October 2nd, 2014: the SKYe SH09 took off for the first time.
Marenco SwissHelicopter then released another video on their Facebook feed, providing additional views of their aircraft. They obviously did the best to improve the outside visibility of the piloting crew.
Transparent floor of the SKYe SH09
Left side of HB-ZXA, engine compartment open, of the Marenco SwissHelicopter SKYe SH09
Rear side of HB-ZXA, engine compartment open, of the Marenco SwissHelicopter SKYe SH09
Marenco SwissHelicopter SKYe SH09 in the swiss Alps
Airbus Helicopters, Bell Helicopters, Turkish Aerospace, Russian Helicopters… The 2015 edition of the Paris Air Show was far from being dedicated to the sole helicopters, but several manufacturers were there on the display.
Don’t get the wrong idea, Paris Air Show is mostly for planes
The French Army is proud of the NH90 TTH, used in operation in Africa and middle east.
Maiden flight of the Airbus Helicopters H160, copyright 2015 M. Moutoussamy
Stable, extremely easy, barely any vibrations, smooth like a flying carpet. The first words of the pilot after the landing are very optimistic and encouraging.
The model H160 by Airbus Helicopters, previously called prototype X4, made its maiden flight on Saturday 13th, June, at the main plant in Marignane, southern France. With 24°C and 5 kt of wind, the weather was rather nice.
With the introduction of many new technologies, everyone tries to hunt for the hints, and we will give it a try as well.
First, unusual control surfaces appeared, such as a rudder on the tail fin. The rudder can be seen on the photo in forward flight below:
H160 PT1 in forward flight, copyright T. Rostang for Airbus Helicopters, 2015
However, what appears to be a separate piece on the lower part of the horizontal stabilator is fixed (B. Fujarski in “4 Rotors”, issue of Summer 2015). We can assume that it allows to use more power for the main rotor in fast forward flight, while the anti-torque is ensured by the huge tail fin instead of the fenestron.
With 6 metric tons MTOW, the H160 is slightly heavier than the H155 (4,5 t) and completes the product range, closing the gap under the H175.
The helicopter is powered with 2 Arrano 1A, newly developped by the company Turbomeca. However, it seems that the gear box stays the same as for the H155. The rotor blades are, of course, brand new. They were introduced by Eurocopter with the programme “Blue Edge” during the year 2010.
These rotor blades were later observed on a modified H135 in Germany.
D-HEEX, H135 silent prototype (copyright Marc Ulm)
Another curious feature is located on the top of the tail, in front of the strobe light.
H160, sensor on the top of the tail fin, copyright Airbus Helicopters
Finally, the canted fenestron will provide better support for a correct weight and balance, compensating the heavy tail that might be pushing the center of gravity to the rear.
