EASA begins AW09 flight tests

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency’s (EASA) Panel 1 team has successfully conducted their first certification flights with the AW09 helicopter developed by Kopter.

Using PS4 and PS5 preproduction models for flight testing, Kopter plans to begin flights with the first production version, PS6, by the end of 2024. The earlier PS3 prototype single-engine helicopter logged 387 flights before retiring in September 2022.

Last month, Richard Grant, Chief Test Pilot at Kopter, reported that the two test helicopters had logged 130 flights, at a restricted altitude of approximately 16,000ft.

“We look forward to this close collaboration with EASA for the future flight assessments, which will take place at key points throughout the program to validate our testing results and ensure that the AW09 meets all necessary certification requirements,” said a spokesperson for Leonardo.

Following its announcement of a new distribution agreement with India’s Universal Vulkaan Aviation in May, Kopter currently holds more than 100 orders for the AW09. Sales partnerships have also been agreed with Léman Aviation and Sloane.

The AW09 features a crashworthy composite structure and fuel tank, instrument flight rules-compatible Garmin G3000H avionics suite, innovative gearbox designs, low vibration main rotor and low noise signature shrouded tail rotor architecture.

The rotorcraft is designed for a range of roles, including passenger transport, law enforcement and emergency air ambulance missions.

Last year, Leonardo appointed Helitech Asia as its distributor for the AW09 in southeast Asia.