Article: New Presidential Helicopter Completes 40-Minute Maiden Flight.

By Geoff Fein

VH-71, the Navy's next presidential helicopter being built by the industry team of Lockheed Martin [LMT], AgustaWestland, and Bell Helicopter Textron [TXT], made its maiden flight recently at AgustaWestland's United Kingdom facility, according to VH-71 industry team statement.

During the 40-minute flight, AgustaWestland test pilots performed general aircraft handling checks, tested flight characteristics at varying speeds up to 135 knots, and evaluated the on-board avionics systems, the team reported.

Initial Operational Capability (IOC) of the presidential helicopter is scheduled for late 2009, according to the VH-71 ...

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