Originally Posted by
Jelico
This is pretty common in both R44 and R22. Have seen it (from the hangar) once in an R44. Damage was fairly minimal, an inspection and I believe a mag overhaul. Did you happen to check if the fan had spun? Thats usually a good indication of how bad an overspeed it is.. I am starting to think that Robinson deliberately avoid an overspeed protection system (like the 300's STAR system) to charge for parts! It seems like a basic addition to a 22/44 and would save a lot of downtime, heartache and money. Lucky I did my first 60 hrs in a 300 and when I tried to overspeed it on start, the STAR system saved the day..
Thanks Jelico and everyone else. The instructor accepted responsibility, and I sure learned a lesson! I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one who has made this bonehead move. Hopefully a day of beating myself up about it will hammer the lesson in; I sure don't need to make any more mistakes like this.
To answer your question, the fan had not spun. Sure seems like a simple overspeed protection system for starting would be a worthwhile addition.