Originally Posted by
FH1100 Pilot
But...! Does it cruise at 125 knots? Knot hardly. Objective pilot reports that have been published put the cruise speed around 110-115 knots, which is right in line with an L-4 on low-skids. The reporters report ride-quality issues above that point, which is just what one would expect with an L-model rotor system. But hey, what's ten or fifteen knots among friends, right? So all the dreamers were off by *only* ten or fifteen knots, so what? Well, a lot of the fanboys really hung their hat on that "125 knot" cruise speed. Oh well.
My 206L (the underpowered PoS with the C20B and water-meth injection) cruised at a genuine 118kts on low skids with fairings with full fuel and 4 pob. I'd have no issue with Bell claiming similar cruise for a modern iteration and note that the claim was for max speed, not cruise speed, of 125+ kts.