Guillaume Lecompte-Boinet

Since Marenco Swisshelicopter has rebranded as Kopter, the company is now turning to certification and serial production of its SH09 light single-engine helicopter, which features a large rear-fuselage entry door. Kopter's Heli-Expo exhibit (Booth N4615) features prototype P2 as well as the SH09 mockup.

 


“We have to transform Kopter from a very talented engineering company to a real helicopter manufacturer, able to produce in series and support our customers,” said Andreas Löwenstein, CEO of Kopter, when he unveiled the new brand on February 1. To do so, Kopter will close a funding round of&nbsp;$150 to $200 million with banks and investment funds later in 2018. The financial backer of Kopter, Russia's Alexander Mamut, who has already invested $270 million in the program, will remain the principal shareholder through Cyprus-based company Lynwood.

 


Besides its new name, the Swiss company has inaugurated a new corporate/engineering facility in Wetzikon, 25 km from Zurich, and new production facilities in Mollis, along with those in Näfels. The factories will house up to 500 employees by 2021 and have a total surface area of 18,000 sq m (226,000 sq ft). Mollis is dedicated to final assembly and test flight, while preassembly of key components, such as the gearbox, rotor blades, and the all-composite airframe, takes place in Näfels.

 


Kopter also has facilities in Munich, Germany, for airworthiness and engine support, and in Ennetmoos, Switzerland, for dynamic component tests, such as the main rotor system. The company has opened a U.S. subsidiary in Dallas for market development. “We also plan to have a final assembly line in the U.S. and in Asia. Their precise locations haven’t been yet decided,” said Löwenstein.

 


The Mollis facility is organized with lean manufacturing methods. The SH09 will be assembled in a flow line of six stations. “We want to achieve a time cycle of 20 weeks to assemble and deliver a machine,” said Jan Nowacki, executive v-p of operations.

 


Planned ramp-up is to deliver five to 10 SH09s in 2019, 20 in 2020, more than 30 in 2021, and reaching the full Mollis capacity of 50 machines per year in 2022. Those figures don’t take into account final assembly lines in the U.S. and Asia.

 


Kopter has logged 27 SH09 firm orders, 19 on precontract with payment (which will be converted into firm orders as soon as EASA certification occurs), and 120 letters of intent, Löwenstein said.&nbsp;“We have sold out the first two to three years of production,” he added.

 


Kopter is still finalizing some primary suppliers for the helicopter. It chose Switzerland-based Connova to fabricate the main components of the all-composite airframe&nbsp;and&nbsp;TenCate to provide the TC-275 pre-preg carbon composite material used for composite manufacturing.&nbsp;The manufacturer will likely announce the avionics supplier shortly, although&nbsp;Sagem provided avionics for the first prototypes.

 


Kopter still aims to obtain EASA certification within 12 to 14 months and FAA certification&nbsp;by September 2019. Entry into service is planned for fall 2019. “It’s been a long and difficult road,” admitted Michele Riccobono, executive v-p of technology, who joined Kopter last June from Leonardo Helicopters. He acknowledged issues surrounding high-vibrations and loads in the rotor system of P2, the second prototype that has flown around 70 hours and is being showcased at Heli-Expo. "We have now fixed this problem with new blades,” he said.

 


&nbsp;A third prototype, P3, is expected to fly shortly. This rotorcraft will fly around 250 flight hours through next September and will be used to open up the flight envelope, including maximum speed and altitude, controllability, and aerodynamic tests. Kopter engineers have replaced the flex cables fitted on P2 for control of the main rotor blades with&nbsp;rods on P3 to improve rotor system control. The first pre-series SH09, PS4, will fly in September.

 


“We have postponed PS4 a little bit to implement all the modifications and adjustments coming from the P3 flight test program,” said Riccobono. A total of around 110 flight hours are planned for PS4. Based on his experience at Leonardo, Riccobono plans to send P3 to Sicilia, in Pozzalo, to take advantage of sunny weather (and no air-traffic restrictions) and accelerate the flight-test program. Flight-test teams plan to fly day and night there.

 


Weight remains a challenge despite the advantages of carbon-composite construction. P3 missed its goal of an empty weight of 1,300 kg, with a weight of 1,530 kg. For PS4, which is still loaded with flight-test instrumentation, Kopter is targeting a reduced empty weight around 1,450 kg. “The target empty weight for the SH09 serial design remains at 1,300 kg, [which] gives a payload of 1,350 kg, slightly higher than the empty weight,” said Riccobono.

 


Kopter is also working on EASA certification of the SH09's Honeywell HTS900 turbine.

 


Löwenstein has reaffirmed the ambition to make Kopter “one of the world's leading manufacturers of light helicopters within 10 years.” Kopter is hoping to capture 20 to 25 percent of the civil world market.

 


One area of focus is&nbsp;the U.S. EMS market, where operators can fly single-engine rotorcraft. In Europe, operators must fly twin-engine helicopters. In the EMS segment, the SH09 will face competition from the Airbus Helicopters H125/130 and the Bell 407. “SH09’s large cabin and easy back-door access are well-fitted compared to competitors,” noted Christian Gras, Kopter&nbsp;executive v-p customers.

 


Kopter also is targeting the sightseeing market with a large glass-enclosed cabin (at 10 sq m), high cruise speed (140 knots), and capacity for up to eight passengers. Other potential markets include police and security, utility, VIP transportation, and coast guards.

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