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Old 23rd Apr 2019, 11:39
  #1398 (permalink)  
aa777888
 
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All my time is in Robinsons. A few years ago, before there were any G2's in the US, I went out of my way during a business trip to the UK to get some time in a G2, just to experience the difference. I found the fenestron difficult to get used to, much less master. Obviously anyone who has never flown anything but a G2 wouldn't notice a difference. Last year I, by chance, I got an hour in an EC130. Thank goodness for the two hours in the G2 is all I can say! With that tiny bit of experience I can only form the conclusion that the characteristics of the fenestron seem more oriented towards safety of ground personnel and lowering of noise footprint then proper flying characteristics. I don't care for it, and would only choose it as a "necessary evil" if I thought the other positive characteristics of the Airbus, or Guimbal, series of helicopters outweighed the negative of the fenestron.

That said, it is still a damning statistic. That's over 10% of the worldwide fleet in 5 years,and half of it apparently due to loss of yaw control. If the stat gets up that high in the US alone, don't laugh, there could be an SFAR 74.

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