just a quick one about the robbo blades cracking,
as a flight instructor i see how people treat the poor little R22 on a daily basis, the 206's and R44's dont get it as much (probably due to cost)and it is obviously my job to educate people.
the pictures i saw were of a lovely long crack (about 2-3")around the round part of the blade root (with the feathering spindle inside) starting at the leading edge.
the pilot said he had alarge vibration from the start of his flight that got worse, not surprising! when will people learn to do a THOROUGH 'A' check?
All i can say to all those who dis franks designs is that in 2500 hours instruction on the R22 (and plenty on R44 too) i havnt had a problem - rear the poh and abide by it and you wont have a problem