BLOOMFIELD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Kaman Aerosystems (“Kaman”) (NYSE:KAMN) announced today that a successful first flight of a K-MAX® helicopter from the newly reopened commercial production line took place on Friday, May 12, 2017. Delivery of the first two production aircraft to customer Lectern Aviation of China for a firefighting mission is scheduled to occur in the next few weeks.
“Thanks to the expertise and hard work of the men and women working on the aircraft the first flight went extremely smoothly,” said Bill Hart, Kaman Chief Pilot. “This new aircraft performed flawlessly and I look forward to successfully completing our production flight test schedule over the coming weeks.”
K-MAX® aircraft from the re-opened production line have been ordered by customers from around the world including China, Europe and North America. The aircraft is currently in use worldwide for firefighting, logging and other missions requiring repetitive aerial lift capabilities. The U.S. Marine Corps maintains two unmanned K-MAX® aircraft developed with Lockheed Martin. These aircraft successfully supported the U.S. Marine Corps in Afghanistan for thirty-three months from 2011-2014 carrying more than 4.5 million pounds of cargo. Additional unmanned firefighting and humanitarian missions for K-MAX® are also being developed and tested.
Development of the K-MAX® was led by Kaman founder and former CEO, aviation pioneer Charlies H. Kaman, and received Federal Aviation Administration certification in 1994. The single-engine, single-seat K-MAX® is a rugged low-maintenance aircraft that features a counter-rotating rotor system and is optimized for external load operations and designed specifically for vertical reference flight. The aircraft can lift up to 6,000 pounds (2,722 kg).
About Kaman Aerosystems
Kaman Aerosystems is a division of the Aerospace segment of Kaman Corporation (NYSE:KAMN), which was founded in 1945 by aviation pioneer Charles H. Kaman. Headquartered in Bloomfield, Connecticut, Kaman Corporation conducts business in the aerospace and distribution markets. Kaman Corporation (NYSE:KAMN), which was founded in 1945 by aviation pioneer Charles H. Kaman. Headquartered in Bloomfield, Connecticut, Kaman Corporation conducts business in the aerospace and distribution markets. The company produces and/or markets widely used proprietary aircraft bearings and components; super precision, miniature ball bearings; complex metallic and composite aerostructures for commercial, military and general aviation fixed and rotary wing aircraft; aerostructure engineering design analysis and FAA certification services; safe and arm solutions for missile and bomb systems for the U.S. and allied militaries; subcontract helicopter work; production of the K-MAX medium-to-heavy lift helicopter and support for the company's SH-2G Super Seasprite maritime aircraft. More information is available at www.kaman.com.
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