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| Black Hawk: The Story of a World Class Helicopter |
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Ray D. Leoni
Library of Flight Series
Published by AIAA, © 2007, 325 pages, Paperback
ISBN-10: 1-56347-918-4
ISBN-13: 978-1-56347-918-2
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AIAA Member Price:
$29.95
List Price:
$39.95
AIAA Members Save 25%!
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This story tells, in clear detail, how Sikorsky Aircraft developed, tested, modified, and produced one of the most successful helicopters in the world. Written by the man considered to be the father of the Black Hawk, Ray Leoni explains how Sikorsky used innovative designs and advanced technologies to meet the Army’s stringent specifications for aircraft performance, survivability and reliability. With its creative Black Hawk design, Sikorsky won an uphill, highly-contested battle for one of the world’s largest helicopter programs, which reestablished the company as a leader in the world community of helicopter producers. Black Hawk variants have been put in service by every branch of the U.S. military and by over 24 countries around the world, accumulating over 5 million flight hours. Through its combat service in the campaigns of Granada, Panama, Somalia, Afghanistan and Iraq, the Black Hawk has demonstrated unprecedented mission versatility and survivability and proven itself to be an outstanding war-fighting machine that will serve for a half century or longer. In the best tradition and vision of Igor Sikorsky, Black Hawks are performing world-wide rescue and humanitarian missions, saving countless lives and providing relief from natural and manmade disasters to thousands of people across the globe.
The Army program began in 1972 with the issuance of Requests for Proposals for the Utility Tactical Transport Aircraft System to the U.S. helicopter industry. Boeing Vertol and Sikorsky both were awarded contracts to design and build prototype Black Hawks for Army side-by-side evaluation. Those awards set off an intense four-year competition between the two companies that culminated in the final production selection in 1976. That competition focused on developing the best possible helicopter to offer for production selection by the Army following a seven-month fly off evaluation. During this critical evaluation, a night-time crash of one of Sikorsky’s three prototypes occurred with 14 Army personnel aboard. This book explores the cause and results of that crash, and describes how its consequences actually strengthened Sikorsky’s competitive position. It also describes in considerable technical detail the problems Sikorsky encountered during prototype development in vibration, speed performance, maneuverability and handling qualities, and how they were solved in time for the production award. Many of the key people responsible for the success of the Black Hawk program are identified throughout this book.
Readers will benefit from the unique insights into the challenges of helicopter development as well as the successful management strategies presented in this book.
About the Author:
Ray Leoni’s professional career was with Sikorsky Aircraft from college graduation, through 41 years of service and three years of advance design consulting work, until his retirement. He started as a design engineer of helicopter transmission and rotor systems and later became a designer participating in new V/STOL concepts and helicopter designs. He conducted concept formulation studies for the Army UTTAS program and led the team whose design was proposed to the Army for what later became the BLACK HAWK helicopter. After contract award to Sikorsky for the BLACK HAWK prototype program, Mr. Leoni was appointed Program Engineering Manager responsible for all BLACK HAWK engineering design and test activities. He was awarded the design patent for BLACK HAWK as well as nine other patents. He also served as Program Manager through the later stages of development until Sikorsky won the BLACK HAWK production contract. Mr. Leoni was appointed Vice President for Research and Engineering shortly after his BLACK HAWK assignments and later became Senior Vice President, Engineering and Advanced Programs.
Mr. Leoni received his Bachelor of Science degree in engineering from Brown University and Master of Engineering degree from Yale University. A long time member of the American Helicopter Society he received an AHS Fellow Award in 1990. He is also a member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and serves as a trustee of the Igor I. Sikorsky Historical Archives, Inc.
Here's what the reviewers are saying:
Ray Leoni’s fine book is the story behind the Black Hawk written by the Sikorsky engineer who helped develop it from a concept to one of the most successful programs in Army aviation. The story of this helicopter is must reading for anyone interested in the challenges of designing and developing a new generation aircraft as well as in the strategies used by Sikorsky to win the most important award in its history.-- Rhett Flater, Executive Director, American Helicopter Society International
This is truly a landmark book. In writing Black Hawk: The Story of a World Class Helicopter, Leoni has done a great service not only to the helicopter community, but to the larger aerospace community as well. He has laid out in exquisite detail not only what worked, but what didn't. Many of the timeless lessons learned outlined here are applicable across a broad spectrum of the aerospace industry. One could only hope that every aircraft development program would write a book like this!--Mike Hirschberg, Managing Editor, Vertiflite
From its Vietnam experience, the Army knew exactly what it wanted in its new Utility Transport Helicopter, the Black Hawk. Its requirements for performance, reliability and survivability were unprecedented. In a fly before you buy competition, Sikorsky was the winner over Boeing. The author, whose name is on the Black Hawk patent, brilliantly reveals the issues, struggles and ultimate success in producing arguably the world’s finest helicopter.--Bill Paul, Sikorsky Aircraft President, Retired
An open letter to Ray Leoni regarding his book titled Black Hawk: The Story of a World Class Helicopter: Thanks for producing one of the greatest battle implements ever designed
- and a product that has even more value when used for humanitarian purposes. It is a historic machine - that would not have been possible
without iron willed men of vision who possessed persistence, virtue and wisdom. Your book preserves their story and describes their efforts,
the concepts and the arguments for our progeny - It is the technical history of a great achievement - something that has rarely been captured in the history of man. I send these thanks as one who used the Black Hawk in both peace and war personally.--Very Respectfully, Patrick Sheahan, U.S. Army Black Hawk Pilot, Retired
The technical difficulties of developing a successful rotorcraft are neither well-known nor well appreciated, not even within the aerospace industry. The simple fact is that helicopters are far more complicated than their fixed-wing counterparts for similar missions with similar payloads. One of the beautiful aspects of this book is the interesting detailed descriptions and explanations that Ray Leoni has used to help the reader understand the science as well as the art of helicopter design. If you want to understand rotorcraft development, this is "must-read" book.--Charles Crawford, U.S. Army Flight Standards, Retired
A creative new helicopter design from Sikorsky won the huge Black Hawk development and production program, but it also took new management, a change in company culture and all-out support from Sikorsky's parent UTC. The result was a reversal of a 15 year decline in Sikorsky's production [down to near zero] to a position of world leadership. This is a remarkable story of technology and management, that should be read. -- John A. McKenna, retired Sikorsky Executive Vice President
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Table of Contents:
- Foreword by Sergei Sikorsky
- Dedication
- Acknowledgments
- Preface by Charles C. Crawford
- Chapter 1: Black Hawk Overview
- Chapter 2: A Matter of Survival
- Chapter 3: Designing a Winner
- Chapter 4: The Right Rotors
- Chapter 5: Designed to Survive
- Chapter 6: Drawing Board to First Flight
- Chapter 7: "To Make it Fly is Everything"
- Chapter 8: The Army Fly-Off
- Chapter 9: Final Selection and Production
- Chapter 10: The Black Hawk Lineage
- Chapter 11: International Hawks
- Bibliography
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