speed or increase maneuverability. The S-67 was fitted with a moving map display, a hands-on-collective radio tune control, and night vision systems. Its armament included a Tactical Armament Turret (TAT-140) with a three barrel cannon, and could carry 16 TOW missiles, rockets, or AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles. The Blackhawk was powered by two General Electric T58-GE-5 engines. Operational history Evaluation and records The S-67 Blackhawk, along with the Bell 309 KingCobra, was put through a series of flight test evaluations in 1972 by the U.S. Army. Neither aircraft was selected to replace the AH-56 Cheyenne. Instead, the Army chose to create the new Advanced Attack Helicopter program, which would lead to the AH-64 Apache several years later. The S-67 performed a series of aerobatic maneuvers during its various marketing tours, including rolls, split-S, and loops. The S-67 was reputed to be very smooth and responsive, in spite of its size and speed. Piloted by Sikorsky Test Pilots Kurt Cannon and Byron Graham, the S-67 established two E-1 class world speed records on 14 December 1970 by flying at over a course, and on course on 19 December 1970. These records stood for eight years. As part of internal Sikorsky R&D efforts, in 1974, the S-67 had a ducted fan fitted instead of its original conventional tail rotor. The S-67 with fan was tested over 29 flight hours to compare to the conventional tail. In this configuration it reached a speed of in a test dive. The original tail rotor and vertical tail fin were re-installed in August 1974. Fatal crash and aftermath The lone S-67 prototype crashed while conducting a low-level aerobatic demonstration at the Farnborough Airshow on 1 September 1974. The crew misjudged their pitch in a low-level roll maneuver causing the nose to drop below the horizon: they attempted to recover from their inverted position by performing a Split S maneuver, but they were too close to the ground. The aircraft struck the ground in a level attitude and immediately burst into flames. Sikorsky test pilot Stu Craig died on impact, and test pilot Kurt Cannon died nine days later from his injuries. Development work on the S-67 ceased after the accident. The U.S. Army later assigned the name Black Hawk to the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter. Specifications (S-67 Blackhawk) See also References Notes Bibliography Derived from text at Historic U.S. Army Helicopters - Modern era helicopters