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Every newly-qualified helicopter pilot should go on this course Ð regardless of type qualification. And every instructor should also sign-up. (In the USA, itÕs compulsory.)
And my feeling is that
I came to that opinion on day 1 as we were escorted across the factory floor for the first time Ð it is quite astonishing what Frank Robinson and his family have achieved in little more than a quarter-century. Even more so when you consider that all you see (260,000 sq ft) is paid for by civilian sales Ð not military or big commercial money).
85% of the parts required are manufactured at this facility Ð raw material in one end, finished machines out the other.
The factory tour alone is worth the trip Ð but we were there to learn safety & maintenance and class beckoned at 8am each day. My exercise book is crammed with notes and tips from an intensive time. Short breaks were enjoyed with fellow students Ð and I really enjoyed meeting pilots from all corners with varying abilities. A multi-thousand hour FAA inspector, a Texas rancher, Florida policeman, a Seattle woman with 120 hours who hadnÕt yet been able to fly her husband because you need 150 hours P1 in the USA before you can take passengers in an R22. Every minute was a learning moment. Yes Ð some of the videos from the US Army looked and sounded like episodes of The Fast Show Ð but you still learned. And other videos were hard to take Ð truly awful tragedies caught on tape. But, I know, these machines can bite Ð and most often itÕs because of whatÕs called pilot error. Even our instructor, the famed Tim Tucker, admitted to making errors of judgement.
Day 1 started with The Man Ð Frank came into the classroom in stealth style. We were unaware. When a voice announced ÒGood morning Ð IÕm Frank RobinsonÓ we knew the treat was starting. He lectured for about 20 minutes Ð focussing on safety issues and pilot performance. He is so concerned with this subject that he has established a house rule for all staff flyers Ð no passengers until 300 hrs. And a firm rule for ÒferryÓ work Ð a large number of new owners want to collect their ship from the factory and fly it home. Unless you conform to FrankÕs 10 ferry rules (which include logbook entries for at least 5 landings above 5000 DA), you canÕt have your toy for self-delivery.
In an entertaining Q&A after the lecture, Frank took on allcomers. ÒWould you consider a 3-balde rotor ?Ó (No Ð weight and performance and hangar space), ÒDoes the recent accident in Australia threaten the rest of the world ?Ó (No Ð we are mightily concerned that some operators in Australia constantly ignore the timelife of components. They just donÕt log hours correctly Ð if at all. This is a problem for CASA.)
And ÒWhy are you clearing all that land next to this factory ?Ó (New facility to add two-thirds more space Ð ready in two years Ð need capacity Ð want to increase output from 7 machines a week to 10 Ð 6 months backlog on both 22 and 44 currently. No new machine in the works.) Yeah well, the works arenÕt built yet!
ÒHave you achieved all you want in helicopters ?Ó (Well Ð I better get a move on if I havenÕt Ôcos IÕm 73 now!)
He then handed over to our main tutor Tim Tucker. And I really cannot take up ppruneÕs valuable server space with a complete report on the next 3 days of lectures and videos. Suffice to state that the stats show (in descending order) the main causes of non-fatal accidents in Robinsons : Practise Autos, Weather, Wire Strikes, Low RPM rotor stall.
55% of all accidents have an Instructor on board. And RobinsonÕs new mantra is Òhigh hoverÓ. A lot of accidents are caused by instructors teaching students that a 1-2 ft hover is safe. It isnÕt Ð it has caused many rollover accidents when the student has made a wrong large control input and the skids have dug-in sideways. So Ð always teach a 5-6 ft hover.
Most R22 accidents are low time pilots Ð so the rule now is that you cannot instruct or take passengers until you have 150 hrs all 22 time, or 250 TT of which 100 on 22, or 500 TT of which 50 must be 22. This is to stop low time instructors being bad teachers.
Later, Tim gave Instructors 4 rules for Practise Autos :
Throttle roll-off at 17 or 18 inches MAP only. Put foot on right pedal and tense leg. (Guarding against wrong pedal input by the student). Intercept Student if RPM drops to 95%. Only allow one mistake by the student and then terminate the exercise.
Tim was also my instructor for the 90-minute flight appraisal. This 16,000 hour helicopter veteran has been working with Robinson for over 25 years and he actually bought the first production R22 from Frank. The man is cool Ð so cool I could swear that he was using his eyelids to control the helicopter, such was the fine control he exhibited. He put me through my paces Ð and I particularly enjoyed the Maximum Glide autos. Using 90 kts and 90% rotor rpm, we glided effortlessly along the length of Long Beach Harbour Ð the main concern is that you do the entire exercise with the low rpm horn blaring. Then we did some more standard autos Ð but this time into one of 3 practise pads at Long Beach airport. This full-on commercial field has 10 runways, with 3 always active.
And Tim emphasised another current Robinson mantra Ð low speed approaches are best. They have evidence that high speed approaches are causing accidents Ð big control inputs at the bottom are causing instability and big flares are taking off tail rotors.
Maintenance was lectured by RobinsonÕs engineering whiz Pat Cox. Again, the attention to detail was astonishing. And space does not permit full disclosure Ð but Pat held court on such issues as hangar-rash (a big and expensive problem) and overspeeds. Some excellent demo trolleys of Robinson systems helped explain hydraulics and clutch mechanisms Ð and several trolley loads of bent bits hammered home the major issues such as mast-bumping and bad magneto maintenance.
In summary Ð you canÕt even get an hourÕs self-fly hire in the UK for the price Robinson charges for this course. No brainer Ð do it. Tip Ð combine it with a holiday and arrive in California a few days before the course. Jet lag and lectures donÕt always mix Ð but the endless supply of coffee and donuts (and some great lunches) helps!