Sikorsky’s X2 Technology demonstrator team has won the 2010 Robert J Collier Trophy, six months after the X2 demonstrator set an unofficial speed record of 250kt.
Sikorsky president Jeffrey P Pino said receiving the trophy was a “tremendous honour” for the company, recognising the “hard work, dedication, skill and vision of many people”. “Sikorsky has a long and storied history of innovation, starting with the invention of the world’s first practical helicopter and continuing today with X2 Technology and the exciting new possibilities it opens for our company and our industry,” Pino said.
“As the X2 Technology program transitions to its first application, we are confident that the X2 design has a tremendous future and is scalable for a variety of rotorcraft sizes and applications. This recognition is warm acknowledgement of the great things that can be achieved when the spirit of innovation and dedication to the task are the foundation,” Sikorsky vice president of research & engineering Mark Miller added.
The X2 Technology program began in 2005 when Sikorsky first committed resources and full funding for the program’s development of a co-axial, auxiliary propulsion helicopter. The X2’s recent victory marks the second time Sikorsky has won the Collier trophy, after its S-92 program team achieved the same feat in 2002.
The Collier Trophy will be formally presented at the Annual Collier Dinner to be held on May 5 in Arlington, Virginia. It is the 100th trophy to be awarded since the inception of the prize, with previous winners including leading aviation identities such as Orville Wright, Chuck Yeager, and the F-22 Raptor Team. Named after notable aviator, humanitarian and sportsman, Robert J Collier, the trophy is awarded annually to recognise significant achievements in aeronautics or astronautics in the United States over the past year.
