PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - Professional Opinions Sought on Experimental Helicopters
Old 12th Apr 2002, 11:59
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Helinut
 
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I am not familiar with the type you mentioned, but in a way this does not matter if you talk about the general issues of kit helicopters. Talking generally and based on some experience with another "kit helicopter" IMHO you need to be very careful about helicopters that have not gone through the "normal" design, construction, flight testing and certification process. As a helicopter pilot, your life is very much in the hands of the engineers and test pilots who have contributed at all stages to the machine you are flying. The full blown certification process is time-consuming, expensive and appears sometimes tedious. However, you can have some faith that if you fly it within the envelope it won't bite or fall apart on you. You just do not know the pedigree of the beast if it is not certified.

The same is true of aeroplanes, but there are just that many more critical moving bits in a helicopter, so the issue is more important.

In the end, it depends how much you think your life is worth.
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