the following link will take you to the casa website relating to the blade problems of the r22 in australia.
http://www.casa.gov.au/avreg/aircraft/ad/NEW/urgent.htm
one of the reasons given for the a.d. being directed at mustering machines, (not the under writing of hours) is that the r22 was not designed for the forces experienced during mustering operations.
it's amazing that everytime there is a problem with the r22 we are told that it was never designed to do that job, or words to that effect. what then was it actually designed to do???.
are we to believe that mustering pilots put too much stress on the airframe and blades of the robbie and it cannot handle it. what a load of absolute rubbish. most of the pilots i know, and there are plenty, are amongst the best handlers of the machine in the world. they get the best out of the robbie not the worst. mustering is not hard work most of the time just long hours in the sky. it is straight forward and common sense flying.
you don't see too many blokes throwing their machines around unless a blonde with a camera is around. it's just another flying job. a very satisfying and adventuresome one i must admit, and lots of money too.
these are not an idle comments frank. come over here and see for yourself, or tim when he is over next.
as of yesterday it is estimated that one third of the r22 fleet in australia will be on the ground with a massive wait for replacement blades.
this will ground a lot of honest operators but you can bet your bottom dollar that the main offenders (under recorders, the main problem), will not miss a beat and no one will check.
i have flown these machines since 1979 and if they are operated within the legal time limits they will not let you down.
so what are we to do with the other users of the machine, ag operators, flying schools, some students are pretty dramatic helicopter handlers, or even the private owners, how does casa know that they are not subjecting their robbies to these supposedly dangerous stresses, why don't they have to comply.
unfortunately robinsons have had more than their share of blade problems from the very beginning and we know about the problems of underrecording of hours in this country but please don't insult us by by telling us we don't know how to fly properly. most aussie musterers fly in excess of a thousand hours a season in a very hostile environment, very hot, very low level, everyday, yet the accident rate in the mustering industry is far less than the general helicopter population suffers.
one of the problems endemic to our mustering industry is that a percentage of our pilots did not become pilots to become part of the aviation industry (shock, horror), they became pilots to put cattle in the yards because it is efficient. these thinkers don't care about helicopters per se, they treat them like motor bikes or toyotas. they do it at unsustainable prices with no thought of the end costs. simple mathematics will show that that if your not making money you can't buy the bits that wear out. so don't write the time down and the bits wont wear out. simple thinking for a simple mind. then sell it with some hours left to you mate down the road, he won't care. the abuse of the robbie in australia has proven that the machine is very robust in fact.
i digress, if the robinson r22 helicopter cannot handle flight in conditions applied by high time professional pilots who don't have a death wish then maybe there is a larger picture, maybe they should all be grounded until the picture is clearer.