Page 26 - Flight International (January 2020)

KOPTER SH09

On top of that, Kopter claims the SH09 will 2021 – sales have stayed strong: Lowenstein huge fleet of single-engined helicopters with
be the first CS-27 aircraft to have a combined says the first three years of production are aircraft based on elderly designs: “Basically
cockpit-voice and flight-data recorder as “solidly” sold out and “we have some the same as they have”.
standard. “We are really anticipating some- customers ordering for the fourth and fifth Joint working parties have already been es-
thing that is eventually going to be a regula- years already”. tablished with KAI as the companies attempt
tion,” says Riccobono. He says: “It shows to me that people are to firm their initial tentative agreement. These
In addition, achieving as smooth a ride as really waiting for this aircraft.” groups are examining what requirements the
possible is important, says Riccobono, SH09 could address and also how KAI could
because Kopter’s intention is to achieve “Customers want a safe, participate industrially in the programme.
instrument flight rules (IFR) certification “If the current exploration phase shows
from 2022, for which it is developing a four- mature aircraft that will come positive results, we are ready to set up a joint
axis autopilot. industry product in Korea to allow us to serve
“If the platform is already stable, then de- to service rather than a quick, Korea and some other export needs,” says
veloping the autopilot is really no big deal. short development with issues Lowenstein. “We are talking with KAI about
That is why we are investing in making the joint market approaches to governmental op-
aircraft not just certifiable but very pleasant to that appear afterwards” erators but equally for some governmental
fly,” he says. Andreas Lowenstein markets that could be covered from Korea.”
The desire for IFR certification also drove a Chief executive, Kopter What that means in practice is that Kopter
switch from the original Safran Electronics is open to the creation of a military variant of
avionics to Garmin’s IFR-capable G3000H the SH09. “A helicopter like ours is a very
suite, allowing early customers a simple, min- In addition, the arrival of a new helicopter versatile mission platform,” says Lowenstein.
imal-cost upgrade. with new capabilities could also stimulate the The size of the cabin, payload, and customisa-
Despite tweaks here and there, the funda- segment, says Lowenstein. “If the equation is tion potential means “you can paint it khaki
mental design of the SH09 has not changed right then we can significantly resize the mar- and put some special equipment into it”.
from the original concept. It still has a single ket,” he says.
FADEC-equipped 1,020shp (750kW) Honey- He draws an analogy with the service entry MILITARY VARIANT
well HTS900 engine – a compact but power- of the Leonardo Helicopters AW139, which He lists potential missions such as training,
ful turboshaft originally destined for Bell’s significantly expanded demand for medium- liaison, scouting, or observation. “This is to-
ARH-70 Arapaho programme – coupled or intermediate-twins. “We think we can pro- tally within the scope of the platform,” he
with a five-blade bearingless main rotor and duce the same kind of effects. People are not says. “If there are opportunities coming by we
a shrouded tail rotor that Kopter calls excited to replace their helicopter with the will certainly grab them. When we sign the
the Maestro. same old helicopter.” Korean deal you can imagine a khaki version
The fact that two production lines are al- might be in the scope [of that],” he says, con-
NEGLECTED MARKET ready planned speaks volumes about Kopter’s firming that talks with KAI have broached the
The idea, which the company was espousing ambitions; Lowenstein also does not rule out subject of a military trainer.
even in its Marenco days, is to develop a new additional assembly facilities if required by However, anyone looking for an armed
helicopter in a segment of the market long regional demand, particularly in China, or if it variant is likely to be disappointed: “That
neglected by the other manufacturers. While is a condition of external investment. is not in the scope of a Swiss company,”
Airbus Helicopters has its H125 and H130, On top of that, there is a recently an- he says, drily.
and Leonardo Helicopters the AW119, none nounced agreement with Korea Aerospace Of course, the lofty talk of years of double-
of these are particularly recent designs. Industries (KAI) covering an intention to co- digit production are meaningless if Kopter
In addition, Lowenstein says, there has operate on “local assembly, production, cus- does not introduce the SH09 to service in a
been a lot of interest from operators in switch- tomisation and sales” of the SH09 in South timely fashion; the patience of would-be cus-
ing from twin-engined rotorcraft to the SH09. Korea. The collaboration could eventually tomers is not infinite, after all. “Today the
“For me this is not a surprise: this is a helicop- extend to production for export too. question for me is not if we get the certifica-
ter that can do many of the twin missions at “What Korea is interested in, like many tion, but when,” says Lowenstein, noting that
the cost of a single.” Asian countries, is modern technology,” says complex developments mean that sometimes
Despite the seemingly endless delays – ser- Lowenstein; without a helicopter like the targets slip.
vice entry is now likely to be late 2020 or early SH09, Seoul would be obliged to replace a “I can only measure it [by] the reaction of
our customers. The customers we have today
in our portfolio are with us despite the [time-
line] shifts. They know why we are shifting
and know that they will get a better product in
the end. We have had zero customers putting
a knife to our throats [saying you have to get
this done now]: they want a safe, mature
aircraft that will come to service rather than
a quick, short development with issues that
appear afterwards.
Dominic Perry/FlightGlobal on this track,” adds Lowenstein, quipping
“All our customers are supporting us
that if Kopter fails to meet its 2020 or 2021
SH09 is powered by a single target for certification then “we might change
Honeywell HTS900 engine the CEO”. ■

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