To: Joe Pilot,
Regarding the big payout as an expert witness, that has never been my intent. But if the $$$$ are good enough I would give it a shot.
You mentioned that a friend almost killed himself and another did kill himself exploring low G flight. However, you did not reveal what type of helicopter they were flying. Then you stated that two other individuals killed themselves in a similar manner and again you did not state the type of helicopter they were flying. I am not trying to get you to say that it was in an R22 or an R44 because Bell helicopters can get just as nasty when you get into a low G situation. If it was in fact they were flying a Robinson helicopter I can almost guarantee that it was ruled pilot error.
Your analogy about driving head on into traffic is in fact correct. It is the drivers’ decision as it is the pilots’ decision to ignore the limitations placed on his aircraft. However, you must ask yourself why the restrictions were placed on the aircraft in the first place. From 1981 to 1995 there were 31 fatal accidents involving rotor loss or rotor incursions. The FAA commissioned Georgia Tech School of Aeronautics to analyze these accidents and come up with a solution to keep it from happening again. First out of the box it was assumed that all accidents were the result of pilot error. They concluded that extremely high flapping loads would be incurred if the helicopters were flown in a sideslip or flown out of trim. They also indicated that the rotor system being of the low inertia type would be subject to stall and/ or would have a serious effect when initiating an autorotation. All of this is true but the report and the subsequent report issued by the NTSB completely overlooked to major points. The design of the rotor head and the rigging procedures.
During the certification, the helicopter had to demonstrate a side slip angle of 90 degrees initiated by a rapid input of maximum left or right pedal input. Also, the helicopter had to demonstrate flying out of trim left or right by 10 degrees. Now, think about this. Since 1995 the helicopters (22 and 44) have been restricted from flying out of trim and from being side slipped and up until last month there were no more accidents as described above. Since the design of the rotor head is the same now as it was when the first ship ran off the production line how did the helicopter get certified then if it can’t do those things now?
If you think I am biased by telling you that Robinson helicopters have a demonstrated bad safety and reliability record think about your own bias in supporting the reputation of Robinson Helicopters when faced with proof that you are wrong.
First of all, you have to understand where I am coming from. I am an engineering consultant specializing in Reliability, Maintainability and Systems Safety and I don’t specialize in just rotary wing aircraft. As an example just look at the tech log section of this forum under problems with Airbus Aircraft. The arguments on that forum are just as heated as they are on this forum. Whether I am addressing Helicopters or, Commercial Aircraft my only interest is in Safety and Reliability.
You might also ask why I don’t take my thoughts to Robinson Helicopters. In 1996 prior to writing my report to the NTSB I contacted Both Frank Robinson and his son Kurt. They completely ignored me. Also for your information, the NTSB has reopened their investigation on the 22 and 44 as a result of the rotor loss accident in California last month.
Why don’t you send me your email address and your fax number and I will send a copy of the report and a diagram that will help you to understand the problems outlined in the report.
One final point; the POH provides instructions on how to get out of a low G situation. The instruction states that the high mounted tail rotor will introduce a right roll and that the pilot should not try to counter the right roll by applying left cyclic. It tells the pilot to gently pull straight back on the cyclic until control is rgained and then apply left cyclic. However, the design of the rotor head is such that if you pull straight back on the cyclic you will in fact introduce a right roll component and lose the helicopter.