The first prototype of the Swiss-built Kopter SH09, which made its maiden flight on Oct. 2, 2014, is among the nine helicopters on display at Helitech. The model on display wears the red-and-white livery of the newest customer, Malaysia’s Systematic Aviation Services (SAS), which operates from Kuala Lumpur’s Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport. Designed by pilot and engineer Martin Stucki, the Kopter SH09 reflected its creator’s frustration with legacy single-engined helicopter designs and their often poorly designed cockpits. Stucki conducted market research that indicated a viable market for a new 2.5-tonne helicopter and in 2007 he formed Marenco Swiss Helicopter (later renamed Kopter) to develop what he claimed would be the first all-new light single-engine turbine helicopter for decades.
The resulting SH09 is a single-engine turbine-powered light helicopter of all-carbon composite airframe construction, powered by a single Honeywell HTS900 turboshaft engine, with a new-generation dual-channel Fadec. The aircraft features a low-noise shrouded fenestron tail rotor and a five-blade bearingless main rotor.
The cabin was designed to offer in a single-engine model the volume usually found in a medium-sized twin-engine helicopter. This was achieved, in part, through the use of three Kevlar-threaded crashworthy fuel tanks, built into the walls and floor of the cargo hold. The aircraft has a two-pilot Sagem ICDS-8A glass cockpit, while the main cabin seats four passengers (seven in an optional high-density configuration). It is equipped with a rear clamshell door under the high-mounted tail boom to facilitate air ambulance operations.
A second prototype joined the flight test effort on Febr. 26, 2016. Certification flying will switch from Switzerland to Italy, where the third prototype will be joined by a fourth aircraft early in 2019, leading to EASA certification during the second half of 2019.
Swiss operator Air Zermatt is the launch customer for the type, and Kopter holds orders for 26 of the SH09.