Originally Posted by
Paul Cantrell
Having taught in 22s since the mid 80s, and 44s since 2006, I'd say the 44 has had less issues than the 22. Which makes sense, because Robinson was able to fix a bunch of the shortcomings of the 22. And of course it has a ton more power than the 22, especially with two or three people on board.
Did I just imagine being told chugging was caused when a supplier changed the composition of the rubber transmission mounts without telling Robinson, and that chugging was encountered when you had a mix of old and new mounts on one aircraft? I could have sworn I heard that at the factory... Certainly glad I never encountered it, sounded scary as hell.
It's kind of a wash for me. Like you said, 44 tail rotor is night and day better than the 206 ( I've never flown with the Van Horn dunno how much that helps ). 44 is, as you say, substantially faster than the 206. And of course substantially cheaper to operate although as the pilot I don't care THAT much... Although I've been flying with the T Bar cyclic for 35 years, I still hate it. And yeah, low gee. But the 206 has the dynamic tail boom mode. The 44 has instant torque when you need it, and no hot starts. The list goes on and on... The truth is they each have some advantages and some disadvantages.
If I'm giving a tour, I strongly prefer the 44 with the open cabin. Other than that? Meh. Whatever.
I've only flown the 22 in the 21st century, so I never got to experience its gowing pains.
As for my design remark, it was more about the tall mast and top mounted swash plate. I don't know if that design makes any difference, but it just seems like as the helicopter gets bigger that taller mast might cause more issues? Anyway, it was just a though?
Now with tours, I'd definitely go with the 206,...gotta have that separation between me and them!
,...you know if you take off the cfi grip on the 44's cyclic, its just a "J" Bar.
