Hi 3top,
Koala still current on my license, however I did have less chances to fly it since our Lama was back in flight.
Surprisingly it seems that in my country I'm the only one that think that with a Koala you may overtake the B3... but really I haven't any troubles to take 1'400 kg at the hook @ 3'500 ft (pressure altitude) with some 15°C during a logging day.
You can really "pull out" trees like the Lama do.
The overlimit is coming after 5" and your colleague with torque wrench screwdriver and hammer in the hands is demanded to take a look just after 15" over the red line
This is quite different in the B3
About pilot position, helmet and so far, I didn't have the chance to fly an Ecureuil with bubble, but I flown some with the floor windows (from the smallest to the biggest DART's). I you have very short rotation (1.5' or so) removing the door is far better (neglecting all consideration about speed limitation...
)
The we go my thoughts (both positive and negative) only concerns the Koala.
Alpinlift
Here you see what I means about the seating position and the poo place remaining between your head and the cabin frame!
Imagine now with a door installed and a bubble
I also forgot to tell you that the pedals are too close to the pilot and it would be nice if there were the same STC that exist for the Bell (because the pedals are the same).
In our country almost every helicopter operator is now flying B2/B3/B3+, but at least two big operator remains with the Lama.
Ecureuil is the right "bonne à tout faire", a kind of passepartout which since the very earlier version (B in the late '80s) performed external load missions in our country with a total experience that today certainly comes to over 2 hundred thousand hours
!
You may compare it with the few hours flown on the same task by Koalas worldwide.
About maintenance I cannot say very much since the ship I flown is own and operated by another operator,
Try to look to
karen, maybe they may help you.
The Koala is really heavy compared to the B3 (about 500 kgs) so if Agusta would be capable to bring it at the same empty mass like the B3, you would have an helicopter which should lift of with 1'800 kgs on the hook, and that would be really a dream for an helicopter of a similar shape.
Unfortunately I fear that this absolutely does not care to Agusta.
We are considering to be a kind of "guinea pigs" in our country, maybe we could join our efforts and go together to Agusta, bringing a project with a definite flight hours number.
If you consider that with a dramatically reduced empty mass the Koala can be compete with a Bell medium, perhaps Agusta suddenly sees a new market gap and decides to enter race.
Finally, I believe that everyone finds pleasure to fly the machines that the most convincing. Since I have some experience as a mechanic, my approaches is different from your. (K-Max wooden blades in 2009
, central stick in the robinsons
)