HYDERABAD, India - 

Sikorsky Aircraft’s S-92^® “Legacy of Heroes” (LOH) demonstration helicopter will visit Hyderabad this week, hosting customers and recognizing local heroes while the aircraft is at Begumpet Airport on April 2 and 3. The aircraft recently began the India leg of its worldwide tour with activities last week in Chennai and Bangaluru. Sikorsky is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE:UTX).

The Legacy of Heroes tour has been logging an exciting journey for Sikorsky. Visitors to the Sikorsky S-92 “Legacy One” helicopter have had a chance to experience it, step inside, interact with the pilots and crew, and sign a portion of the aircraft, thus becoming part of an interactive “postcard” to the world. The tour is on an extended visit in India, with visits scheduled in the coming weeks to New Delhi and Mumbai.

“Sikorsky helicopters have been operating in India for 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 offers 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 its Indian suppliers and partners address the regional and global demand for helicopters.”

Stacy Sheard, Pilot for the S-92 Legacy of Heroes tour, said, “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 is recognizing 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, 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.