Sikorsky sells Eclipse Aerospace stake – is PZL-Mielec next?

Sikorsky sells Eclipse Aerospace stake – is PZL-Mielec next?

27-Apr-2015 Source: HeliHub.com

As parent company UTC prepares Sikorsky for sale, it would appear that they are “tidying up” to ensure a smooth transfer process to a new owner. One part of this has been to sell their stake in Eclipse Aerospace, a manufacturer of VLJs (Very Light Jets), which they purchased in February 2011.

At the Sun ‘n Fun event in Florida last week Eclipse Aerospace and Kestrel Aircraft announced they had merged under the name One Aviation – Kestrel builds the K350 single engine turboprop. Journalists at the event reported that part of this transaction saw Sikorsky reversing out, and the production of Eclipse 550 fuselages and tails are now being taken in-house to Eclipse’s facility in New Mexico, rather than at Sikorsky’s PZL-Mielec plant in Poland.

Last week also saw the Polish military pick the Airbus H225M over the AgustaWestland AW149 and Sikorsky UH-60 as its preferred helicopter going forward, and while that is not a final contract, it does cast questions over the future of Sikorsky’s investment in Poland. While the PZL-Mielec plant produces S70i and UH-60M helicopters and some parts, it would be easy to outsource the parts production elsewhere as it has with S76 fuselages in the Czech Republic and S92 fuselages in India.

Is PZL-Mielec next on the spring cleaning list? The other aircraft produced at Mielec, principally the M18 agricultural plane and the 19-seater M28 Dromader passenger/cargo are peripheral to the American helicopter manufacturer and this Eastern European subsidiary must be high on the priority for early disposal.

Jeremy Parkin – HeliHub.com

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