The First flight of P2 was performed on Friday 26th February at 17:24 (5:24PM) with Richard Trueman, Chief Test Pilot, at the controls and Peter Wittwer as Flight-Test Engineer. The key event was witnessed and celebrated by the whole team on the Mollis airport facilities of Marenco Swisshelicopter in Switzerland.

A rewarding moment for the teams, under the lead of CEO Martin Stucki, that have placed intensive efforts since the first flight of Prototype One and the flight test phase performed in 2015.

Richard Trueman confirms the high available power and the low vibrations levels, comparable impressions that were gathered by Dwayne Williams, first Flight-Test Pilot who flew Prototype One during the past year.

Richard Trueman added: “this first flight of the second prototype of the SKYe SH09 was a total success, all the test objectives were easily achieved and the aircraft performed extremely well. The crisp handling qualities combined with the ergonomic and intuitive cockpit features made the SKYe SH09 a pleasure to operate. Marenco Swisshelicopter has set the new benchmark in the single engine helicopter market segment”

From the first analysis of the flight, a very positive aspect has been the confirmation of the low noise levels reached by the SH09, coming as a result of optimized designs, of the blades planform, the low tip speed, as well as the “Maestro” – MArEnco’s Shrouded Tail ROtor.

Prototype 2 confirms the SH09, is an exceptionally silent helicopter with comparable very low fuel consumption for its class and a contributor to safer and environment-friendly operations.

The first phase of test flights for P2 is now underway, with the initial trials covering hover flights at low speeds and low altitudes before moving on to hover flights outside the ground effect at moderate speeds. This will be followed by trials confirming systems behaviour and avionics accuracy, flying limited auto-rotations and initial performance and stability trials. Finally, testing will move on to handling, load survey and exploring the helicopter’s full Height Velocity curves, to confirm the safe combinations of altitude and airspeed during auto-rotational landings. With this successful achievement, Marenco Swisshelicopter confirms attaining the set milestones to reach the planning of deliveries.

With a Maximum Take-Off Weight of 2,650 kg (5,842 lbs) the SKYe SH09 helicopter offers exceptional hot and high performance, a low noise signature thanks to the newly developed dynamic assemblies and shrouded tailrotor. The modularity of the cabin makes the most of the flat floor and the unique high ceiling concept, offering multiple seating arrangements of 1 Pilot + up to 7 passengers, all with individual crashworthy seats. The rear access to the cabin is facilitated by the large clamshell doors; addressing the passenger transport and emergency evacuation roles of the helicopter.

With a fast cruise speed of 260 km/h (140 knots) it will also offer very long range – in excess of 800 km (430 nautical miles) with standard fuel tanks. SKYe SH09 is of particular interest to operators who wish to avail of a remarkably versatile machine with additional power, greater payload capacity, and an augmented sling load capability of 1,500 kg (3,300 lbs).

The MARENCO SWISSHELICOPTER COMPANY is the result of combining the vision of our investors, the engineering expertise of Martin Stucki and a team of highly qualified helicopter specialists, pilots and aviation experts. Marenco Swisshelicopter Ltd. was founded in 2007 for the direct purpose of developing, building and commercializing new concepts of light turbine helicopters. With this industrial visionary concept, Marenco Swisshelicopter developed a new generation of helicopter built with a design that concentrates on the key notion of competitive superiority, modularity, advanced ergonomics and with the integration of the best choice of materials.