Type certificate 1H2 is the FAA design approval for the S-52 series helicopters originally developed and certified by Sikorsky and will be used to re-enter the commercial market with the new S-52L.

The new S-52L has been redesigned to meet some of the latest FAA regulatory requirements. The basic design for the S-52L, such as rotor system and transmission system, remain the same; however, tail surfaces, fuel system, electrical, instrumentation, cowling, interior, main/tail rotor blades, fuselage and flight controls have been redesigned. The powerplant is the new six-cylinder 300 horsepower fuel-injected IO-540 de-rated to 245 h.p., manufactured and supported by Continental Motors, Titan Engine division.

Safety features include FAR 27 occupant safety requirements addressing fuel crashworthiness and post-crash fires, seat and surrounding structure protection, energy absorbing wheeled landing gear, automatic collective pitch reduction in the event of powerplant/rotor drive failure and no control restrictions with the smooth three-blade articulated rotor.

Brad Clark, President of VAT, commented: “This is a step forward with the history of the S-52. For 33 years, we’ve been selling the S-52 Hummingbird helicopter as an experimental kit. The programme has been highly successful; however, the light helicopter commercial market needs more competition and we believe we can be a market leader. We have a proven product with no development risks.”