Sikorsky is hopeful that additional tasks accomplished while the aircraft was kept on the ground due to gearbox issues will mean smooth sailing for development testing of the U.S. Marine Corps' CH-53K King Stallion now that the all-new heavy-lift helicopter has taken to the air. The first engineering development model (EDM-1) made its 30-min. first flight from Sikorsky's West Palm Beach, Florida, development center on Oct. 27, beginning a three-year, 2,000-hr, flight-test program that will involve four YCH-53K EDMs. These will be followed by six CH-53K system development test aircraft (SDTA) for operational testing. The CH-53K, or Kilo, is scheduled to replace the Sikorsky CH-53E (Echo) helicopters now used to lift heavy equipment from ship to shore and is designed to provide three times the hot-and-high lift capability. The air- craft has fly-by-wire flight controls for reduced pilot workload and increased reliability and survivability. The Marine Corps plans to buy 200 CH-53Ks beginning in 2017.
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