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The article reports that the systems and performance of the CH-53K King Stallion helicopter will be tested by the U.S. Army at the Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona in 2018 under dust conditions and extreme temperature.

The article offers information on the brief history of the first flight of the helicopter. It states that the helicopter was known as the Bamboo-copter, and in 1480s, polymath Leonardo da Vinci created his own design for the helicopter. It mentions that in 20th century various efforts have been pursued to build helicopters wherein the design of aircraft designer Igor Sikorsky successfuly flew.

Defense Department officials are tracking more than 1,000 current or projected "mission-impacting technical issues" that present "a high risk" to the CH-53K helicopter meeting its December 2019 goal, according to a program review document. Geurts recently met with Lockheed and Navy program officials "to discuss his concern about the testing schedule as planned" and "expressed his sense of urgency to improve" the situation. "Program officials reported that since the latest redesign, the program has successfully tested the main gearbox". [Extracted from the article]

The article discusses the U.S. Navy's decision to buy MQ-8C unmanned helicopter. Topics include views of captain Jeff Dodge on payload capacity of MQ-8C, use of MQ-8Bs in Afghanistan, completion of flight testing for MQ-8C at Naval Air Station Point Mugu in California, performance of MQ-8B autonomous helicopter in operations, and proposal for buying MQ-8C put forward in 2013 budget session.

The article reports on the successful flight testing of Fire Scout unmanned helicopter manufactured by global security firm Northrop Grumman Corp., from a U.S. Navy littoral combat ship in April 2017.

The article reports on a new phase of flight test campaign started for the SW-4 Solo optionally piloted helicopter at Taranto-Grottaglie Airport in Italy, which was performed in partnership with Distretto Tecnologico Aerospaziale Pugliese and the Italian civil aviation authority.

The article discusses the first flight of the German Navy's NH90 SEA LION Naval Transport Helicopter (NTH) on December 8, 2016.

The article reports that the US Marine Corps completed their initial operational testing period (called OT-B1) of the new CH-53K King Stallion helicopter on October 19, 2016 at the Sikorsky Development Flight Center in West Palm Beach, Florida.

A personal narrative is presented which explores the author's experience of testing an AH-1W helicopter in North Carolina, during which he discovered a missing screw above the engine cowling of the aircraft.

The article reports that the L-3 WESCAM has given successful ground and flight demonstrations of its MX-25D Electro-Optical Technologies on Apache Helicopter at the U.S. Army's Redstone Test Center (RTC) in Alabama.

The article offers the author's view on the mishap of UH-1N Huey helicopters' terrain flight (TERF) section. He mentions that the pilots of the aircraft lack the knowledge on the procedures and tactics of TERF. An overview of a flashlight problem on a T-34C aircraft along with its engine section is also presented.

The article focuses on the Autonomous Aerial Cargo Utility System (Aacus) program of the U.S. Office of Naval Research (ONR) which develops a computing and sensing capability for platforms and enables fly-by-wire helicopter to be an autonomous logistics vehicle. Topics discussed include aircraft manufacturers Lockheed Martin and Aurora Flight Sciences, the Sikorsky JUH-60A Rascal Black Hawk fly-by-wire testbed, and the use of Unmanned Little Bird helicopter from aircraft maker Boeing Co.

The article focuses on the software which was developed by the U.S. Army's Aeroflightdynamics Directorate (AFDD) under the Autonomous Rotorcraft (ARC) project. Topics discussed include the software that would enable terrain-aware autonomy in an unmanned rotorcraft, the Phase 2 flights using a laser-radar sensor and guided by a fly-by-wire testbed helicopter, and algorithms for safe landing area determination (SLAD) and obstacle field navigation (OFN).

The article focuses on the development of an autogyro aircraft by the aerospace industries company Carter Aviation Technologies. The company's flight testing of its Personal Air Vehicle (PAV) prototype autogyro is discussed, particularly the prototype's use of Carter's slowed-rotor/compound technology which adds a wing and propulsion to offload lift and thrust from the rotor of the compound helicopter.

The article discusses the development of a helicopter by the aircraft company Eurocopter which would use both turbines and a secondary electric motor in order to increase safety and fuel efficiency. Flight trials have looked at how the aircraft could aid pilots during autorotation. Eurocopter says that the prototype is different from the X3 hybrid helicopter and is similar to single-engine helicopters such as the AS350, the EC120, and the EC135.

The article discusses the U.S. helicopter industry, its forecasted production gap after 2020, and the U.S. Army's funding of a Joint Multi-Role (JMR) technology demonstration program that will accommodate flight testing of advanced rotorcraft technology. The JMR program is said to be modeled after the U.S. Joint Advanced Strike Technology (JAST) program that fostered the making of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

The article reports that the U.S. Navy is preparing a formal evaluation of the unmanned reconnaissance helicopter FireScout, produced by Northrop Grumman to be completed in the fall of 2010. The aircraft's second operational deployment is to take place in 2011, and if successful could be followed by the Navy ordering full production of the 168 FireScout air vehicles it has planned to deploy.

The article focuses on the start of flight-testing of AH-6i light attack and reconnaissance helicopter of Boeing. The company plans to exhibit the helicopter at the Dubai Air Show in the United Arab Emirates in November 2009. The AH-6i features new digital cockpit, mission system and avionics. The article reveals that Middle Eastern countries are interested in acquiring the helicopter.

The article reports on the resumption of full flight tests for Sikorsky's prototype S-76D medium helicopter with composite main rotor blades. These tests would involve three aircraft by early June 2009. The new composite blades were part of an upgraded design for the aircraft, which includes a new tail rotor, more powerful Pratt & Whitney Canada PW210S engines, a Thales-developed integrated avionics cockpit, active vibration control and an advanced health and usage monitoring system (HUMS).

The article reports on the flight testing conducted by Piasecki Aircraft for the X-49A Speedhawk, a modified SH-60F Seahawk helicopter fitted with a vectored-thrust ducted propeller (VTDP) and fixed wing. The aircraft is now down for modification in preparation for high-speed flying in Phase 2, which is aimed at demonstrating 193 knot speed.

The article reports that Sikorsky is aiming for U.S. certification of the S-76D medium twin-turbine helicopter for 2010 after the completion of the first flight on February 7, 2009. The company says it has about 100 agreements in place for deliveries beginning in 2010. The aircraft was flown once for 40 minutes to collect engine data-and is expected to begin flight testing in earnest within a month, says lead program pilot Craig Barnes.

The article reports that Sikorsky is on track to demonstrate the X2 Technology's 250-knot maximum speed late in the third quarter of 2009 after flying the coaxial-rotor helicopter prototype for the first time on August 27, 2008 at its rapid-prototyping facility at Horseheads, New York. Handling of the sidestick-controlled fly-by-wire helicopter was as predicted by simulation, says chief test pilot Kevin Bredenbeck, and both noise and vibration were lower than for Sikorsky's previous coaxial-rotor high-speed helicopter, the XH-59 in 1970.

The article reports on the plan of the U.S. Navy to begin flight testing fixes to its airborne mine countermeasures (AMCM) package for the MH-60S helicopter in one year, delayed by 20 months plans to achieve initial operational testing in July 2008. After 350 hour in operational testing of the Raytheon AN/AQS-20, a towed deep-water mine detection system, the Navy halted the testing process because of reliability problems.

The article reports on the flight testing of Kamov Ka-52, a dual-seat version of Ka-50 coaxial-rotor attack helicopter, in Russia. Though the air force selected Mil Mi-28N Havoc as its basic attack helicopter to eventually replace the Mi-24 Hind, a limited batch of Ka-50/52s was ordered by other law-enforcement state services. This included the Federal Security Service, which oversees border protection.

The article focuses on the problems encountered in the development of the NFH90 maritime helicopter. The aircraft has a structurally weak landing gear that forced a redesign. Dominique Maudet of Eurocopter relates that the flight tests which included landings on ships in rough waters validated the robustness of the landing gear. Factors which add urgency to the development plan include the availability of the rival of NFH90, the Sikorsky MH-60R helicopter, in the market.

The article reports that the U.S. Air Force's Arnold Engineering Development Center, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) have begun testing Boeing Co.'s Smart Material Actuated Rotor Technology system in the 40 X 80-feet (ft.). The series of tests will focus on the rotor's forward flight characteristics in an effort to collect noise data for validating acoustic codes as part of a Darpa program to reduce helicopter noise levels.

The article reports on the preparation of Boeing to restart the flight testing of the A160T Hummingbird unmanned rotorcraft after a crash has delayed the program. The company is making changes to the flight control system in the wake of the crash of a vehicle on December 10, 2007. Boeing is touting the turbine-powered autonomous vertical takeoff and landing (VUAS) unmanned air system as a longer-endurance, higher-capacity alternative to existing fixed-wing UAV such as the General Atomics MQ-1 Predator.

The article reports on the completion of the Australian MRH90 helicopter's first flight. The hour-long flight took place at Eurocopter's facility Marignane, France. The first four MRH90s are being built in France, with the remaining 42 to be assembled in Brisbane, Australia. Additionally, Eurocopter has inaugurated its facility in Albacete, Spain. The site will produce composite rear fuselage sections for the EC 135 and Tiger helos, along with NH90 forward fuselage sections.

The article reports on the introduction of Honeywell's Eurocopter AS350 A-Star N350FD, which is part of the firm's efforts to bring synthetic vision capability to helicopters. The synthetic vision in flight test in Eurocopter AS350 overlays the primary flight display with head-up symbology onto a single-screen Integrated Primary Flight Display mounted on the left of the panel.

The article reports on the operational testing (OT) of Boeing's CH-47F Chinook heavy-lift helicopter. The helicopter, which features mission-radius design, with digital cockpit and advanced avionics, will undergo an OT phase at Fort Campbell, Kentucky for more than 60 hours that will end in April 2007.

The article announces the completion of an extensive, nine-year airframe fatigue test program for the V-22 tiltrotor aircraft from Bell Helicopter Textron. About 70% of the tests focused on loads in the airplane mode, and 30% on helicopter mode. The aircraft has a fatigue life equivalent to 20,000 hours in the air.

The article reports on the first flight of the redesigned A/MH-6X Little Bird helicopter from Boeing in a manned/unmanned configuration in the U.S. The aircraft has a glass cockpit and digital maps as well as Ku -band communications and digital radios. The company has proposed the unmanned configuration for the 160th Special Operational Aviation Regiment of the U.S. Army. Regiment officials stated their preference of an unmanned rotorcraft to deliver supplies forward on the battlefield.

This article reports that the U.S. Army Aviation Museum's unannounced destruction of the XCH-62 Heavy Lift Helicopter prototype, the largest rotorcraft ever built in the nation, has upset a number of historians and engineers. Some consider the timing poor because of the current interest in large helicopters from the Army-led Joint Heavy Lift program. Designers often seek to gain ideas by looking at prior aircraft, but this is now no longer possible. The early-1970s-vintage XCH-62 was the first helicopter designed with a fly-by-wire flight control system and featured elastomeric rotor bearings, fiberglass blades with titanium spars and varying airfoil sections, and extensive co-cured composite honeycomb structure in the fuselage.