The FAA has awarded type certification to Sikorsky’s S-76D after an intensive flight test program.
The new model features all-composite rotor blades, a Thales integrated avionics system and autopilot, active vibration control and twin Pratt & Whitney Canada PW210S engines, and will enter the mid-size category boasting nearly half a billion US dollars in orders.
Deliveries are expected to start later this year.
More than 800 S-76s have been delivered that together have amassed some six million flight hours since the type was introduced in 1979.
