On 13 March 1977, the prototype of the Sikorsky S-76 medium-size utility rotorcraft performed its first flight.
The development of the S-76 helicopter began in the mid-1970s and, initially, the rotorcraft was known as the S-74. However, over time its designation was changed to S-76 in honour of the US Bicentennial – a series of celebrations of historical events that led to the creation of the United States as an independent republic.
Although its design included rotor head and blade technology derived from the S-70 rotorcraft (also known as the UH-60 Black Hawk), the S-76 was the first helicopter developed by the Sikorsky company intended entirely to meet the needs of the civilian and commercial markets. The initial concept was to create a medium-sized rotorcraft suitable for corporate transport (a six-passenger VIP variant), as well as for use by the oil industry (a twelve-passenger version) to transport workers to offshore rigs.
On 27 February 1979, the first example of the helicopter was delivered to its owner – Air Logistics of New Iberia, Louisiana. At the end of 1978, the S-76 received its official name, Spirit. However, on 9 October 1980 the name was dropped by the manufacturer, reportedly due to problems with its translation in some foreign languages.
Over the years, a total of twelve variants and sub-variants of the S-76 helicopter have been developed, including two military rotorcraft – the AUH-76 Dragon Lady (an armed utility transport version of the S-76 Mk II) and the H-76 Eagle (a militarised version of the S-76B suitable for naval operations). In 1982, the S-76A set as many as twelve aviation world records for speed, range and time to climb in its weight class, reaching a maximum speed of 345.7 kph (214.8 mph) over a closed course of 500 kilometres (311 miles). In June 1995, the Australian entrepreneur and pilot Dick Smith flew an S-76 around the world from east to west, making it the first helicopter ever to circumnavigate the globe in that direction.
Serial production of the rotorcraft ceased in April 2022. By that time, Sikorsky had produced just over 875 examples belonging to the S-76 family.
More information about the Sikorsky S-76 helicopter can be found in our article from the Photo of the Week series, Sikorsky S-76B.
