CHENNAI, India - 

Sikorsky Aircraft’s S-92^®“Legacy of Heroes” (LOH) demonstration helicopter today commenced the India leg of its worldwide tour. The helicopter will appear on display at Chennai’s Meenambakkam Airport on March 26 and 27. Sikorsky is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE:UTX).

The Legacy of Heroes tour has been logging an exciting journey for Sikorsky. At each stop, visitors to the Sikorsky S-92 helicopter have had a chance to experience it, step inside, interact with the pilots and crew, and even sign a portion of the aircraft, thus becoming part of an interactive “postcard” to the world. The tour will have an extended visit in India, and after Chennai will visit Bangalore, Hyderabad, New Delhi and Mumbai.

“Sikorsky helicopters have been operating in India for quite some time; in fact, the first helicopter inducted into the Indian Air Force in 1954 was a Sikorsky. When search-and-rescue crews across the world need the ultimate in flexibility and performance, they turn to the Sikorsky S-92 helicopter, and when Sikorsky needed the best facility to build cabins for the S-92, we turned to India,” said Air Vice Marshal (Retd) Arvind Walia, Executive Vice President, India & South Asia, Sikorsky.

Shane Eddy, Sikorsky Vice President, Global Supply Chain, added: “India has the advantage of a talent pool and a manufacturing base, which have become a growing part of Sikorsky’s global supply chain. This advantage can help Sikorsky and our Indian suppliers and partners address the regional and global demand for helicopters.”

Stacy Sheard, Pilot for the S-92 Legacy of Heroes tour, noted, “Since its earliest helicopters, Sikorsky has routinely been the first to arrive on the scene of natural disasters and other emergency, life-threatening situations. The Legacy of Heroes demo tour gives us the opportunity to share the success stories of the extraordinary people who use Sikorsky helicopters and to introduce the aircraft capabilities and product solutions to those who may be unfamiliar with them.”

S-92 helicopters perform search and rescue missions as well as a variety of transportation missions for VIPs including Heads of State, offshore oil and gas crews, utility and airline passengers.

The Legacy of Heroes tour highlights the importance of helicopters as a rescue tool to save lives, and Sikorsky will recognize those who fly such important missions during the tour. The India tour also will feature several demonstrations of the helicopter for commercial and military customers. Sikorsky’s off-the-shelf proven helicopters are well-suited for India’s climate, size, topography, developing infrastructure and diverse mission requirements.

Sikorsky Aircraft, based in Stratford, Conn., U.S.A., is a world leader in helicopter design, manufacture, and service. United Technologies Corp., based in Hartford, Conn., U.S.A., provides a broad range of high technology products and support services to the aerospace and building systems industries.

Sikorsky has created a microsite on the Internet to provide regular updates on the tour’s activities. The microsite offers blog reports from crew members and other highlights including photos and videos of the tour activities. It can be accessed at www.SikorskyLegacy.com.