Marenco Swisshelicopter continues to analyze the data gathered during the first and so far only flight of its SKYe SH09 single in early October as it moves toward the next flight, for which no date had been specified at press time.
“The results are quite good and generally confirm our predictions,” chief commercial officer Mathias Sénès told AIN. The engineers are pleased with the external noise, especially at the tail rotor, he said. The Honeywell HTS900-2 turboshaft spools up quickly for prompt takeoffs after start-up, according to early measurements. On the avionics side, Sagem is supporting the project from its Dallas office.
Marenco is proceeding with further ground tests while analyzing stresses, temperatures and so on, and says it does not plan to make any changes to the helicopter before its next flight.
The first flight took place almost two years later than announced in 2011. “The company had to work through thousands of [details]; in addition, we had to appoint people to grow and finish the work,” said Martin Stucki, CEO, designer of the SH09 and company founder. On the other hand, for a would-be helicopter manufacturer to fly a new helicopter is already a significant a milestone. “A small organization can focus on solving problems, redefining solutions or simply making decisions more quickly and more efficiently than any large organization ” in the aircraft manufacturing sector, Stucki asserted.
The second prototype, now under construction, is slated to fly next year. “For us, it is key to allow changes between the prototypes to improve the aircraft toward the serial production standard. We will see changes, where necessary, until we reach production standard with prototype P3,” Stucki said. He declined to predict how many flight-test hours will be required for the helicopter to earn EASA certification, now anticipated between October 2015 and January 2016, followed by FAA and Transport Canada approvals six to 12 months later.
