Sun, Aug 29, 2010
Program Achieves "Ready To Load" Status
The CH-53K Heavy Lift Helicopter Program has achieved "Ready to
Load" (RTL) condition with the successful light-off of its first
Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) engine. The achievement signals that the
program is ready to begin formal integration testing in early 2011.
The APU provides power to a 45KVA generator, a 58-horsepower
hydraulic pump and hydraulic starter, and also provides bleed air
to an environmental control system and main engine start system. It
is used for ground operations, main engine start, and conditions
when main electrical power provided by the aircraft's main
generators is lost. It is a critical element of the aircraft's
design.
CH-53K Artist's Rendering
The APU achieved RTL condition after light-off at 100 percent
speed sustained for 30 seconds. The engine is now being prepared
for safety of flight testing and accomplishing the on-time delivery
of hardware for the ground test vehicle.
The APU Light-Off test was conducted at the San Diego facility
of Hamilton Sundstrand, the primary supplier for the secondary
power system for the CH-53K heavy lift helicopter program. HS is
providing the APU, environmental control system (ECS), and the main
engine start system consisting of an air turbine starter and start
control valve.
The entire APU development and qualification program will
involve 13 engines - seven for Hamilton Sundstrand and six for
Sikorsky. The APU is a critical part of the secondary power system
on the CH-53K helicopter, providing a pressurized air source
("bleed air") for the Hamilton ECS and main engine start system, as
well as shaft power for the Goodrich 45KVA generator and Eaton 58-
horsepower hydraulic pump.
Sikorsky Aircraft received a $3 billion System Development and
Demonstration (SDD) contract on April 5, 2006 to develop a
replacement for the U.S. Marine Corps CH-53E heavy lift helicopter.
The new aircraft program is planned to include production of more
than 200 aircraft. Currently, the CH-53K helicopter is in the SDD
phase with all major subcontracts awarded and valued at over $1.1
billion. The CH-53K helicopter will maintain virtually the same
footprint as its predecessor, the three-engine CH-53E SUPER
STALLION, but Sikorsky says it will nearly triple the payload to
27,000 pounds over 110 nautical miles under "hot high" ambient
conditions. The company says the CH-53E helicopter is currently the
largest, most powerful marinized helicopter in the world.
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