The Leonardo executive charged with integrating its $185 million purchase of light helicopter maker Kopter earlier this year will now function as its interim CEO. Marco Viola, who previously served in a variety of senior maintenance and support executive positions for the Italian helicopter maker, is stepping in to fill the void left by the departure of former Kopter CEO Andreas Lowenstein, who has left the company “to pursue other opportunities,” according to Leonardo.
Lowenstein, a former Airbus executive, replaced Kopter (formerly known as Marenco Swisshelicopter) founder Martin Stucki in 2017. Before its purchase by Leonardo, Kopter had been controlled by Cyprus-based Lynwood, the holding company of Russian billionaire Alexander Mamut. Lynwood reportedly invested $270 million in Kopter as it attempted to develop the SH09 turbine single.
Under Lowenstein’s tenure, Kopter spent aggressively, building a new production plant in Mollis, Switzerland, leasing the abandoned Bell 505 assembly plant in Lafayette, Louisiana, and expanding the payroll to more than 300. In 2019, Kopter and Korea Aerospace Industries signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on local assembly, modification, and sales of the SH09 in South Korea.
Over the years, Kopter has revealed scores of new orders for the SH09 from mainstream operators, including Metro Aviation, Ranier Heli International, INAEC, Paradise Helicopters, Helitrans of Norway, Elling Halvorson, and Safomar Aviation. Altogether, Kopter claimed more than 70 orders and another 120 letters of intent earlier this year.
However, the certification date for the new helicopter, originally planned for 2015, continued to slip amid disclosures of development problems and modifications to the helicopter’s gearbox, rotor system, and aerodynamics, as well as significant restrictions—since lifted—of the flight-test envelope. The Leonardo acquisition fueled speculation that the Italian airframer would bring SH09 development in-house, at its main production facility in Vergiate, near Milan. Before its acquisition by Leonardo, Kopter executives claimed the helicopter was on track for dual EASA and FAA certification by the end of 2020, but Covid pandemic disruption appears to have caused further delays.
The latest iteration of the $3.5 million, all-composite airframe SH09 features a large cabin with flat-floor seating for nine, rear clamshell doors, 6,283-pound mtow, five-blade main rotor system and ducted tailrotor, Garmin G3000H digital avionics, and power from a Honeywell HTS900-2 turboshaft (1,020 shp). The helicopter has a maximum cruise speed of 140 knots and a maximum range of 430 nm.