I very recently completed the course and if you are a low time pilot I think you would walk away from it a bit wiser.
If you have an engineering background then you may well leave with some unanswered questions and find some of there opinions and statistics questionable.
Also remember that the course is run buy the Robinson Helicopter Company that wants to sell you Robinson Helicopters.
I heard some choice quotes from the lecturer which I had a few problems with,
"The myth of turbine reliability".
I have no problem excepting that a derated recip engine is very reliable but when showed a table of figures that show the R22 engine to be almost five times more reliable than a C250, hmmmmm.
Someone once said there are lies, damb lies then statistics.
"No one has yet to produce a small reliable gas turbine"
I'm sure the French and a few others would have something to say about this.
Being a company course its understandable that they would want to promote there product and a bit of creative license is expectable but directly criticizing other Helicopter companies and there products was a bit much.
Being a PPruner for a while ive read most of the stuff about the R22 and thought that this is a great opportunity to hear it from the horses mouth, so I asked two questions. The first one to Frank Robinson and the second to the course lecturer.
1.
"Frank, there has been a large debate recently on the PPrune web site about the R22 and R44 head design, what's your view point", I asked.
"The person who started that has since been discredited as an engineer", Replied frank.
2.
"If the blades have the ability to flap independently but cant advance or retreat, how does the design of the head work", I asked.
"Its very complicated and you wont be able to understand it", the lecturer replied.
Draw you own conclusions about the answers but I'm damb sure I know which impression I was left with !!!!
Lu,
We were shown a rotorhead which was damaged as a result of continually pulling to much power (cattle mustering in Oz), the area's on the head where the damaged occurred looked unusual and I would like to discuss this directly with you.
Jiff