Associated Press , CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Designers say it flies faster, farther and smoother. Pilots say the latest collision avoidance systems in the all-digital cockpit make it the safest in the air.
Then there's the wood-paneled cabin, soft leather seats, on-board galley, executive bathroom and a bank of TV screens, satellite links and video conferencing equipment.
If it sounds like a helicopter fit for a president, that's because the VH-92 Superhawk is one of two new aircraft competing for a $1.6 billion contract to replace an aging fleet of presidential choppers.
“It has everything the president needs to have an Oval Office in the sky,” said Joe Haddock, vice president for government business at Sikorsky Aircraft, the United Technologies Corp. unit that designed the Superhawk with Rockwell Collins Inc.
The Superhawk's cutting-edge avionics include eye-level glass displays that allow pilots to keep their eyes on the horizon while tracking flight and navigational data.
For security reasons, the demonstration model lacks some items featured in the real thing. But executives said the demo provides a glimpse of the latest technology available to the leader of the free world.
The Pentagon is also considering a rival aircraft, Lockheed Martin Corp.'s US101, for the contract to replace 19 Sikorsky Sea King helicopters _ some dating from 1974 _ with 23 new ones by 2008. A decision is expected in December.
The US101 is tailored after a model built by Lockheed partner AgustaWestland, a British-Italian consortium that supplies choppers to the British Navy.
Both sides claim they have the best craft for ferrying the president and teams of advisers in the post-Sept. 11 era of heightened security. Steve Ramsey, vice president for Lockheed Martin's US101 project, said the US101 is just as fast as the VH-92, but is bigger, wider and has more cabin space.
But Sikorsky, based in Stratford, Conn., has supplied U.S. presidents with helicopters since 1957. It has used Lockheed Martin's overseas ties to frame the contest as a test of corporate patriotism.
Presidential helicopters, referred to as Marine One when the president is aboard, are stationed at military bases across the country to ferry the president on short trips of 150 miles or less. For longer trips, the president flies aboard Air Force One.
The VH-92 can cruise at speeds of 175 mph and withstand strikes from a 2.2-pound pigeon traveling 190 mph, officials said. A network of six rotors is strategically positioned up and down the helicopter to cancel vibration from the rotors and other moving parts, allowing passengers to converse without shouting.
The transparent eye-level glass displays, now being used in some commercial and military cockpits, are slightly smaller than a sheet of paper.
“It's hard to predict what difficult environment this helicopter could be placed in, and that's why it's important to have the pilot's eyes looking through the windshield at all times,” said Ken Schreder, senior director of Army programs for Rockwell Collins, which developed the new avionics.
New technology was also used to make dashboard less cluttered and more user-friendly. Five easy-to-read liquid crystal displays replace the bank of circular gauges found in most older dashboards. At the push of a button, pilots can call up flight data, local maps and weather patterns or warnings in a variety of colors.
Schreder said the VH-92 is also the first helicopter equipped with detailed terrain and situational awareness systems. A bank of sensors collects information about the terrain below and ahead. The information is analyzed with on-board databases to produce television-like images to aid pilots with navigation in bad weather or landing on uneven surfaces.
The US101 is modeled after AgustaWestland's EH101 Merlin, choppers that have flown missions over Iraq and Bosnia.
“Sikorsky's is not proven in combat yet,” Ramsey said.
In addition to similar advanced avionics, the Lockheed chopper is equipped with warning systems that can help detect oncoming aircraft and send pilots messages for avoiding collision.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi have lobbied the Pentagon on Lockheed Martin's behalf, while U.S. labor unions are backing Sikorsky.
Also taking sides have been members of Congress from districts and states that stand to reap jobs and economic benefits from the contract.
Sikorsky says nearly all of its partners and all but a handful of parts are American-made. The company also boasts that it already has a service and maintenance work force of 500 people, each with U.S. security clearance.
“We, as a company, don't feel comfortable on the security and construction issues unless this is 100 percent American-made and maintained,” Haddock said. “We're building this aircraft with American hands and American minds for an American president.”
Although the US101 is about two-thirds American-made, most of the service and maintenance ultimately will be done by Americans, Ramsey said.
