Robinson R44 Review drafted
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.
Philip Greenspun’s Weblog
A posting every day; an interesting idea every three months…
K
July 1, 2006 @ 11:11 am
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?
philg
July 2, 2006 @ 1:58 pm
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.
Jason B.
July 6, 2006 @ 12:52 pm
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.
philg
July 7, 2006 @ 10:28 pm
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).