I flew an R22 a couple of weeks ago with the "new" stainless steel blades. I'm told they are much nicer to fly with, have better autorotation characteristics, etc, but this may be just as much the newness of the machines they are on, I don't know. I have so little experience I wouldn't have known the difference.
How many blade separation accidents have happened with these newer blades? I don't remember reading anything specific in the reports that says what type of blades they've been.
My point is this - many of the accident reports I've seen about these Robbie accidents seem to involve some sort of manufacturing defect that has initiated the crack. Is this nothing more than a case of poor QC on the manufacturing line of the blades? Of course I'm making a big assumption about this particular one above, but the question remains.
Before Lu and Nick take up their spitballs and catapults in this thread, does anyone else have any comment about manufacturing processes of rotor blades?
Cheers,
wishtobflying
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You cannot achieve what you have not first imagined ...