Story ID: 128
Kopter Restarts SH09 Helicopter Flight-test Program
By: Mark Huber
Caption: The Kopter prototype was retrofitted with new rotor components, Garmin G3000H avionics.
Word Count: 556
Kopter has restarted the flight test program for its new SH09 helicopter. Having struggled with technical issues and multi-year delays since its first flight in 2014, the Leonardo group company resumed flying in January. Its sole flying SH09 turbine single P3 prototype has been refitted with a new main rotor head design, a new main gearbox with an extended mast, new flight controls configuration, and Garmin G3000H avionics. Kopter plans to add minor aerodynamic improvements to the cowling before test aircraft PS (pre-series) 4 joins the program in the third quarter of this year, followed by the PS5 prototype “some months later.” 
However, the program has a long way to go before certification and the Swiss-based company, acquired by Leonardo last year, still has a variety of commercial and distribution issues to work through as well as the industrialization of components. The retrofitted P3 aircraft flew 25 hours between mid-January and early March, with the test pilots reporting handling much improved.
The full flight test program is expected to require another 500 hours in the air and will use aircraft PS4 and PS5 for the majority of those activities. For now, flight testing is focusing on expanding the flight and CG load envelopes.
At present, Kopter does not expect any changes to previously-announced performance targets for the eight-passenger aircraft, including 140-knot maximum cruise speed and 430-nm maximum range. The company declined to provide an updated order book tally, but previously said it had landed “preliminary” sales contracts for 70 aircraft including options and 100 letters of intent. Announced U.S. customers to date include Metro Aviation for air ambulance and helitour operators Papillon and Paradise. 
The Leonardo acquisition drove a decision to assemble production SH09 aircraft at that company’s plant at Vergiate in northern Italy, but development work is still based at Kopter’s facilities in Switzerland at Wetkizon (engineering and support) and Mollis (prototype assembly, maintenance, and flight test). The company will also retain a research and development office in Germany.
As of now, Kopter will be Leonardo's center of excellence for new light helicopters and a technology incubator for hybrid and electrical propulsion. In a summary of its 2020 annual report, Leonardo said the acquisition of Kopter provided it with a turnkey solution to enter a new helicopter market segment, strengthen leadership in its core businesses, and develop new competencies to boost future development toward more disruptive technologies. 
The fate of Kopter’s lease on the former Bell Helicopter plant in Lafayette, Louisiana, remains to be determined as does a formal role for Leonardo’s Philadelphia plant. Approximately 300 employees are currently working on the SH09 program.  
Meanwhile, the process of integrating Kopter into Leonardo continues. While Kopter remains a legally separate entity based in Switzerland, Leonardo executive Marco Viola was appointed its new CEO in September. Viola had been previously charged with integrating the $185 million purchase of Kopter. 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 the company.  
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