I got My PPL in an R22 and with it, the impression that the governor would keep RPM under control as long as the engine kept going. Such complacency! In training the governor was switched off occasionally during straight and level and gentle turns to make sure I could do it. I can't recall take offs or landings without it.
I then started flying aircraft with no governor and sometimes no correlator either. This instils an awesome sense of RPM awareness and I now find that when flying Robinsons, one eye on the tacho is truly automatic.
I feel that the governor - because it is so good- insulates us from the realities of how the power output is changing - which is a lot during lift, hover and transition. If your first experience of this, with no governor, is unexpected then it is not surprising that things go wrong. According to my Enstrom instructor, pilots trained in R22s have 'great difficulty' with RPM control when converting to a non governed machine. I certainly did.
It is easy to turn a R22 into a non governed aircraft - without even realising as witnessed by Whirlybird and Nr Fairy.
The unexpected makes it even more difficult to deal with.
We know of two aircraft damaged in this way and it is only good fortune that I did not do the same.
It would seem that take off with no governor is likely to damage the aircraft. Is this an argument for more or better training without the governor or just a better warning system for flight with it switched off? Maybe it should be connected to the rotor horn. That would get your attention to the right dial!
A better warning system would have saved both our friends money and heartache. How about it Frank?
(does he read this???)