Here's to you, Mr Robinson
So - that's the R&D costs for the R66 taken care of.....
New Helicopter production figures released by the AIA for the first three months of 2004 show Robinson leading with 158 deliveries followed by Bell with 16, Sikorsky with 8, and Schweizer with 7. Robinson deliveries for the quarter included 104 R44s and 54 R22s, a record high for the company.
This is an 82% increase over the first quarter of 2003 when Robinson delivered 57 R44s and 30 R22s.
To accommodate the higher rate of production, Robinson has expanded its workforce from 600 employees in early 2003 to more than 1,000 in 2004. An additional factory building is scheduled for completion in July, which will nearly double Robinson’s manufacturing floor space. This should help shorten the order backlog, which is currently over six months for both the R22 and R44. Robinson Helicopter Company is the world’s leading manufacturer of civil helicopters.