Back to the fruit stand.
To: t'aint
Quote: the R22 remains one of the safest helicopters in the air. Don't take a lend of it and it won't let you down.
Response: Once again you are comparing apples to oranges. Maybe by your statistics the Robinson is the safest helicopter flying in the UK. However if you consider that there have been at least five rotor incursion, rotor loss, mast bumping incidents on Robinson’s in the UK in the last four years compare that to the number of other helicopters that have suffered loss of rotor control in that same time period. In order to keep this accident rate down the aircraft must be flown with limitations on its’ flight characteristics. There are not many other helicopters that have these draconian limitations placed upon them.
Quote: There are sound reasons why the R22 outnumbers all the others put together, and why its numbers to continue to rise in proportion to the rest.
Response: I can only think of one and that is its’ price. You will please note that in all of the comments I have made relative to the safety of the Robinson design I never attacked its’ reliability. To my knowledge there has only been one accident due to the failure of a part. Discount very early rotor blade failures.
If everything is done correctly in the design of the aircraft then safety is maintained by engineering. In the case of the R-22 R-44 the operator at the controls is the final control of safety and the manufacturer absolves themselves by placing suggested restrictions on the operation of the aircraft.