R66 Price Released

[Rusky]

.....anyone game to venture a guess as to how long it will take for Robinson to capture a large share of the turbine market, which has been the domain of the retired B206 for ever and a day?

Watch this space, whilst we wait to see how reliable and how much the ongoing costs of the R66 will be, its not hard to see Frankie boy continuing to dominate the civil aviation market again with the R66. Love them or hate them Robinson is here to stay.

[RatioCination]

I wonder if in 40 years Robinson will be able to claim "The most popular light turbine ever built" - Think about that statement for a moment, look at the pedigree of the Bell product line from the early days of the 47 (still a classic & still flying!) right up to the modern Bells of today... For instance, their is no doubt that the 407 is also destined for legendary status along with the 206 & the 47...

Most of us (with hours & experience), have got time in the Robbies - It helped us along the way... But it's a cheap helicopter and as the years have gone by I feel fortunate that I no longer fly them... Not wanting to take anything away from those that do as it's part of the initiation in getting your hours up (that included me!)... Nor am I taking anything away from those that fly them and are happy doing so... My statement is aimed at career pilots, do your time in them, fly safe, watch for the pitfalls, build those hours to the magic 500 or 1000hrs and then progress to a better built machine...

I'm sorry to say that the people I've known that were killed in helicopter accidents were all in Robinson's... A lot has to be said of the crash worthiness of the Bell / Eurocopter product line... Two accidents spring to mind... The well publicised (courtesy CH7 Today/Tonight program) B206 accident (VH-NPB?) in Arcadia, Sydney - Aircraft was absolutely totaled (good part of it hanging upside down in a tree etc) - All survived (have they caught up with that pilot yet?)... and the very unfortunate EC120 hitting wires in the Hunter Valley - Both survived... Why, because they are not cheap helicopters! Plus another 1000 stories that illustrate the crash worthiness of these great machines.

Cheap is not quality and along with the 22 & the 44, the 66 will obviously be built to a lower build spec than other aircraft in the 4 passenger class (e.g. EC120/B206/E480B) - Maybe strike off that last one too! (Saying that though I did fly in a 480 once and was pleasantly surprised! - ugly bastard though)... I'd be mighty interested to hear the RFS view on using the R66 in the future too...

The Robinson R66... A Bell 206 killer? Better than a well looked after/well maintained used Bell 206??? Not a chance!

"INCOMINGGGGGGGG"

[nzheliwhore]

If everyone ( well 90%) of people out there learned to drive in a Holden Barina car, Then once they got there licence, all they drove were holden barina's. Then it would be pretty fair to say that a fair proportion of all accidents would be in a holden barina.
Robinson accidents do make a fair proportion of the accident rate, however they also make up a huge proportion of the totals hours flown per year not only here but in NZ as well. More and more operators are turning to Robinson as they feel there is a better chance of making money with them. However one must be mindfull that this 2200 hr thingy is real, and many operators out there are living in a false economy.
I never learned to fly in a robinson they were not really around then, and can remember the first time I saw one in Auckland in the very early 80's. My first impression was, "what a cute coffin". I never thought the idea would take off, but look at them now. Personally I think the R44 Raven II and the R22 Beta II, are great little choppers, yet both have evolved from the astro and the alpha's. I am excited to see where the R66 goes to down the line. Have someone like frank robinson who puts out machines like this is great. The more economic and productive they are, the more employment out there for us pilots.
Look at the big picture of the accident records, With the high numbers of hours done in Robinson worldwide, there problems will surface very quickly. But keep it all in prospective.

NZH

[Skywork]

With the high numbers of hours done in Robinson worldwide,

You would think Frank would have sorted out the rotor blade delamination by now, oh sorry he has but it makes him a lot of money. Know of a brand new R22 with 170 hours and the blade delaminated and the owner has to pay half the cost of the new blade,
Any other manufacturer would not got away with continual blade delamination problems, imagine this problem in a R66 going faster aand heavier

[nzheliwhore]

Skywork, If that is the case, then you have a very valid point. I am sort of immune from robinson these days yet have heard stories of simular things happening. I personally would be extremely pissed off if something like that happened to me. IF and I say again IF, there are parts that come off the line really good and other parts that come off the line and fail well befor there TBO. I would suggest a quality controll problem in there supply chain.
Again I stand by wot I said about being excited about the R66. If they are still making them in 10 years time, I think they will be far superior to the one that is comeing out later this year.

NZH

[redline]

Due to the design and structural whatevers of the R66 cabin a wire strike kit can't be fitted.With more and more work calling for them i think that its another nail in the coffin for Frank.Surely they must have thought of it at the design stage??

[skypig]

As usual, Frank isn’t aiming to compete with an existing machine (especially a vintage, out of production machine like a JetRanger)
Not even dodgy MR blades has hurt the R44 sales (which has no WSP fitment possible).
He’ll sell zillions of them to people with three kids and tourist operators (pilot and two couples).

[black duck]

As Bell slips silently into the west. what can they be thinking! they are making exactly the same mistakes that they made in the seventies with the 47. That let Robinson in the door in the first place! now the're handing him Light turbine on a platter. Gee I'd love to be a shareholder! When you think of the could have beens, Kawasaki had developed a fully articulated 3 blade rotor head for the 47 that Bell ignored, they refused to look at twin engine until it was nearly to late and they hung on to the teetering rotor head well past the time it should have been in a Museum. Oh well Robinsons it is I guess

[skypig]

...... bailed out of the 139 , all the eggs in the 609 basket (now there’s an “A model” that will require balls the size of coconuts )......

[Tom]

Are/have Bell come out with anything to replace the Jetranger?

[black duck]

G'day Tom, I guess the closest thing to the JR is the 407. as far as I'm aware theres nothing in the pipeline in the way of a light single, mad!

[skypig]

I know its horrendous thread creep (and I’ve said it before on this forum – newer members might be interested).

Since 1947 Bell have released 5 helicopters:
B47
UH1 (B204)
OH58 (B206)
B222
B426? (generous to count this!)

A brand new model every 12 years or so, the R&D department must be something else! (lucky most models were/are absolute classics) Shareholders etc must be so proud.

[black duck]

Just to keep dragging this thread off track, I hear the reason for Bells startling record for R&D came from the gent that originally developed the 47 and he had control of all further developement. When your on a good thing and all that can be taken a bit far. Mind you though, when you look at that, that.....thing that Pete Schwiezer came up with! looks like something a five year old would draw!

[skypig]

I’m expecting a FADEC B47 with a glass cockpit and 4 blades (in two planes to avoid patent infringements) to be announced next...... B474F?

Sky "L4EP" Pig

[black duck]

Now your talking, Russians might have something to say about the two plane thing though. Still they wouldn't have to develope a new rotor system, they could just stack two of the old ones on top of each other. That would be in keeping with their R&D tradition too!
I just tried to down load a picture of the 330 and my computer even rejected it! ha ha