testing your identification skills

[nyy]

it isnt every day that a giant orange helo flies over my house (usually just commercial planes), so when i saw this, i hurried to get my camera. as i put on my telephoto lens, and turned it on, i realized the battery wasnt in and had to run to grab it off the charger. finally i was able to snap a shot when the helicopter was probably 5 miles down. please keep in mind this was shot at 300mm and then cropped/blown up 5X its original size. im just curious as to what kind it is, and where it may be from. it was heading north east (in the general direction of nyc)

 

[mkoch]

If eyes serve, thats a production model Sikorsky S-92 (H-92 is the military model which has yet to be picked up). I actually recognize that color scheme as a northern european transport company whose name I can't remember. The S-92 went into actual production less than a year ago, the first production models were shipped last spring i think.

http://www.sikorsky.com/details/1,,CLI1_DIV69_ETI263,00.html
http://www.aerospace-technology.com/projects/s92/

 

[Pugs]

Could also be a Puma or Super Puma

http://tinyurl.com/8xj5j

Would help if we knew where you were located.

 

[Brett327]

You can definitely see design characteristics from the -53 and -60 in it. Isn't this the same general model that the new Presidential helos are going to be at HMX-1?

Brett

 

[mkoch]

1. That's not a Super Puma. Look at the body where the tail boom starts. It flattens out, which is characteristic of the 92. This is in addition to the things on the side (I don't know the term for them) which also have a sharper trailing edge. The Puma series have much more rounded edges on the back, and the body blends into the tail boom.

btw, does this paint job look familiar?
Petrolium Helicopters Inc S-92

2. Unfortunately, Sikorsky lost the new HMX-1 contract. We were pushing and pushing, but just under a year ago the contract went to the US-101, which is now designated the VH-71. Fortunately the H-92 isn't dead, its still a strong competitor for a new airforce search and rescue contract, among other things.

 

[Gatordev]

I was gonna say either a S-92 or EC-101.

 

[E5B]

I was gonna say either a S-92 or EC-101.

I'm with you on this one.

 

[mkoch]

By EC-101, do you mean the US-101/EH-101? Because all the pictures I find show the EH101 as a 5 bladed rotorcraft, whereas the one the picture above appears to have 4 blades...

From this angle, I think the only other thing to be able to tell it apart from a -92 is which side of the frame the tail rotor is on, but the picture looks a bit too blurry to make that out. Any thoughts?

 

[nittany03]

I too vote for the EH-101. Didn't think the S-92 had those sponsons on the side, but I could easily be wrong about that.

 

[E5B]

EH-101 has short stubby sponsons, the 92 has longer sponsons.

 

[Gatordev]

Yes, I did mean EH-101, sorry for the typo. I think you're right. I really didn't look very closely at first. Four blades, sponsons, and the tail rotor is on the right. I agree, S-92.

http://www.sikorsky.com/details/0,3036,CLI1_DIV69_ETI890,00.html

 

[Brett327]

Those sponson thingies - do they generate lift in forward flight? They look kind of airfoil like.

Brett

 

[ChuckMK23]

It's an S-92 - and it's wearing PHI livery. A number of S-92's are being readied for delivery to PHI.

 

[mkoch]

How many birds is PHI buying? They already had 3 or 4 when I was at Sikorsky in the summer, and they had at least 2 more sitting on the field in PHI paint.

 

[nittany03]

I hereby give myself a below average on my Googling skills and agree with the above.