It was 1991 when Vertical Aviation Technologies began selling a kit version of the venerable Sikorsky S-52. Now, 30 years and more than 350 kits later, the company is in the process of obtaining an FAA primary category certificate for a modernized version: the S-52L Hummingbird, which would be available as a completed, ready-to-fly aircraft.

In this photo, a Hummingbird is parked outside the company’s hangar at Orlando Sanford International Airport (KSFB) in Sanford, Florida; an original S-52 (signed by Sergei Sikorsky) sits behind it.

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  • Mark Bennett

    Mark Bennett worked for McDonnell Douglas Helicopter/Boeing for a decade, then in 1999 cofounded an aerospace-only marketing agency. With nearly 30 years of photography and design experience serving the aerospace and defense industries, he founded AeroMark Images to shoot and write for both industry and media.

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Mark Bennett

Mark Bennett

Mark Bennett worked for McDonnell Douglas Helicopter/Boeing for a decade, then in 1999 cofounded an aerospace-only marketing agency. With nearly 30 years of photography and design experience serving the aerospace and defense industries, he founded AeroMark Images to shoot and write for both industry and media.

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