AERO Finalizes 200th Sikorsky S-76C Helicopter

Aero Vodochody, AERO Vodochody a.s. finalizes already the 200th S-76C helicopter for Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation (SAC). “The S-76C production is the largest program of AERO Vodochody in the field of aerostructures, which represent a key part of the current strategy of our company. The aim of AERO is to reach orders with high value added on the position of a first-tier supplier,” said Peter Ondro, President of AERO. 
 
“AERO launched production for SAC in the year 2000. The first 100 helicopters were produced in five years (100th unit was expedited in March 2006), the second hundred in two. The pace of the S-76C helicopter production rises every year,” said Monika Vajnerova, Vice-president for Aerostructures in AERO. “This year, we will deliver again more than 50 units,” she added. 
 
AERO produces the complete S-76C helicopter excluding dynamic parts. The assembly includes airframe assembly, installations of hydraulic and electronic systems as well as avionics, and following ground tests of the installed systems. 
 
The helicopters are transported from AERO by land to Bremerhaven, Germany, from where they are shipped to the United States. Finalization works are carried out on the final production line of SAC in Stratford. 
 
AERO has also produced airframes of the new D type of the S-76 helicopter, which is currently in development phase. 
 
AERO cooperates besides SAC with other world leading aerospace manufacturers, such as Alenia Aeronautica (C-27J Spartan Center Wing Box), Latecoere (Embraer 170/190 subassemblies), Boeing Company (F-18 Gun Bay Door), Spirit Aerosystems (B747 subassemblies), EADS (A320/A340 subassemblies) or Vought Aircraft Industries (B747 parts). 
 
AERO Vodochody a.s. is the largest aerospace manufacturer in the Czech Republic. 100 % of the shares of the company are held by private equity group Penta, which in 2007 successfully finished the restructuring project of AERO, the main result of which is profit reached, exceeding CZK 200 million (compared to the loss of 2006 in the amount of CZK 964.3 million).