Unlike how things go in the two main industries of interest to us, auto and moto manufacturing, where new models of cars and motorcycles keep rolling off the assembly lines with incredible speed, aviation is much slower. That’s of course because it takes a lot longer to come up with a new aircraft design, and once it’s here, it can be operated with very few issues for decades, provided constant upgrades are performed.
All of the above also makes the emergence of a new airplane or helicopter something worth mentioning, and that’s exactly what we have here now: a brand new rotor wing aircraft that promises to deliver “the largest cabin and cargo hold in its category.”
It’s the so-called AW09 (or Kopter AW09) we’re talking about, currently in the works over at Leonardo subsidiary Kopter. Meant for the 2.5 metric ton class, it’s a single-engine beast capable of seating up to eight people and the pilot.
The machine is still in development, but this week we got word of what engine it will use. As per Leonardo, that would be the Arriel 2K, made by French company Safran.
The powerplant has an output rating of 1,000 shaft horsepower, and is seen by Kopter as perfect for “hot and high altitude performance.” It also comes with decent fuel consumption numbers, which should give the new helicopter a total range of over 800 km (497 miles). It can travel at speeds of 260 kph (162 mph).
Being a multirole helicopter means the transport of people to and fro will not be its only task. Kopter says the AW09 can also carry cargo, both inside and attached to a sling, and also medical stretchers.
Photo: Kopter
For the pilots, the helo offers a modular glass cockpit running the Garmin G3000H flight deck. The aircraft’s body is built around a composite airframe, and allows access to the interior through either sliding or clamshell doors. When in flight, it should be rather quiet, thanks to the design of the main rotor, but also on account of the shrouded rear one.
The company is presently hard at work testing the helicopter. The most recent prototype, called Pre Series 4 (PS4) is on the verge of entering the test flight stage at the company’s facility in Mollis, Switzerland. Work with and on it should be done pretty quickly, as the final prototype, the PS5, is scheduled to follow later this year.
At the time of writing, there is no info on when the production version Kopter AW09 will be ready or how much it will cost to get one. In all, there will be six possible configurations for the bird, from the baseline six-seat cabin to the so-called nine people Air Van.
Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies. Full profile
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