the loading ramp underneath. The tricycle wheeled undercarriage was made fully-retractable into the airframe.

Two major variants ultimately emerged - one intended for the civilian market and the other for military service. The S-92 became the civilian market form (originally known as the S-92C "Helibus") and has since found a few notable homes worldwide, generally as part of airlines or offshore oil drilling companies. Operators have been seen in Brunei, Canada, China, Norway, Qatar, the United Kingdom and the United States. Additionally, this model has been accepted as a governmental support transport aircraft as witnessed by the growing collection of operators committed to it - from Azerbaijan and Bahrain to Turkey and Turkmenistan.

The H-92 "Superhawk" is the military offering and has been completed with uprated General Electric CT7-8C series turboshaft engines of 3,070 horsepower (each) for the rigors of military service. The aircraft also carries a digital Fly-By-Wire (FBW) control scheme which is absent in the base S-92 form.

The United States Marine Corps have ordered a stock of six helicopters to modify it for the "Marine One" Presidential transport role under the "VH-92" designation. Funding for some twenty-three of this model were covered in the U.S. Navy's 2015 budget. The S-92 originally faced off against the Lockheed VH-71 "Kestrel" and lost the Marine One ("VXX") competition. However, as the VH-71 suffered delays and cost overruns during its protracted development, the competition was reopened in 2010 and Sikorsky handed in the only bid - therefore they were announced the winner of VXX in May of 2014 while the Kestrel product was cancelled (nine were built and subsequently sold off to Canada).

The Sikorsky CH-148 "Cyclone" is a Canadian military offshoot of the militarized Superhawk. While a first-flight was held back in November of 2008 (official delivery was to occur that month), the program has suffered from consistent setbacks during its development phase. Only six have been produced to date (2016) of the 28 systems on order.

Other global military operators of the S-92 family include Kuwait (Air Force) and South Korea (Air Force).©MilitaryFactory.com
Note: The above text is EXCLUSIVE to the site www.MilitaryFactory.com. It is the product of many hours of research and work made possible with the help of contributors, veterans, insiders, and topic specialists. If you happen upon this text anywhere else on the internet or in print, please let us know at MilitaryFactory AT gmail DOT com so that we may take appropriate action against the offender / offending site and continue to protect this original work.

February 2019 - It was announced that an unnamed Mexican oil-and-gas industry customer has ordered an unspecified number of S-92 helicopters from Sikorsky.

March 2019 - Sikorsky has unveiled the S-92A+ and S-92B production models featuring modernized / upgraded systems for enhanced performance and mission support. A+ models will be updated in-service S-92A helicopters while B-models will be new-build systems.

August 2019 - Brazil has approved/certified a Search and Rescue (SAR) variant of the Sikorsky S-92. This now completes the possibility that the helicopter can be sold in its various forms across various Brazil civilian and commercial industries.

April 2020 - Cougar Helicopters, serving the offshore oil and gas sector, has been announced as the launch customer for the new S-92A+ helicopter model.

Specifications



Service Year
2004

Origin
United States national flag graphic
United States

Status
ACTIVE
In Active Service.
Crew
3

Production
300
UNITS


National flag of Australia National flag of Azerbaijan National flag of Bahrain National flag of Brazil National flag of Canada National flag of China National flag of Ireland National flag of modern Japan National flag of Kuwait National flag of Mexico National flag of Norway National flag of Qatar National flag of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia National flag of South Korea National flag of Thailand National flag of Turkey National flag of Turkmenistan National flag of the United Kingdom National flag of the United States Australia; Azerbaijan; Bahrain; Brazil; Brunei; Canada; China; Ireland; Japan; Kuwait; Mexico; Norway; Qatar; Saudi Arabia; South Korea; Thailand; Turkey; Turkmenistan; United Kingdom; United States
(OPERATORS list includes past, present, and future operators when applicable)
Special-Mission: Search & Rescue (SAR)
Ability to locate and extract personnel from areas of potential harm or peril (i.e. downed airmen in the sea).
Maritime / Navy
Land-based or shipborne capability for operating over-water in various maritime-related roles while supported by allied naval surface elements.
Transport
General transport functionality to move supplies/cargo or personnel (including wounded and VIP) over range.
Commercial Aviation
Used in roles serving the commercial aviation market, ferrying both passengers and goods over range.
VIP Service
Used in the Very-Important-Person (VIP) passenger transport role, typically with above-average amenities and luxuries as standard.


Length
56.1 ft
(17.10 m)
Width/Span
56.3 ft
(17.17 m)
Height
15.5 ft
(4.71 m)
Empty Wgt
15,498 lb
(7,030 kg)
MTOW
26,500 lb
(12,020 kg)
Wgt Diff
+11,001 lb
(+4,990 kg)
(Showcased structural values pertain to the Sikorsky S-92 production variant)
Installed: 2 x General Electric CT7-8A turboshaft engines developing 2,520 horsepower each while driving a four-bladed main rotor and four-bladed tail rotor.
Max Speed
190 mph
(305 kph | 165 kts)
Ceiling
14,009 ft
(4,270 m | 3 mi)
Range
621 mi
(1,000 km | 1,852 nm)


♦ MACH Regime (Sonic)
Sub
Trans
Super
Hyper
HiHyper
ReEntry
RANGES (MPH) Subsonic: <614mph | Transonic: 614-921 | Supersonic: 921-3836 | Hypersonic: 3836-7673 | Hi-Hypersonic: 7673-19180 | Reentry: >19030


(Showcased performance specifications pertain to the Sikorsky S-92 production variant. Performance specifications showcased above are subject to environmental factors as well as aircraft configuration. Estimates are made when Real Data not available. Compare this aircraft entry against any other in our database or View aircraft by powerplant type)
None.


Supported Types




(Not all ordnance types may be represented in the showcase above)
S-92 - Base Model Designation
S-92A - Civilian market model with variable passenger seating or cargo-hauling capability.
S-92A+- Upgraded S-92A production models to newer standard with advanced computing (MATRIX technology); autonomous landing support; SuperSearch-capable for SAR.
S-92B - New-build S-92+ helicopters though also with enlarged cabin windows; SAR capability if outfitted; common cabin door.
H-92 "Superhawk" - Military model; outfitted with uprated CT7-8C turboshaft engines of 3,070 horsepower and Fly-By-Wire control scheme; SAR kit available for Search / Rescue function.
VH-92 - U.S. Navy / Marine model for Presidential VIP transport.
CH-148 "Cyclone" - Canadian military model based on the S-92.


General Assessment
Firepower  
Performance  
Survivability  
Versatility  
Impact  
Values are derrived from a variety of categories related to the design, overall function, and historical influence of this aircraft in aviation history.
Overall Rating
The overall rating takes into account over 60 individual factors related to this aircraft entry.
56
Rating is out of a possible 100 points.
Relative Maximum Speed
Hi: 200mph
Lo: 100mph
This entry's maximum listed speed (190mph).

Graph average of 150 miles-per-hour.
City-to-City Ranges
NYC
 
  LON
LON
 
  PAR
PAR
 
  BER
BER
 
  MOS
MOS
 
  TOK
TOK
 
  SYD
SYD
 
  LAX
LAX
 
  NYC
Sikorsky S-92 operational range when compared to distances between major cities (in KM).
Max Altitude Visualization
Small airplane graphic
Design Balance
The three qualities reflected above are altitude, speed, and range.
Aviation Era Span
Pie graph section
Showcasing era cross-over of this aircraft design.
Unit Production (300)
300
36183
44000
Compared against Ilyushin IL-2 (military) and Cessna 172 (civilian).
>>

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Images Gallery



1 / 2
Image of the Sikorsky S-92 (Superhawk)
Image from Sikorsky marketing material.
2 / 2
Image of the Sikorsky S-92 (Superhawk)
Image from Sikorsky marketing material.

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