Despite high costs, Sikorsky not flying out of state

Hundreds of employee cars fill the parking lots at Sikorsky Helicopters in Stratford. Photo: Brian A. Pounds / Connecticut Post

A Sikorsky UH-60M Black Hawk sits partialy built on the line in the Military Assembly Building at Sikorsky Aircraft in Stratford in 2008. Photo: Ned Gerard / Connecticut Post

A Sikorsky UH-60M Black Hawk sits partialy built on the line in the Military Assembly Building at Sikorsky Aircraft in Stratford in 2008. Photo: Ned Gerard / Connecticut Post

A Black Hawk lands at Sikorsky Aircraft, in Stratford, Conn. on March 24th, 2010. Morgan Kaolian AEROPIX Photo: Morgan Kaolian AEROPIX / Morgan Kaolian AEROPIX

Sikorsky Aircraft in Stratford. Morgan Kaolian AEROPIX Photo: Morgan Kaolian AEROPIX / Morgan Kaolian AEROPIX

A Sikorsky UH-60M Black Hawk sits partialy built on the line in the Military Assembly Building at Sikorsky Aircraft in Stratford in 2008. Photo: Ned Gerard / Connecticut Post

A Sikorsky UH-60M Black Hawk sits partialy built on the line in the Military Assembly Building at Sikorsky Aircraft in Stratford in 2008. Photo: Ned Gerard / Connecticut Post

Sikorsky's UH-60M Black Hawk for the U.S. Army (left), and MH-60S Seahawk for the U.S. Navy (right), seen here in the Military Hangar at Sikorsky Aircraft in Stratford in 2008. Photo: Ned Gerard / Connecticut Post

A new Sikorsky UH-60M Black Hawk Helicopter, which was delivered to the U.S. Army during a ceremony at Sikorsky Aircraft in Stratford in 2006. Photo: Ned Gerard / Connecticut Post

Sikorsky Aircraft President Jeffrey P. Pino speaks during a 2008 ceremony marking the signing of multi-year VII contracts for H-60 Black Hawk (seen here right) and Seahawk (seen here left) helicopters for the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy. Photo: Ned Gerard / Connecticut Post

Workers assemble a new S92 helicopter at Sikorsky Aircraft, in Stratford, Conn. in 2004. Photo: Phil Noel / Connecticut Post

A U.S. military medical evacuation helicopter flies over Baghdad, Iraq, near to sunset Monday, April 4, 2005. Earlier Monday, a suicide bomber blew up a tractor in the second attack in three days near the infamous Abu Ghraib prison on the outskirts of Baghdad.(AP Photo / Jim MacMillan) Photo: JIM MACMILLAN, AP / AP

A Sikorsky Black Hawk practices approaches at Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Stratford in 2002. Photo: Ned Gerard / Connecticut Post

United States Marines CSSG-11 2nd Lt. Douglas Watts, left, of Gretna, La., left, and Staff Sgt. Chia Cha of Fresno, Calif, watch a CH-53E Sea Stallion helicopter take off from a pickup zone in southern Iraq Friday, March 28, 2003. The aircraft, along with several others from the Marines and Air Force, fanned out across Iraq Friday delivering overdue supplies and troops that were held up because of several days of dust and sand storms. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson) Photo: JULIE JACOBSON, AP / AP

** FILE ** United States Marine Corps CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopters make their approach for landing at Cibola High School in this Oct. 18, 2003 file photo, in Yuma, Ariz., during a mock evacuation as a part of the Marine Corps' Weapons and Tactics Instructor course. A U.S. Marine CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopter transporting troops to western Iraq crashed Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2005 in the western desert, the U.S. military said. A U.S. spokesman said there were casualties but gave no figures. (AP Photo/The Sun, Charles Whitehouse, File) Photo: CHARLES WHITEHOUSE, AP / THE SUN

A resident is rescued by helicopter from the floodwaters of Hurricane Katrina Thursday, Sept. 1, 2005 in New Orleans. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) Photo: DAVID J. PHILLIP, AP / AP POOL

Sikorky's VH-92 presidential demonstrator helicopter lands in front of the company's Stratford, Conn. headquarters Monday July 12th, 2004. The VH-92 will compete to become the new presidential helicopter. Sikorsky has built and maintained the presidential helicopter fleet since 1957. (Connecticut Post / Phil Noel) Photo: Phil Noel / Connecticut Post

In this Thursday March 4, 2010 photo, medics carry a wounded U.S. Marine to a waiting U.S. Army 82nd Airborne medevac helicopter for transfer from a combat outpost field hospital to a larger facility farther away, in Helmand province, Afghanistan. Pegasus crews provide medical evacuation of wounded combatants and civilians. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley) Photo: Brennan Linsley, ASSOCIATED PRESS / AP2010

** FILE ** A U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter takes off at Rinas Airport in Tirana, Albania, in this May 3, 1999 file photo. Iraqis shot down an Army Black Hawk helicopter with small-arms fire near Karbala, about 50 miles south of Baghdad, defense officials said Wednesday April 2, 2003. Seven soldiers were killed and four were wounded and rescued, officials said.(AP Photo/U.S. Air Force, Staff Sergeant Angela Stafford) Photo: ANGELA STAFFORD, AP / USAF

U.S. Navy personnel from the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln load food, water and other supplies onto their Seahawk helicopter at Banda Aceh airport for sorties to earthquake-tsunami victims Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2005 in northwest Indonesia. The U.S. military has conducted the largest relief operation since the Vietnam war following last Sunday's catastrophe in Asia that killed about 140,000 people, with Indonesia suffering the most number of casualties of more than 94,000. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez) Photo: BULLIT MARQUEZ, AP / AP

A Coast Guard helicopter rescues a resident from the rooftop of a home surrounded by floodwaters from Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2005. (AP Photo/The Dallas Morning News, Smiley N. Pool) Photo: SMILEY N. POOL, AP / THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS

An unidentified flight crew prepares the specially modified Sikorsky VH-92 presidential helicopter, back, for a flight, Wednesday, March 10, 2004 at Washington Dulles Airport in Chantilly, Va. Competition for the right to build the presidential helicopter soared Wednesday as the two companies vying for the contract, Sikorsky and Lockheed-Martin, showed off their product. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) Photo: MANUEL BALCE CENETA, AP / AP

President Barack Obama aboard Marine One, top, flies over the helicopter carrying his US Secret Service detail, as he prepares to land at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Monday, March 15, 2010. The helicopter carrying the Secret Service agents had just landed. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen) Photo: Cliff Owen, ASSOCIATED PRESS / AP2010

Members of the 82nd Airborne Division rappel from a Blackhawk helicopter at the Joint Service Open House at Andrews Air Force Base in Camp Springs, Md., Saturday, May 17, 2003. (AP Photo/The Washington Times, J.M. Eddins Jr.) Photo: J.M. EDDINS JR., AP / THE WASHINGTON TIMES

The Pride of Baltimore II sails along the St. Johns River near the Dames Point Bridge with a U.S. Navy Seahawk helicopter flying over, Wednesday, May 14, 2003, to participate in this weekend's Tall Ships festival in Jacksonville, Fla.(AP Photo/Florida Times-Union, Bob Mack) Photo: BOB MACK, AP / THE FLORIDA TIMES-UNION

A U.S. helicopter flies over one of four giant busts of Saddam Hussein at one of main palaces in Baghdad Tuesday Dec. 2, 2003. The four remaining statues were removed later in the day. (AP Photo/Petar Kujundzic/Pool) Photo: PETAR KUJUNDZIC, AP / REUTERS

** FILE ** A U.S. Marine Corps CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopter lands at Joe Henry Park in Yuma, Ariz. Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2004, during Operation Desert Talon, a training exercise to help Marine aviators in Iraq. A U.S. Marine CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopter transporting troops to western Iraq crashed Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2005 in the western desert, the U.S. military said. A U.S. spokesman said there were casualties but gave no figures. (AP Photo/The Sun, Charles Whitehouse, File) Photo: CHARLES WHITEHOUSE, AP / THE SUN

United States Navy helicopter lands over temporarily inactive F-18 Horents on the USS Abraham Lincoln off the northern coast of Indonesian province of Aceh, Wednesday Jan. 5, 2005. The USS Abraham Lincoln continued to run relief operations by helicopter to the province devastated by the Dec. 26 2004 tsunami wave. The helicopters are crucial to unknown numbers of survivors hanging on to life in isoltaed commmunites along the western coast of Sumatra. (AP Photo/Andy Eames) Photo: ANDY EAMES, AP / AP

A U.S. Navy Seahawk helicopter flies an emergency relief mission over tsunami devastated Aceh province, Indonesia, on Jan. 2, 2005. They may not have been endowed with sleek, space age lines, but between them the Hercules and the Seahawk are proving the stars of the aerial relief operation in Indonesia. (AP Photo/Andy Eames) Photo: ANDY EAMES, AP / AP

A U.S. Coast Guard is lowered to the deck of the Omiros, a Greek freighter carrying cement to the Port of Tampa, Sept. 11, 2003, in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida. Since March 2002, Coast Guard officers have searched scores of ships this way. The aim is to deter terrorist from using the nation's ports as a means of entry into the United States or from shipping chemicals or radioactive materials that can be used in terrorist attacks. The crew found no suspicious items in Thursday's search. (AP Photo/Jay Nolan, Pool) Photo: JAY NOLAN, AP / POOL TAMPA TRIBUNE

Gunnery Sgt. Daniel Villanueva keeps an eye on the front of a CH-53E Super Sea Stallion helicopter as it refuels after returning from a mission Friday, March 21, 2003 at an air base in the Gulf region. The Sea Stallions' primary mission during the US-led war on Iraq is to transport heavy equipment and troops to forward positions. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson) Photo: JULIE JACOBSON, AP / AP

A U.S. Army Blackhawk helicopter departs the Abu Ghraib Prison after dropping off a fresh group of prisoners at the facility on the outskirts of Baghdad, Iraq Wednesday, May 5, 2004.(AP Photo/John Moore) Photo: JOHN MOORE, AP / AP

A Homeland Security Black Hawk helicopter hovers after escorting a Cessna 150 airplane that was forced to land at the Frederick, Md., Airport Wednesday, May 11, 2005, after it entered restricted airspace and came within three miles of the White House. Two men in the aircraft, which relatives and friends said was on its way to a North Carolina air show, were taken into custody and interviewed by authorities at a Maryland airport where the plane landed after a military escort. (AP Photo/The Frederick News-Post, Bill Green) Photo: BILL GREEN, AP / THE FREDERICK NEWS-POST

A Coast Guard helicopter rescues a resident from the rooftop of a home surrounded by floodwaters from Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2005. (AP Photo/The Dallas Morning News, Smiley N. Pool) Photo: SMILEY N. POOL, AP / THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS

This image released by the US Navy Sunday Jan. 2, 2005 helicopters depart from the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) enroute to Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia. The helicopters are transporting supplies, bringing in disaster relief teams and supporting humanitarian airlifts to tsunami-stricken coastal regions. The Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group is currently operating in the Indian Ocean off the waters of Indonesia and Thailand. (AP Photo/U.S. Navy photo) Photo: AP / US NAVY VISUAL NEWS SERVICE

American marines airlift a vehicle back to their boat at Roberts International Airport in Monrovia, Liberia, Sunday, Aug. 24, 2003. A 150-strong U.S. Marine fighting force pulled back to warships off Liberia Sunday, ending significant American military deployment on the ground after 11 days. (AP Photo/Schalk van Zuydam) Photo: SCHALK VAN ZUYDAM, AP / AP

Marine One, carrying President Bush, takes an aerial tour over Lousiana in areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina, Friday, Sept. 2, 2005. Bush toured the Gulf Coast communities battered by Hurricane Katrina, hoping to boost the spirits of increasingly desperate storm victims and exhausted rescuers. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) Photo: SUSAN WALSH, AP / AP

In this photo released by the US Navy, Landing Signals Enlisted directs an SH-60B Seahawk assigned to the "Saberhawks" of Helicopter Anti-Submarine Light Squadron Four Seven to land on the flight deck of USS Abraham Lincoln following a trip to Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia for disaster relief missions, transporting supplies and supporting humanitarian airlifts to tsunami-stricken coastal regions. The Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group is currently operating in the Indian Ocean off the waters of Indonesia and Thailand. (AP Photo/image released by the U.S. Navy/Jeremie Yoder) Photo: JEREMIE YODER, AP / NAVY VISUAL NEWS

** FILE ** A U.S. Marine Corps CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopter lands at Joe Henry Park in Yuma, Ariz. Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2004, during Operation Desert Talon, a training exercise to help Marine aviators in Iraq. A U.S. Marine CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopter transporting troops to western Iraq crashed Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2005 in the western desert, the U.S. military said. A U.S. spokesman said there were casualties but gave no figures. (AP Photo/The Sun, Charles Whitehouse, File) Photo: CHARLES WHITEHOUSE, AP / THE SUN

A helicopter drops water on a hot spot in a forested area on the west side of the Rio Grande, in Albuquerque, N.M., Thursday, June 26, 2003. A suspected arson fire that charred about 800 forested acres along the Rio Grande was contained Thursday after helicopters dropped water to quell the flames. (AP Photo/Jake Schoellkopf) Photo: JAKE SCHOELLKOPF, AP / AP

A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter gives a rescue demonstration at the Wright Brothers National Memorial Monday, Dec. 15, 2003, in Kill Devil Hills, N.C., during the First Flight Centennial to honor the Wright brothers and 100-years of flight. (AP Photo/Bob Jordan) Photo: BOB JORDAN, AP / AP

In this photo released by the U.S. Army Friday, a U.S. Army UH60 Blackhawk helicopter from the 18th Aviation Brigade, XVIII Airborne Corps, of Fort Bragg, N.C., flies over Dhi Qar Province in southern Iraq, Wednesday March 16, 2005. Thursday, six U.S. soldiers were wounded in the northern city of Mosul when a convoy was attacked by a car bomber. (AP Photo/U.S. Army, Sgt. Michael J Carden) Photo: SGT MICHAEL J CARDEN, AP / US ARMY

This image provided by Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. shows Sikorsky's VH-92 Super Hawk, which is competing with Lockheed Martin Corp.'s US101, to be the new presidential helicopter Marine One. Friday, Jan. 28, 2005, the U.S. Navy is expected to announce who will get the $1.6 billion contract to produce 23 of the aircraft. The first new Marine Ones are expected to begin operating in October 2009. (AP Photo/Sikorsky Aircraft Corp./HO) Photo: AP / SIKORSKY AIRCRAFT CORP.

A US Blackhawk helicopter hovers very low above the Tigris River near the former Presidential Palace of ousted Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein located at the "Green Zone" in Baghdad, Iraq late afternoon Sunday March 7, 2004. Missiles were fired a few hours later Sunday towards the heavily-fortified Green Zone, a base for Coalition forces and civilian personnel, on the eve of the historic signing of the new Interim Iraqi Constitution. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla) Photo: HUSSEIN MALLA, AP / AP

Marine One, top, with President Bush aboard prepares to land at TSTC Airfield, Monday, Aug. 29, 2005 in Waco, Texas. Bush, who has been vacationing at his nearby Crawford, Texas ranch, is traveling to Arizona and California. (AP Photo/Duane A. Laverty) Photo: DUANE A. LAVERTY, AP / AP

Curious Iraqi residents gather around an idling U.S. Army Blackhawk helicopter as it waits for Col. Michael Linnington, commander of the 101st Airborne's 3rd Brigade to finish facilitating a meeting between Kurdish and Arab local leaders, outside a small village near Rabi Ah, northern Iraq, near the Syrian border, Saturday, May 17, 2003. Since the fall of Saddam Hussein, thousands of Kurds forced from their land by the former regime have tried to return, causing tensions with Arabs that U.S. forces areworking to quell. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley) Photo: BRENNAN LINSLEY, AP / AP

A Coast Guard helicopter rescues a resident from the rooftop of a home surrounded by floodwaters from Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2005. (AP Photo/The Dallas Morning News, Smiley N. Pool) Photo: SMILEY N. POOL, AP / THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS

In this handout photo from the U.S. Army, a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter slingloads a gator vehicle during Operation Valiant Strike in the Sami Ghar mountains of southern Kandahar province, Afghanistan, Tuesday, March 25, 2003. U.S.-led forces broadened a sweep of southeastern Afghanistan for terror suspects and their allies on Tuesday, a day after collecting a large cache of weapons that could have been used by rebel fighters, a U.S. Army spokesman said. (AP Photo/ U.S. Army, HO) Photo: AP / US ARMY

Pilots Lt. Sean Foss and Lt. j.g. Nate Rodenbargar land a U.S. Navy Seahawk helicopter on the flight deck of the USS Shiloh, a cruiser in the Persian Gulf, Sunday, March 23, 2003. As soldiers from the U.S.-led coalition move deeper into Iraq, the chance of an attack on warships in the Persian Gulf grows slimmer. But threats remain, and helicopters from the U.S. Navy are on the lookout, providing an extra set of eyes for ships in the Gulf. (AP Photo/Matthew Rosenberg) Photo: MATTHEW ROSENBERG, AP / AP

A Marine One helicopter carrying President Bush taxies before taking off from Fort Lewis, Wash., Friday, June 18, 2004 with Mt. Rainier in the background near Tacoma, Wash. Bush on Friday used a western campaign swing to compliment America's military for the fight against terrorism. From Fort Lewis, Bush traveled to Seattle and then was scheduled to board Air Force One and fly to Reno, Nev. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren) Photo: TED S. WARREN, AP / AP

A Marine Corps CH-53E Super Stallion sits on a helipad in front of the Sikorsky Aircraft plant in Stratford Monday in 2006. Sikorsky anounced the signing of a new $3 billion System Developement and Demonstration (SDD) contract with the Marines, which will begin planning and developement of a heavy-lift helicopter. This could lead to a production contract for 156 new CH-53K's, to replace an equal number of CH-53E's presently in the Marine Corp's inventory. Photo: Ned Gerard / Connecticut Post

Five Black hawk helicopters, out of eight total, of the Arizona Army National Guard Charlie Company land in formation Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2006, at the Papago Military Reservation in Phoenix. The helicopter crews that were deployed in Iraq for 14 months returned in November. They were returning to their base Tuesday after retrieving the helicopters from a base in Texas. (AP Photo/Paul Connors) Photo: PAUL CONNORS, AP / AP

Marine One arrives on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington with President Bush and first lady Laura Bush after attending the funeral for Coretta Scott King Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2006. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) Photo: GERALD HERBERT, AP / AP

A U.S. military Black Hawk helicopter flies over the heavily fortified Green Zone in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Dec. 21, 2006. A bomb killed an American soldier and two other U.S. Army servicemen died from combat injuries Thursday in Iraq. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic) save for CT POST / Conn Photo: DARKO VOJINOVIC, AP / AP

** FILE ** United States Marine Corps CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopters make their approach for landing at Cibola High School in this Oct. 18, 2003 file photo, in Yuma, Ariz., during a mock evacuation as a part of the Marine Corps' Weapons and Tactics Instructor course. A U.S. Marine CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopter transporting troops to western Iraq crashed Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2005 in the western desert, the U.S. military said. A U.S. spokesman said there were casualties but gave no figures. (AP Photo/The Sun, Charles Whitehouse, File) Photo: CHARLES WHITEHOUSE, AP / THE SUN

U.S. Navy Seahawk helicopter from USS Abraham Lincoln flies an emergency relief mission over the Indonesian province of Aceh, Indonesia, Sunday, Jan. 2, 2005. A Seahawk from the carrier crashed on the approach to Banda Aceh airport on Monday, Jan. 10, 2005, the center for relief operations for tsunami victims, due to a possible mechanical failure according to Navy officials. (AP Photo/Andy Eames) Photo: ANDY EAMES, AP / AP

A U.S. Marine "Jollygreen" helicopter lifts the wreckage of a U.S. Navy SH-60 Seahawk helicopter for USS Abraham Lincoln at Banda Aceh airport Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2005 in northwest Indonesia. The Seahawk , involved in U.S. relief operations here, crashed in a rice paddy Monday less than a kilometer away from the airport, injuring two crew members. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim) Photo: ACHMAD IBRAHIM, AP / AP

A Blackhawk medivac helicopter flies over a Marine convoy south of Baghdad, Iraq on Thursday, March 27, 2003. Eight days after the launch of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Iraqi resistance continued to slow the drive on the capital. (AP Photo/Laura Rauch) Photo: LAURA RAUCH, AP / AP

A U.S. Blackhawk helicopter flies over the Tharthar lake northern west of Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, April 21, 2004. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen) Photo: MUHAMMED MUHEISEN, AP / AP

**FILE** U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters are shown in an undated Army handout photo. A U.S. Army Black Hawk was shot down near Karbala, Iraq, Wednesday, April 2, 2003, killing seven soldiers and wounding four, Pentagon officials said. (AP Photo/U.S. Army, file) Photo: AP / U.S. ARMY

A U.S. MH-53 Sea Dragon helicopter from the "Vanguards" of Helicopter Mine Countermeasure Squadron 14, embarked aboard the amphibious transport dock ship USS Ponce, pulls a Mark 105 Magnetic Influence Minesweeping System (SLED) during mine counter measure operations off the port of Umm Qasr Tuesday, March 25, 2003. The first delivery of humanitarian aid through Umm Qasr was delayed Thursday, March 26, 2003, after more mines were found in the waterways leading to the port. (AP Photo/U.S. Navy,Photographer's Mate 2nd Class Bob Houlihan) Photo: PH2 BOB HOULIHAN, AP / US NAVY

In this photo released by the Department of Defense, U.S. Army Spc. John Alden, center, takes cover with his squad from Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, as a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter from 5th Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment lands to extract them from a field outside Upper Dugmat, Iraq, Tuesday, May 23, 2006. (AP Photo/Department of Defense, Journalist 1st Class Jeremy L. Wood, U.S. Navy) Photo: JEREMY L. WOOD, AP / DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

The specially modified Sikorsky H-92 presidential helicopter, taxis on the runway, Wednesday, March 10, 2004 at Washington Dulles Airport in Chantilly, Va. Competition for the right to build the presidential helicopter soared Wednesday as the two companies vying for the contract, Sikorsky and Lockheed-Martin, showed off their product and their patriotism. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) Photo: MANUEL BALCE CENETA, AP / AP

Residents are rescued by helicopter from the floodwaters of Hurricane Katrina Thursday, Sept. 1, 2005 in New Orleans. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) Photo: DAVID J. PHILLIP, AP / AP POOL

U.S. Navy helicopters take off to begin another day of relief operations from the USS Abraham Lincoln off the western coast of the Indonesian province of Aceh Friday, Jan. 7, 2005. They may not have been endowed with sleek, space age lines, but between them the Hercules and the Seahawk are proving the stars of the aerial relief operation in Indonesia. (AP Photo/Andy Eames) Photo: ANDY EAMES, AP / AP

Marine One, with President Barack Obama aboard, departs the White House in Washington, Monday, March 8, 2010, for a short helicopter trip to Andrews Air Force Base and then on to the Philadelphia suburb of Glenside, Pa., where he will speak at Arcadia University about health insurance reform. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) Photo: J. Scott Applewhite, ASSOCIATED PRESS / AP2010

Members of the U.S. Coast Guard perform a simulated rescue at sea Sunday, May 4, 2003, at the 2003 Air and Sea show in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz) Photo: ALAN DIAZ, AP / AP

Residents of Meulaboh, the epicenter of the Dec. 26 earthquake, flock toward a helicopter from the USS Abraham Lincoln Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2005, in the Aceh Province of Indonesia. Relief supplies, according to the government, have reached 80 percent of the coastal town of Meulaboh. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana) Photo: TATAN SYUFLANA, AP / AP

Black Hawk helicopter patrols the area of Saddam Hussein 's hometown of Tikrit, north of Baghdad, Friday, Dec. 12, 2003. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) Photo: EFREM LUKATSKY, AP / AP

WASHINGTON - MARCH 08: U.S. President Barack Obama walks towards the Marine One prior to his departure from the White House March 8, 2010 in Washington, DC. Obama was heading to Glenside, Pennsylvania to speak on health insurance reform at Arcadia University. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) Photo: Alex Wong, Getty Images / 2010 Getty Images

Marine One, left, with President Barack Obama aboard, comes in for a landing on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Monday, March 15, 2010, as another similar helicopter flies nearby. The president returned to the White House after a day trip to Ohio where he spoke about health care reform. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Photo: Alex Brandon, ASSOCIATED PRESS / AP2010

A Black Hawk helicopter from the Department of Homeland Security's Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement passes by the Statute of Liberty in New York Harbor, Wednesday, April 2, 2003. The unarmed helicopters began round-the-clock patrols in the skies over New York City on Monday, March 31, as tightened security measures were implemented around the start of hostilities in Iraq. (AP Photo/ New York Times, Keith Meyers) Photo: KEITH MEYERS, AP / THE NEW YORK TIMES

Marine One, the call sign for the presidential helicopter flown by the Marine Corps when President Bush is aboard, prepares to land on the South Lawn of the White House, Friday, Jan. 28, 2005, in Washington. The U.S. Presidential Helicopter is a Sikorsky VH-3D, but Friday the U.S. Navy chose Lockheed Martin to build the next fleet of presidential helicopters. Lockheed's winning entry, the US101, is based on a British-Italian AgustaWestland aircraft, now owned by Italy's Finmeccanica, and the helicopter has several key components, including the main transmission and rotor blades, that will be built overseas. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) Photo: PABLO MARTINEZ MONSIVAIS, AP / AP

Employees and media gather around Sikorky's VH-92 presidential demonstrator helicopter in front of the company's Stratford, Conn. headquarters Monday July 12th, 2004. The VH-92 will compete to become the new presidential helicopter. Sikorsky has built and maintained the presidential helicopter fleet since 1957 Photo: Phil Noel / Connecticut Post

The first production Sikorsky S-92 helicopter makes a pass over Sikorsky Aircraft plant in Stratford, Conn. It will serve offshore oil customers from its new home base in Lafayette, La., where it will open up a new age of offshore service on the Gulf of Mexico with Petroleum Helicopters, Inc. (PHI). (PRNewsFoto) Photo: PRN / SIKORSKY AIRCRAFT CORPORATION

United States Marines CH-53E Sea Stallion helicopters land at a forward area refueling point in southern Iraq to fill up their tanks before continuing missions Friday, March 28, 2003. After several days of suspended dust and sandstorms which halted most helicopter missions, clear skies on Friday allowed the aircrafts to return to the skies. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson) Photo: JULIE JACOBSON, AP / AP

Sri Lankan Red Cross members unload relief supplies from a U.S. Black Hawk helicopter in the coastal city of Galle, southern Sri Lanka Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2005. The Dec. 26 tsunamis killed more than 30,000 people In Sri Lanka. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian) Photo: VINCENT THIAN, AP / AP

A prototype Sikorsky VH-92 helicopter lands at Flight Safety International in Broken Arrow, Okla. on Wednesday, Aug. 25, 2004. The helicopter is under consideration for use as Marine One, the president's helicopter. Sikorsky, which has provided the president's helicopter for 45 years, showed off its latest proposal Wednesday which will use flight simulators manufactured by a company here. (AP Photo/Tulsa World, David Crenshaw) Photo: DAVID CRENSHAW, AP / TULSA WORLD

President Bush's helicopter, Marine One, flies past the tip of the Washington Monument en route to Andrews Air Force Base just after taking off from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Thursday, May 22, 2003. Bush meets later today with Japan's Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi at his ranch in Crawford, Texas. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) Photo: J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE, AP / AP

** FILE ** A U.S. Marine Corps CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter flies over Al Asad, Iraq near the Iraqi-Syrian Border in this Nov. 5, 2004 file photo provided by the Marine Corps. A CH-53E helicopter similar to the one shown, crashed in bad weather in Iraq's western desert Wednesday, killing 30 Marines and one Navy sailor in the deadliest incident for U.S. troops since the war began, officials said. (AP Photo/U.S. Marine Corps, Cpl. Christopher R. Rye, HO) Photo: CPL CHRISTOPHER R. RYE, AP / US MARINE CORPS

** CORRECTS TYPE OF HELICOPTER TO CH-53 SUPER STALLION, NOT AV-8B ** Two CH-53 Super Stallion transporting helicopters leave after dropping the last batch of Thai and U.S. Marines during a mock operation at Thai-U.S. joint military exercises codenamed "Cobra Gold" at a military compound in Lopburi province, central Thailand, Monday, May 22, 2006. The exercises held annually with this year involving with about 12,000 troops from the United States, Thailand and three other Asian countries from Singapore, Japan and Indonesia. The troops participate in a 12-day drill comprising with land, sea and air training. (AP Photo/Apichart Weerawong) Photo: APICHART WEERAWONG, AP / AP

In this photo released by the U.S. Army Friday, a U.S. Army UH60 Blackhawk helicopter from the 18th Aviation Brigade, XVIII Airborne Corps, of Fort Bragg, N.C., flies over Dhi Qar Province in southern Iraq, Wednesday March 16, 2005. Thursday, six U.S. soldiers were wounded in the northern city of Mosul when a convoy was attacked by a car bomber. (AP Photo/U.S. Army, Sgt. Michael J Carden) Photo: SGT MICHAEL J CARDEN, AP / US ARMY

American marines airlift a vehicle back to their boat at Roberts International Airport in Monrovia, Liberia, Sunday, Aug. 24, 2003. A 150-strong U.S. Marine fighting force pulled back to warships off Liberia Sunday, ending significant American military deployment on the ground after 11 days. (AP Photo/Schalk van Zuydam) Photo: SCHALK VAN ZUYDAM, AP / AP

President Bush's helicopter Marine One lands on the South Lawn as a back up helicopter passes in the background, Wednesday, June 7, 2006, during his arrival back at the White House after a trip to Nebraska where he spoke about immigration reform. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds) Photo: RON EDMONDS, AP / AP

Marine One and a back up helicopter fly in with President Bush to the South Lawn, Monday, Jan. 9, 2006, as Bush returned to the White House about the No Child Left Behind program at North Glen Elementary School in Glen Burnie, Md. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds) Photo: RON EDMONDS, AP / AP

A U.S. military helicopter lands at Baghdad's heavily protected Green Zone at sunset Tuesday Dec 7 2004. (AP Photo/Dusan Vranic) Photo: DUSAN VRANIC, AP / AP

An MH-60S Knighthawk helicopter from the "Providers" of Helicopter Combat Support Squadron Five (HC-5) transfers equipment from the USS Abraham Lincoln to the USS Nimitz Monday, April 7, 2003, in the Arabian Gulf. (AP Photo/HO, U.S. Navy, Photographer's Mate 3rd Class Yesenia Rosas) Photo: YESENIA ROSAS, AP / US NAVY

In this picture released by the U.S. Navy, a SH-60B Seahawk helicopter, assigned to the Saberhawks of Anti-Submarine Squadron Light Four Seven (HSL-47), prepares to touch down to drop off boxes of bottled water in the province of Aceh, on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia on Tuesday Jan. 4, 2005. (AP Photo/U.S. Navy/Tyler J. Clements, HO) Photo: TYLER J.CLEMENTS, AP / U.S. NAVY

A Coast Guard HH-60J helicopter from Clearwater, Fla., hoists up a rescue swimmer and a victim of Hurricane Katrina over New Orleans, Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2005. (AP Photo/The Daily Advance, Sam Wolfe) Photo: SAM WOLFE, AP / THE DAILY ADVANCE