A crew of talented pilots and maintenance technicians is having an amazing adventure, flying a new Sikorsky S-92 all over the world to showcase the helicopter’s search-and-rescue capabilities. The trip is called the Legacy of Heroes Tour, and the mission is “to celebrate everyday heroes and touch the lives of the people they serve and protect.” Of course, if Sikorsky persuades a government organization or private operator to buy an S-92 or two, all the better.
But meanwhile the crew is having a great time showing off the S-92. Production test pilots Joel Vigue and Jamie Wittmeyer, crew chief Chad Phillips, quality assurance representative John Bainbridge, avionics expert Adam Gosser and aircraft manager Jean Schryver have been traveling with the S-92, keeping it healthy and demonstrating how it can add to the more than two million people already saved in Sikorsky helicopters since 1945. You can read their account of their adventures on the Legacy Tour website.
This particular S-92 is equipped with ambulance litters as well as fold-up yet still crashworthy seats. The rear of the cabin folds down into a ramp for easy loading. The neatest feature is a controller for the hoist operator, who can “fly” the S-92 from the cabin, up to 15 knots sideways or fore and aft while the helicopter is held in position by the automatic flight control system, hovering over a rescue spot. The pilot also has a control to bump the radar altitude up or down one foot at a time for ultra-precise movement during a rescue.
Sikorsky has invited visitors who come to see the Legacy of Heroes S-92 to sign their names to the airframe, which is painted in gray that nicely sets off the black ink in the Sharpie pen used to write the signatures. If you happen to catch the Heroes S-92 (it’s at the Singapore Airshow static display the week of February 13), ask for the Sharpie and make your mark on an incredible aircraft. And say hello to Adam, John, Chad, Jean, Jamie and Joel.
Next stops on the nine-month tour are six cities in India: Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Mumbai then New Delhi.