Folks: I’ve drafted a review of the new Robinson R44 helicopter: http://philip.greenspun.com/flying/robinson-r44
Please comment with suggested improvements. Thanks.
4 thoughts on “Robinson R44 Review drafted”
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A posting every day; an interesting idea every three months…
Folks: I’ve drafted a review of the new Robinson R44 helicopter: http://philip.greenspun.com/flying/robinson-r44
Please comment with suggested improvements. Thanks.
Comments are closed.
First thought: no Amsafe, but are the 4-point harnesses available for $2250 on the civilian version, or only the police version?
Do you find 4-point harnesses helpful in turbulence, especially flying IFR? I experienced some moderate turbulence as a Mooney passenger (with Amsafe) and felt that bouncing around and hitting my head would have distracted me if flying. Is this something you get used to, or do 4-point harnesses improve safety?
K: Robinson would probably sell you the 4-point harnesses. I have never seen or tried them. I would think that in severe turbulence you’d want 5-point harnesses. We have 4-pointers in the Cirrus and they are certainly no better than 3-point for turbulence and probably worse (harder to keep snug around the waist). If you are a reasonably prudent person, you are not going to get into turbulence severe enough to hit your head in an R44.
Philip, could you break down the costs for the $160 hour number so we can understand your assumptions? Also, how solid is that $75/hr number for “overhaul” reserve?
Thanks.
Jason: Robinson has an operating costs PDF on their Web site. If you stick in your local airport’s prices for fuel and multiply everything else by 1.3, you probably get to a reasonable number (and then add $30,000 for when someone sticks the tail rotor into a tree).