CH-53K King Stallion lifts 27,000lbs
Sikorsky’s CH-53K King Stallion heavy lift helicopter has successfully completed an external lift of a 27,000lbs payload at the company's Development Flight Test Center in West Palm Beach, Florida.
The aircraft carried out an ‘out of ground effect’ (OGE) external load test at 100ft while performing hover manoeuvres. OGE testing is key to demonstrating control authority during stressful lift conditions. OGE is defined as an altitude greater than the helicopter's main rotor diameter (79 feet in the King Stallion's case) where power demand greatly increases due to loss of the benefit of ground effect.
With the completion of this milestone, the company expects to successfully complete the initial operational assessment by the end of 2016.
The CH-53K King Stallion is being developed for the US Marine Corps (USMC). The aircraft has already achieved speeds of over 140 knots during testing. It is being developed to carry an external load of 27,000lbs over 110 nautical miles at 91.5 degrees Fahrenheit and an altitude of 3,000ft, which is a naval requirement for 'high hot' conditions.
Col Hank Vanderborght, USMC program manager for the Naval Air Systems Command's Heavy Lift Helicopters Program, said: ‘This is the most strenuous condition we had to demonstrate from a performance standpoint prior to achieving Milestone C and entering production.’
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