I was rather sad to read that Sikorsky is shuttering production of the S-76 helicopter.  The design first flew over 40 years ago but it has gone through a number of upgrades over the years.  It is a sleek looking machine and quite a bit larger than it might initially appear.  My first encounter with one was on the school fields of my high school when it was parked after bringing some people in for Cowes Week.  I got to chat with the pilot for a while.  No camera in those days, though.

When I worked in London, they had replaced the Queens Flight Wessex airframes with a pair of S-76s in a maroon color and they would often fly past our building as they landed at the palace.  I have had various other times when I have seen them since but not a huge number.  The most recent version is the S-76D which replaced the S-76C++ (catchy name, huh?).  It has not sold particularly well and the development program was rather protracted.  Without many customers, Sikorsky has called time for now.  Whether it gets resurrected in the future – perhaps with production at their facility in Poland – we shall see.