Date: Fri 05-Jun-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: STEVEB

Quick Words:

Sikorsky-Black-Hawk-Trinity

Full Text:

Kids Spot A Rare Bird At Trinity Day Care

Got $8 million to spend? That's the going rate of the Sikorsky Black Hawk

Uh-60L that landed in a field near Trinity Church Wednesday morning.

The huge craft landed in Newtown at around 10 am after the 10-minute flight

from Sikorsky Aircraft in Stratford. For the next two hours, Sikorsky

officials opened the aircraft up for a tour. Most of the children on hand were

from the Trinity Day Care Center.

The aircraft that landed in Newtown was practically brand new with only about

15 hours of flight time. About 40 of the newest batch of Black Hawks will be

sold to the US military, according to Sikorsky officials, but others are being

sold to the governments of Israel and Chile. One or two are on their way to

the nation of Brunei where the king has ordered the craft to be fitted with

plush carpeting, surround-sound stereo and on-board dining facilities.

In October of 1989, Sikorsky began building the Black Hawk UH-60L, which

operates with 24 percent more power than the original model. The huge bird is

powered by two turbine engines and can reach a maximum cruise speed of nearly

195 knots. On a standard day, the Black Hawk can reach an altitude of 11,125

feet, about two miles.