New "Marine One" test aircraft makes first White House landing

[beddoe]

OWEGO, N.Y. A test model of the next-generation presidential helicopter has made its first landing at the White House.
The major milestone in the development of the new Marine One aircraft happened without fanfare on January 13th. Robert Kimble -- deputy program manager for the U-S Navy -- today said the White House tests were conducted to help understand the "effects of a new helicopter going on the South Lawn."

Kimble told Binghamton radio station W-N-B-F the test vehicle was used to make calibrations to compare the operation of the upgraded helicopter to the model now being used to transport the president.

The test model has been flown to Lockheed Martin's Owego plant in recent months for antenna testing and other systems integration evaluations. Lockheed was awarded the one-point-seven (b) billion dollar Marine One contract two years ago this weekend.

Kimble says the goal remains to have the first new presidential helicopter delivered to the White House by October 2009.

(Bob Joseph, WNBF, Binghamton)

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

http://www.wcax.com/global/story.asp...Type=Printable

[orlando ingvold]

If I remember it even somewhat correctly, always in doubt then and especially now, there was an attempt to see what the affect to the White House would be when an H-53 landed on the primary spot. This would have been in the early 1970's. Thoughts were that we needed to get a replacement for the old H-3's we were flying then. The 53 has lots of room for lots of people and stuff. However, the rotor wash blew off branches or blew down a tree someone named Adams had planted. That seemed to end the idea of using a 53 in that mission.

Lanny