Sikorsky Says Presidential Copter Would Be U.S.-Made

Yahoo Finance ^ | 7 Jan 2004 | J. Lynn Lunsford

[ladtx]

Interesting and good news. This will keep some of us busy for a while.

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[ladtx]

Shameless bump for the sector that provides bread for me and mine.

[Willie Green]

Kudos to Sikorsky,
but I bet Dubya opts for the import.

[ladtx]

Dubya has no say on selection.

[Rubber_Duckie_27]

The Presidential helicopters *should* be US-made!

Sikorsky makes excellent helicopters and has been constructing and upgrading the Presidential helicopters for a long time now. They have the experience to continue to have that honor.

[presidio9]

[My2Cents]

[Khurkris]

A big Ol rotary wing bump to keep it Sikorsky!

Augusta is a b*tch of a company to deal with, will not provide support docs for service/maintenance (must be 'factory' serviced-$$$$$$$)and components are not stock USA/DoD inventory.

Keep it SIKORSKY.

[Pest]

Interesting tidbit:

Sikorsky was actually the first helicopter to be produced in the U.S. It was made during WWII by the Kelvinator refrigerator company in Grand Rapids and Detroit, MI. By war's end, more than half the helicopters delivered to the Allies had been manufactured in Michigan.

[Willie Green]

Dubya has no say on selection.

Poppycock.

Rumsfeld Holds Out Against Buy America Weapons Policy

[ladtx]

You can say "poppycock" all day but once the contract has been put out for bids without specifying US manufacturers and teams are assembled there's not much Rumsfeld can do other than try to influence selection under the table, and he knows better than that.

[Willie Green]

The only way Sikorsky can submit a competitive bid is if they hire illegal immigrants who've been granted amnesty, and hang out a sign that American citizens need not apply.

[ladtx]

Any particular reason you're so pessimistic? Sikorsky will be competitive because of the quality of their product in conjunction with the quality of the other companies with which they are teamed. Believe it or not the contract does not always go to the lowest bidder.

[Poohbah]

The only way Sikorsky can submit a competitive bid is if they hire illegal immigrants who've been granted amnesty, and hang out a sign that American citizens need not apply.

Actually, they're going up against the same Euro-peons who are moving factories to America to lower THEIR cost of business.

The DoD worships the holy trinity of cost, performance, and schedule. From people I've talked to in the helicopter biz, Augusta delivers the least performance for the most cost and on the longest schedule. Only if they engage in a massive buy-in--in other words, deliberately take a loss on the entirety of the contract--will Augusta actually submit a winning bid.

What chaps me is that Sikorsky never type-certified the S-65 with the FAA (the S-65 is known in the USMC as the CH-53E Super Stallion, and it is probably the best damn heavy-lift helicopter in the world).

[Willie Green]

Any particular reason you're so pessimistic?

It's against Administration policy to buy American.
Karl Rove would rather have his staffers working overtime at the shipping ports, stuffing foreign components into falsely labeled "Made In USA" boxes.

Backdrop Hides `Made in China' Labels
PHOTO-OP COVER-UP: BOXES READ 'MADE IN CHINA' NOT 'MADE IN USA'!

[Khurkris]

www.sikorsky.com

I tried to post a link and am unable. Their web site is very interesting

[Khurkris]

"The only way Sikorsky can submit a competitive bid is if they hire illegal immigrants who've been granted amnesty, and hang out a sign that American citizens need not apply."

Why in the world would you post such allegations as this? What info do you have to verify this post? Tell us...What are your sources?

[Willie Green]

President Bush Proposes New Temporary Worker Program [Transcript]

[Khurkris]

Sorry..this in no way supports your allegations about Sikorsky. Nice try. Got anything else?