Silvercraft SH 4

Design and production

The Silvercraft SH-4 was the first Italian designed helicopter to gain Italian and FAA certification. The prototype was first flown in October 1963 with development assisted with both financial and technical help from SIAI-Marchetti. The helicopter was a conventional design with two-blade main rotor and tail rotor, a skid landing gear and a high-set tubular corrugated tailboom. It is powered by either a 200 hp (149 kW) or 235 hp (175 kW) Franklin 6A-350 engines which have been flat-rated to 170 hp (127 kW). Some SH-4s were equipped with Lycoming LHIO-360-C1A engines of 205 hp (153 kW).

Two aircraft were evaluated by the Italian Air Force.

An upgraded development, the SH-200 was developed from the SH-4 but was only flown as a prototype.

Operators

 Italy

Italian Air Force operated one Silvercraft SH-4 for evaluation test

Variants

SH-4

Standard production variant.

SH-4A

Agricultural variant.

SH-4L

Lycoming powered variant

SH-4T

Turbine powered variant

Specifications (SH-4)

Data from Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1976–77

General characteristics

Crew: 1

Capacity: 2 passengers

Length: 7.65 m (25 ft 1¼ in)

Main rotor diameter: 9.03 m (29 ft 7½ in)

Height: 2.98 m (9 ft 9.25 in)

Main rotor area: 64.0 m² (639 ft²)

Empty weight: 518 kg (1,142 lb)

Gross weight: 862 kg (1,900 lb)

Powerplant: 1 × Franklin 6A-350-D1B air-cooled flat-six engine, 175 kW (235 hp) each

Performance

Maximum speed: 161 km/h (100 mph)

Cruising speed: 117 km/h (73 mph)

Range: 320 km (200 miles)

Endurance: 3 hours

Service ceiling: 4,600 m (15,090 ft)

Rate of climb: 6.0 m/s (1,180 ft/min)