Making its Paris Air Show debut is the Russian Helicopters/Kamov Ka-62, a 6,500-kg mtow, 15-passenger helicopter in the same class as the AgustaWestland AW139, Eurocopter EC155 and Sikorsky S-76 series. The mockup made it first appearance on the international show circuit at last year’s Farnborough Air Show.

Russian Helicopters (Hall 2A C198) plans to show the first prototype at the MAKS 2013 (August 27 to September 1) in Moscow, and maybe fly it there as well, according to Taras Gurko, leading specialist, Ka-60/62 project. If not flying at MAKS, the prototype should be flying by the end of this year, he said, and still make the delivery to the helicopter’s launch customer, Atlas Taxi Aereo of Brazil in mid 2015. The operator has ordered seven aircraft, with options for seven more.

Kamov is known more for its military helicopters than civil helicopters, and more for coaxial-rotor helicopters than conventional single main rotor designs. Like it’s predecessor, the military Ka-60, the -62 has a shrouded tail rotor (very much like Eurocopter’s fenestron) and unlike most wheeled helicopters, it has a tail wheel instead of a nose wheel. Asked why the tail wheel, Gurko told AIN it was probably the designer’s idea, perhaps to give the helicopter better control when taxiing on the ground. Trans Zoerkler designed and built the shrouded tail rotor system as well as the main gearbox, he said.

Powered by two Turbomeca Ardiden-3G turboshafts rated at 1,776 shp, the Ka-62 is expected to have a mtow of 6,500 kg and a payload of 2,000 kg. It can carry up to 15 passengers with a two-pilot crew, although Gurko said it could be operated single pilot. Targeted cruise speed is 290 kph and max speed 310 kph. Ferry flight range is 700 km.

Russian Helicopters is a subsidiary of OPK Oboronprom. It comprises five production facilities and two design bureaus, Kamov and Mil.