John

While returning from Operation Iraqi Freedom in late 2003, an email from John’s commanding officer, a former Sikorsky engineer, landed him an interview with Sikorsky. Twenty-three years later John has completed the flight test development of the CH-53K, the very replacement to the helicopter he once flew, the venerable CH-53E Super Stallion. Join us for a discussion of lessons John brought to Sikorsky from the fleet and the challenges of developing a new aircraft.

Biography:

John Rucci is a senior experimental test pilot at Sikorsky Aircraft, best known for his work on the CH-53K King Stallion heavy-lift helicopter. By 2020 he had spent 30 years flying helicopters, in the U.S. Marine Corps and then as a Sikorsky test pilot. In 2019 he joined Sikorsky's president at the Paris Air Show to brief reporters, working with them on the CH-53K flight simulator. More recently, he was one of the pilots on board for test runs of an autonomous firefighting Fire Hawk helicopter.

Address:United States