1) "Three in the back." Heh. Now that's a joke. Well, if you mean three adults, which won't fit. Okay, *would* fit for a five-minute sightseeing ride, but anything longer will be torture. (Is there a centre console? Where do the centre passenger's feet go?) Two adults and a (small) child, much better. I think we're going to see some bubble windows in the rear doors before the first one rolls out of the hangar.
2) I gotta tell you, I sure don't like that long mast. Wow. But even a LongRanger mast is scary. Ever seen one? Ever see how much of the mast sticks up *above* the trans compared to how much goes down in it? Ever wonder about the forces on the mast bearing, not to mention the transmission mounts during cruise flight or even heavy maneuvering? Yikes. That long R-66 mast is just disturbing. (I predict the R-66 will have the same sloppy handling of a 206.)
3) People have noted the nose-high hover attitude. That may have less to do with c.g. than some forward tilt of the mast, like a 206. I'd bet Frank gave the mast another degree or three of tilt vs. the R-44. (And I wonder if Frank didn't extend the mast to get the hub further forward to help out with #4 below?)
4) But c.g. *will* be an issue. Isn't the baggage compartment pretty much right under the mast? Which means you can't really use baggage to counter balance a big load in the cabin, which is ENTIRELY forward of the mast! All two-blade systems have about five inches of c.g. range. The R-66 will be set up so that with one pilot and no baggage the c.g. will be right at the rear limit. Then the problem becomes cyclic travel in high speed cruise. There was a damn good reason Bell put the 206 trans over the back seat. Without that, the L-model would not have been possible.
5) Friend of mine used to fly a 47G-2 doing traffic around NYC. Backup was an En-280. Side-by-side in the hangar, I asked Lou which one he prefererred. He pointed at the Bell: "Industrial strength." And then at the Enstrom: "Household strength." Enough said. (No offense intended to the Enstrom crowd. I've got time in the F-28/280 and quite like them.)
I look at the R-66 and see household strength.
Conclusion: Nevermind all of the above. With Frank's reputation and worldwide dealer network, he will sell every R-66 he can build, no doubt. Can't carry five adults? No problem. Hot/high performance not great? No problem. Not a good sling ship? No problem. There is a market for the little scooter, and if he can bring it in for under USD $1 million, buyers will be lined up all the way to the Mexican border. Mark my words.