Nicholas 'Nick' D.Lappos

Maiden flight of the Sikorsky S-76

Currently - Bell Helicopter, Textron - Senior Vice President, XworX. Responsible for the initial design of new products, internal research and development and rapid prototyping.
2005 to 2008 - Gulfstream AerospaceCorp
Vice President - Government Programs
Responsible for the organization that contracts, designs, produces, delivers and maintains Gulfstream jets to meet various Special Mission requirements to governments worldwide.

1973 to 2005 - Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation- 2000 to 2005 - Program Manager - S-92 Program during its development, certification and introduction into production. During that time, the National Aeronautic Association awarded the S-92 Industry Team the Robert J. Collier Trophy in 2002.

1999 to 2000 - Director of Test Engineering - director of the Flight Test Development Center at West Palm Beach, FL

1974 to 1999 - Assistant Chief Pilot, Chief Research and Development Test Pilot, Chief Program Pilot - S-76
Test Pilot for Sikorsky for over 27 years, and has flown over 70 different helicopter types. Over 7,500 hours flight time, Chief R&D test pilot for over 12 years. Former DER flight test pilot, member of several NASA, AHS, FAA and AGARD Committees and working groups. Participated in the development of the S76, UH-60, RAH-66, ABC, Fantail, Shadow, Fly-by-wire demonstrator, CH-53E, S92.
1973 to 1974 - Flight Test Engineer


Nick Lappos graduated as a Bachelor of Aerospace Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1973. Honors include Dean's List, Who's Who in American Colleges and Universities, Tau Beta Pi, and Sigma Gamma Tau. Elected to the Academy of Distinguished Alumni of Georgia Tech in 2004.
Fellow of the American Helicopter Society as well as Frederick Feinberg Award as most outstanding pilot. Society of Experimental Test Pilots Tenhoff Award, 1988. Holds 16 U.S. patents and three FAI world speed records. Authored numerous technical papers for the American Helicopter Society, the Royal Aeronautical Society and the SAE. Written articles for magazines such as "Rotor and Wing," "Interavia," and has a regular column in "HeliOps Magazine." Appeared on several television shows on the History and Discovery channels.

US Army Vietnam veteran, flew Cobra attack helicopters for over 900 combat hours. Awarded the Bronze Star and the Republic of Vietnam’s Cross of Gallantry.