A luxury helibus created by Sikorsky
Originating in the US, the Sikorsky S-92 Helibus is an animal of a luxury helicopter. It requires a crew of 3 (pilot, co-pilot and observer) and can carry up to 19 additional passengers. Some of the luxury business jets do not even carry 19 passengers!
The powerplant of this beast is powered by 2 General Electric CT7-8A turboshaft engines which give the helibus a whopping 165 KTAS (190 mph) and a cruising speed of 151 KTAS (174 mph). It weighs 15,500 lbs and has a maximum payload capacity of 11,000 which means if the fully loaded weight is 26,500, it can still take off. At this weight if it was fully fueled, the range would be 539 miles at 14,000 ft. As far as size itself goes, the chopper is 56 ft 2 in. long and 15 ft 5 in. high. It has four rotor blades that are each 2 inches longer than the chopper is.
This helibus was first made in 1998 by Sikorsky Aircraft. It is a redesign from the original Sikorsky S-70 and is currently sold world-wide for both civil and government use. Alongside normal military practice exercises, this helicopter is also one that is used for search and rescue missions. There are currently 3 major users of this craft: CHC Helicopter, Bristow Helicopters and Cougar Helicopters.
If you were to be in the market to purchase one of these, you can look at spending around $15.3 million in US dollars. You can however get one of these if you have a mind to do so. Simply contact the Sikorsky Aircraft headquarters and see about placing your order. Your contemporaries will be hard pressed to keep up with you if you are flying around in one of these monsters!
