On Dec. 18, 2015 Lt. Col. Jonathan Morel became the first Marine to fly the CH-53K helicopter, during a test flight over Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation's Development Flight Center at West Palms Beach. The flight test ran for 1.5 hours and now marks the sixth flight for the aircraft. - On Dec. 18, 2015 Lt. Col. Jonathan Morel became the first Marine to fly the CH-53K helicopter, during a test flight over Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation's Development Flight Center at West Palms Beach. The flight test ran for 1.5 hours and now marks the sixth flight for the aircraft.