Six months after Canadian certification was achieved, Bell Helicopter finally deluged the FAA with enough paperwork to get U.S. certification for the “new Jet Ranger” (press release). Rumor has it that the sticking point was a big filter designed to keep particles out of the engine. These filters have supposedly been operating for decades all around the world as after-market retrofits to helicopters, but the FAA was worried that the filter could become clogged.
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I’ve obviously never been in one of these, but two observations about the R44 don’t jibe with my personal observations the one time I was in one. For me (in the back seat, with noise cancelling headphones on): the R44 definitely seemed louder in a hover than it did in cruise, also, the cabin seemed to get kinda hot and you could really smell the engine. The R44 I rode in was also very smooth in terms of vibration. It felt more like a ski lift than a helicopter.
I guess what I’m saying is that the Bell must be really nice and quiet!
If properly balanced (a bit of an art), the R44 can be quite smooth below about 100 knots. After some threshold speed, which probably depends a bit on the quality of the balance, it gets noticeably bumpier as you go faster.
If you’re hovering with a tailwind you will smell the exhaust and the CO alarm will light up. I don’t remember ever smelling anything from the engine in cruise.
Hot cabin? For $20,000 you can add A/C to the Raven II.
Non-pilot question: do aircraft companies charge $20 – 46K for air conditioning and other extravagantly priced add-ons because they can, or is the pricing a function of not using off-the-shelf parts, or of some flight certification expenses? Perhaps a combination of all three?
Dale: When the price of an air-conditioner exceeds the price of a Honda Accord that includes a much better air-conditioner, someone is making insane profits, right? You didn’t have to say that you weren’t a pilot because merely asking the question marks you as unfamiliar with the costs of regulation!
It is so painful and expensive to get this stuff certified, and then it tends to sell in such small volumes, that despite the ruinous prices paid by consumers the manufacturers aren’t getting especially fat. It is a lot easier to make money in almost any other industry.
The Pilatus PC-12 has what looks like an old Sears window A/C in the back. It is a $100,000 part.
Have a divorce lawsuit defendant in the back who wants to show Finding Nemo to the kids? (remember that mom gets eaten early in the movie) Hand over $4500 for an FAA-certified DVD player (http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/avpages/aidvdcd.php ) and then insert the disk.
Do any helicopter reviewers actually fly the product they review or just compare the specs?
Jack: I flew the 505 before I published my review. The linked-to Vertical magazine review contains a photo of the author flying the 505.