Notes from Heli-Expo 2019

[FH1100 Pilot]

So I tried to post this on the "bad" JH board, but it kept giving me an error message that the word "rape" is not allowed. Which was strange since I didn't use that word. Aaaaanyway, here's my first-time-visitor's account of my day at Heli-Expo.

After descending into what seemed like the depths of Hades, we finally got down to the exhibit floor. It was pretty well-attended, although itw as an older crowd than I expected. Not too many young people. And no music! What's up with that? As far as exhibitors, all the usual suspects were there in two giant cinder-block halls. And walk? Dang, I should have worn more comfortable shoes. Rumor had it that Matty Z had already fled the scene, escaping back up to NYC where it is friggin' WARMER than here in Atlanta. Chuck Aaron got up on stage, whipped it out (his notes) and gave a speech on what a big...mustache...he has. And he has! Afterward, I got him to autograph my arm in magic marker. I think he actually wrote "Justin Bieber" though. I don't know, I was pretty drunk at the time (drat that free beer!). But it's gone now because I took a shower when I got home last night and inadvertently washed it off. Oh well...

Didn't get to meet Lyn Burks of JustHelicopters and Vertical. Maybe today. Did get to meet some pretty cool pilots, some of whom I've only "spoken" to online.

"Blackhawk Row" was pretty interesting! Plenty of 'em, although it appeared that there was an empty parking space for one more. Hmm, wonder what happened to it. Blackhawk down? I'm stumped.

Reports were that some operators were actively and aggressively recruiting pilots. Any warm body with a CPL was fair game. One operator's rep was standing outside their booth, giving a spiel like a used-car salesman, "Come on over! If you've got a license, we've got a job for you!" Well...young pilots, not 63 year-old me. "Move along, old man!" the car salesman said to me. "Let me talk to that young buck behind you." I turned around only to see a 62 year-old guy behind me. There was an airline booth there too, recruiting helo pilots with offers of sign-on bonuses and free toasters. The helicopter operators were shunning them and mean-mugging them like crazy. I heard one operator yell at them, "Go home, n-word!" Harsh! Must be a lot of animosity there.

Bell Helicopter had a big display. Almost all their stuff was there - but no 525 or 609 though (which I know...it's not technically a Bell Helicopter product anymore. There was a huge screen with a CGI video of their overgrown quadcopter zooming around some city, in and among the skyscrapers but never landing! Very impressive! I asked the girl at the counter where such a thing would land? She said, "Rooftops." And I went, "Oooooh, that might be tough in some cities." And she just winced and nodded in agreement but did not say anything. These drones are a pipe dream, I tell you. The 505 was there. Meh, about what I expected...either a big 206B or a small 206L. No salesmen that I could talk to about it though. On one 505 the paint on the exposed tailboom attach bolts had been worn off, clearly by tools, indicating that the tailboom had been off one (or more) times. Bell should leave stuff like that unpainted.

Finally, we were drinking in a bar after the show. Someone suggested that we go crash the Robertson Helicopter after-party. Someone else wisecracked that, "We don't have to crash it, it'll crash itself!" Which was pretty funny and I wish I'd thought of it. We all laughed.

And I have two more days of this? I may just go today and then bag it. Having the show here in Atlanta was probably a mistake. Next year, I suggest they have it in some place more fun (and warmer!). Like California. I'll speak to Matty Z about it.

[Robbiee]

Aggressively recruiting pilots and an airline booth? Didn't notice any of that last year. :{

Yeah, you can say rape here, probably the "n" word too!

,...just not Guimbo! :=

[nomorehelosforme]

Any pictures anybody?

[Gordy]

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/2000x1504/20190306_144039_57a51b630b3047e4a7912fa60e4697ac3ff651cd.jpg

[nomorehelosforme]

Gordy,

Great picture, that along with self driving cars, motorways in the sky around major cities, mobile phones, etc, etc..... we saw it all before in comics as kids! Who would have thought!!

FH1100Pilot,

Very funny post😎 Yes it is rather chilly here at the moment, suggest you find a hospitality booth with a fine Scotch to warm the cockles of your heart rather than the ****e beer generally provided at the GWCC.

[malabo]

Gordy,

Aww, if we wanted to be titillated we'd be hoping for Lynn Tilton's latest fashion statement.

[Hughes500]

Malabo, you must be made of stern stuff then, and or have
a string stomach

[FH1100 Pilot]

Days two and three of the show were non-eventful. Someone was asking for pics, but honestly there was nothing noteworthy to take pictures of! Bell did not bring a 525 or the new tilt-rotor thingee they're working on, Agusta did not bring a 609, Sikorsky did not bring the Raider. Not even models! Kaman had a little model of a Kmax but not the real thing. Airbus did have a 145 with the new five-blade rotor. They also had a little model of their X-3 compound helicopter. For a helicopter show, there sure weren't many helicopters! There were Blackhawks aplenty...firefighting ships, obviously (minus one). There was a (the?) Coulson-Unical CH-47. (The thing about taking pictures though...the lighting was terrible and there were always people in the way.)

I was talking casually with a guy at the Van Horn Aviation booth about the blades they make for the 206. I haven't flown a ship with the Van Horn blades yet, but both guys I was with had. The discussion was really interesting! The Van Horn blades really do change the flying qualities of the 206, and some pilots (ag pilots, particularly) sometimes have trouble adapting. Since we weren't customers per se, I didn't want to monopolize the guy's time. So I introduced myself as we departed. And he goes, "Nice to meet you, I'm Jim Van Horn." And I was, like, well it was one of those times that leave me momentarily speechless. The man himself! You never know who you're talking to at these conventions!

I got to spend some time with Chuck Aaron. He's hard to miss or mistake for someone else. Chuck provides an aerobatic course in the Bo105 now. He had his ship there. It has a tiger motif and the interior company that did it was always close by. letting visitors know that they did other aircraft besides Bo105s. Chuck is a cool guy, especially when you get him talking about his past, the days before Red Bull.

Finally, I also got to sit down for a while with Matt Zuccaro, who's been president of the HAI since 2005. I used to know Matty (as everyone called him back in the day) since the 1970s. He preceded me by almost a decade at a charter operator in New York called Island Helicopters. Then he went to the N.Y. Port Authority for a while...and then onward and upward some more, culminating in being president of the HAI in 2005. Most of his peers are long-since retired from flying. I'm a bit younger than he, so I remember the old days, and we got to reminiscing about the times and the people who've made up the industry over the years. Lordy, the things he's done! He's a humble guy, but he's quite an inspiration to pilots who aspire to one day do something more than just wiggle the sticks.

I grew up in NYC but left that market in 1984, so Matt and I haven't really interacted in a long, long time - and although we've met more than a few times, honestly we didn't know each other and weren't "friends." But it was good catching up with someone who was also there in the early 1970s, what was really the beginning of the whole civilian turbine helicopter industry. Kind of made me feel old. Him too, unfortunately.

I told him that I loved his "Land The Damn Helicopter!" program but didn't like the watered-down "Land and Live" version the HAI ultimately settled on. Here's where Matty got really animated - he's still passionate about it because pilots keep pushing weather when they really ought to just take advantage of the fact that we're in HELICOPTERS and can land anywhere (pretty much). We talked about just such an accident with an aircraft that was headed for this very show. He said another ship got caught by the weather and did put it down to wait. Next day they resumed their trip and made it to the show in time for the load-in.

Matt laughed when he said that when he does these "Land and Live" presentations, they always put out a selection of t-shirts and stuff with both the "Land The Damn Helicopter!" and "Land and Live" slogans. He said that he NEVER comes back with any "Land The Damn Helicopter!" stuff. It *all* goes. But they always end up with leftover "Land and Live" stuff. So you see which message makes the better impact. Says I, don't water crap down!

All in all it was an interesting show. I had debated on not going because conventions like these are really not for me. I'm not the target market for any of the stuff on display. In fact, when I went to look at one of these "firehawk" UH-60s, an eager salesman came over. "We're just looking," we said. "Oh, just looking? Never mind then," he said before literally brushing us off and quickly walking away. My friend and I were, like, damn!

Other than that...oh wait! I'll tell you my experience at the Bell exhibit in a later post ;-)

[FH1100 Pilot]

As you might imagine, I spent a LOT of time hanging around the Bell exhibit, hat in hand (so to speak). I was looking for BellBlade, or Nigel...someone to talk to about the lonely 505. But the Bell people were ignoring their little bird (and the 429, come to think of it). And "little bird" is a misnomer. The 505 is big! Bigger than a 206B of course, and quite a bit larger than the R-66.

While waiting for the ghostly Bell reps, I eavesdropped on the people who were climbing in an out of the 505 - which was not all that easy with those stupid forward door posts that come back so far. It really is hard to get into the copilot seat with the duals installed. Then again, which helicopter is easy to get in and out of? I have to tell you, the reactions I overheard were rather, umm...unenthusiastic. One full-time professional pilot (MD500) was particularly unimpressed. But keep in mind, MD500 pilots don't like any Bell, old or new.

Questions...I had questions! Like, what is the real-world fuel burn at MCP? And what is the IAS at MCP? Do they usually run it at MCP, or do they use some lower power-setting that gives them better fuel consumption, a flatter cabin attitude and lower vibration?

I used to fly a 206B for a guy. He and I mostly flew alone, but sometimes he'd want to take friends along. It would not have mattered if we had an S-92 - he would've found a way to fill all the seats. I was 200 pounds, he was 220. In the back we'd have his girlfriend/future wife, and some other guy and his wife - say 490 pounds in the back seats. I wanted to see if the 505 could handle such a load. Spoiler alert: It cannot.

Bell gives you a really neat c.g. calculator in the G-1000. Plug in the numbers and it'll give you a graphic depiction of your c.g. Well...take a look at the picture below. It might be hard to see on your phone, but the loading scenario described above is what I entered. Even on your phone you can probably see that the c.g. would be way forward of forward limit. Gross weight is okay, but that thing is nose-heavy! Which stands to reason: Everything is forward of the mast. And these numbers are for the ship, N505CQ which had the bare-bones interior - really spartan, no interior panels, no carpet. I wanted to do the same with the 505 at the Mecaer booth - the one with their fancy (and good-looking!) interior. It's got to be even more nose-heavy. But they wouldn't let me near it. Had it roped off like the Mona Lisa or something.

If I were operating a 505, I'd ballast the thing so the empty weight c.g. was as far aft as possible. And actually, maybe 505CQ's was set up like that - I forgot to check where the c.g. would be with just me in it by myself. But again, I couldn't have asked a Bell rep if I wanted to.

Aaaaanyway, seeing the 505 "in the flesh" hasn't changed my opinion of it much. I'd like to fly one! A Bell demo ship showed up in my hometown not long ago. I wrote about it on Facebook, and someone from Bell (who obviously wasn't familiar with me) reached out to see if I wanted a ride? I said of course! But I think whoever was flying it must've recognized my name and told the other guy, "No way!" In any event, it hung around for a couple of days and then left without me hearing peep from the pilot. No matter, I'll find someone who'll let me fly theirs. Or not, I don't care, really. The guy I used to fly for is still deliriously happy with his 206B.


https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/960x793/n505cq_93ad536b346938e59d1ad590558687b12864ce2e.jpg
It might be hard to see, but here we have 420 pounds in the front seats, and 490 in the back. You can maybe see that the c.g. index is forward of the limit. Trouble is, you have no way of offsetting the cabin load, as the baggage compartment is right under the mast and doesn't change the c.g.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/640x375/derbiergarten2_24999c9ecbd8b1ba0aaf76afe5a95527bc28f4d9.jpg
After walking our feet off all day, we repaired to a place near Heli-Expo called Der Biergarten, where the beers were huge and the food was awesome. That's yours truly in the middle with my friends Brandon (left) and Nate (right). Great guys and great pilots, but boy can they drink! Good times, man, good times.

[DOUBLE BOGEY]

FH1100 Pilot. I have to say I really like your style of prose and the way you communicate so freely on this forum. I have enjoyed immensely reading about your visit to HAI. I think you have a novel or two inside of you (forgive me if you have already made one). Keep it coming.

DB

[FH1100 Pilot]

Thank you, DB, you are very kind.

[500 Fan]

I was talking casually with a guy at the Van Horn Aviation booth about the blades they make for the 206. I haven't flown a ship with the Van Horn blades yet, but both guys I was with had. The discussion was really interesting! The Van Horn blades really do change the flying qualities of the 206, and some pilots (ag pilots, particularly) sometimes have trouble adapting. Since we weren't customers per se, I didn't want to monopolize the guy's time. So I introduced myself as we departed. And he goes, "Nice to meet you, I'm Jim Van Horn." And I was, like, well it was one of those times that leave me momentarily speechless. The man himself! You never know who you're talking to at these conventions! ;-)


I had the pleasure of meeting Jim Van Horn and getting a tour of his facility in Phoenix last year. A very nice gentleman and a fascinating place to visit. He was one of the main men behind the development of the NOTAR system and had some fascinating things to say about it and many other things.

500 Fan.

[Pat Cox]

....After walking our feet off all day, we repaired to a place near Heli-Expo called Der Biergarten, where the beers were huge and the food was awesome. That's yours truly in the middle....Good times, man, good times.
+2 on Der Biergarten, especially the Dunkel ale:
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/328x132/der_biergarten_5b8db70a657ac21687dab082c787cda1fc905d82.jpg
I was at the bar behind you, BTW - small world.

This was my 30th Heli-Expo, and many thanks to all who stopped by Robinson's booth to say hello, including King Schools' Martha & John (traveled via their Falcon 10):
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/640x480/marth_pat_john_b741c51ec2cb56bf3c2cd23217328aeb6a445602.jpg
Fly safely!

[FH1100 Pilot]

Wow Pat, you got to hang out with way cooler people than I did! No, I take that back, I wouldn't trade Brandon and Nate for anyone, even the Kings - who by the way almost ran me over at the show. I rounded a corner and here they come! They were charging along on those short little legs like the place was on fire. I started to say, "Oh, you're John and Mar..." but they brushed past me like Lady Gaga dodges the paparazzi going into the club. I was, like, was it something I said? (I think John had to pee really bad or something, I don't know. Either that or Martha forgot that they left the Falcon running out at DeKalb Field.) Anyway, they didn't even slow down. So I snubbed them! I said, "The heck with you Kings! You know, that's only a name, you're not really royalty!" But I don't think they heard me. So I looked for someone else to pester. I thought I saw Matty Z., but maybe not...whoever it was, he saw me and quickly ducked behind a curtain with one of the many geisha girls that were inexplicably roaming around, looking to make a quick buck. Ah but wait...there's Chuck Aaron! He couldn't escape.

At Der Biergarten we also had one of those ginormous Riesenbretzels and an order of them Reuben Rolls. Oh God was it good!. I forget which beer we were drinking...some heferweisenkanerspaten… After the fourth one, who cared anyway? I was glad I wasn't driving! Oh wait...maybe I did drive home, come to think of it, I forget. I thought about just ordering a salad, because I'm watching my figure (watching it expand, that is). But then I remembered that I actually have a penis and that dieting is for chicks. So I had the Saurbraten, which was awesome. No wonder Germans are so...err...bulky. I could (and should!) live in Germany if they actually eat like that all the time. Brandon had some Bratwurst platter that looked delicious. Every time the (decidedly un-German) waitress came over and asked how everything was, Brandon would say, "It's der vurst!" She'd roll her eyes and smile and pretend she hadn't heard that "joke" a million times. Today.

I'm actually looking forward to going to Heli-Expo next year in California. Not for the helicopters but for the food. Probably some really good eating out there in L.A. :) Here in Pensacola, Florida our selection of restaurants is really pitiful.

[chopper2004]

I went on two demo flights -one in the Bell 505 N505YY from Fulton County Airport and in the Airbus Helicopters H135 Advance Navy Helicopter Trainer Proposal


https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/2000x1504/img_3185_7090114196ea3ec4204e1a34e5011208a9696dc9.jpeg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/2000x1504/img_3248_5956d993820d1f65d9358c0c7e4884d000ec419f.jpeg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/1500x2000/img_3277_d591867895d8991d004c9492a349c76086a25483.jpeg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/2000x1504/img_4142_8269a9aaaef211b0fed64e76997b0664f4000cbc.jpeg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/1500x2000/img_4343_90bbba6ebfb5ec17a13f93545d08d4ec57fd099d.jpeg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/1500x2000/img_4420_282d97f1be6f5a7a20761d2bdedef640a978de68.jpeg

Cheers

[nomorehelosforme]

Great pictures Chopper2004!

Im shocked by the picture of the Midtown/Downtown connector which shows flowing traffic! A rare moment indeed.... Glad you had a great time, would like to see any other pictures you have.

[FH1100 Pilot]

Yes, Chopper2004, very interesting! Thanks for posting those. From your pics we can see that at 95% torque(?) in level flight you are doing 112 knots. Hmm, I'm guessing you have all the seats full and are probably pretty heavy. That's "about" what a 206B on low-skids (with fairings) and no wedge windows would do. You're nearly full of fuel, and the fuel flow is 220 pph (32 gph), about in line with what a 500 horsepower engine should be burning..

It's nice to see some actual photographs of the numbers instead of relying on the anecdotal figures some people report.

[Spunk]

I‘m getting older and my eyes are getting tired but I‘m pretty sure that torque is at 78.0 only, NG is @94.9.

[finalchecksplease]

Yeah I agree the Torque in the picture sits at 78%, Ng 94.9 and MGT 683
What I assume to be a first limit indicator gauge shows about 9.5 (have never flown 505 so not 100% sure that's what it is).

[chopper2004]

Also IMHO, I thought Unical-Coulson CH-47D Helitanker was one of the highlights of the show so here are my photos of both the CU-47 (including departures) and CU-60.

cheers
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/960x720/66dd541c_6b0e_4a34_bf06_86319abf6f5e_e269df5358cb46e955e8d05 498c2a773f36873c4.jpeg

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/960x720/f057846d_0640_4a8e_bac7_bb764130fad4_2d58e80f8419fafc0250f73 dc3d8418bb70dce9f.jpeg

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/960x720/92eaeecd_2899_4b0e_80be_eb5378467a34_7e38931b1d6476e19dfb0be f01388937633614a8.jpeg

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/960x720/8a88efad_fe30_46ff_b0e7_626367734635_5f1876c0df3a42204cd8594 93dcaa91de9b84ceb.jpeg

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/960x720/32ac27ea_4217_4d67_bc82_622af4e4539f_ecc84939f56d79cff1c3da2 bb405126b3f0735ea.jpeg

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/960x640/447bd351_4032_4704_adc9_4dd4c593038b_b97de1ab9f141d8dd1d9ad9 e0982b96f09614fe7.jpeg

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/960x640/4be6a772_7330_4d1e_9e45_1138ebacf5e5_f7a2f9b0607f3834bb5df81 51e6cbd46fe775afc.jpeg

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/960x640/b04c6283_ec0c_41b2_b475_4f4504db3aea_cf2ca56e3626d00d1af2347 341b8337e64d6b85e.jpeg

[chopper2004]

Also as everyone knows MDH is looking at ‘winged Explorer’ for entry into the US Army’s FARA competition. Anyhow with the tease MDH did on Instagram in the week leading up to the show , I kind of guessed it be an armed MD902. Anyhow I popped across to the MDH booth in the morning of the first day so here are my photos of the MD969 Combat Explorer. Shades of LUH 15 years ago if anyone remembers that ?

Cheers


https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/960x720/c5722f13_db2d_4c70_944b_6a5f4c5db877_7364b8f82a54125c44c67d0 4dee2fc767c7caf55.jpeg

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/720x960/3a73a5be_ba65_462b_b2f3_77c24702e970_77c028377257d9875301ded 5c4cafc0b8f1f3dce.jpeg

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/720x960/823643f4_f258_4e66_b9d6_f9c08c47eb6d_c86e97e739758e613cb39d0 ee43e0469b6c3f247.jpeg

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/960x720/53ce2299_5940_4cf9_a272_0589831809e1_5edd778e886600c245125b0 349de7be8a1fbeae7.jpeg

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/960x720/eed29350_edb8_45b3_b00a_8eba2e9f63d3_cd4902b7be4562ef6528740 9deae42d218c2facd.jpeg

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/720x960/f802c0a0_6b0d_4e00_9694_7f45bccae55f_9bc7c06e47448d5665b182b 226d141d40a880277.jpeg

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/960x720/bf9bc0bf_9741_423e_9182_91225962bb16_a87a666ab76263db3c9595e d8b7399c0890b67ac.jpeg

[FH1100 Pilot]

Of course, Spunk and Finalchecksplease, you guys are right. After I blew the pic up on my home computer, *now* I can see the digital readouts nestled in the side of the FLI (or whatever Bell calls it). But still, if the analog representation is of N1 (or Ng), one must ask: Why is this thing turning so fast?? Is the Ng that near its limit? The weather during Heli-Expo was rather cool, and the 505 was at less than 2000 feet msl. Does the Arrius need to turn that fast to make 500 horsepower? Something doesn't seem right.. Does that 505 have a sick engine?

Or...is collective increase not proportionate to N1 increase? In other words, if the pilot in that picture began pulling in more power, would the N1 increase more slowly than the torque, and then the torque would become the first limit before the N1 reached its max? I can only hope so. Otherwise 505 pilots are going to be limited by N1-topping, which seems highly unlikely in a modern helicopter.

Contrary what some of you may think, I don't hate the 505. I just think don't think it's a very good design. I expected better...a lot better...from Bell. And seeing a couple of them up close and personal has not changed my opinion of it much. It just seems so...unfinished. (I visited the Tech-Tool Plastics booth and asked if they made replacement windshields for the 505 yet? They said no- that they'd have to get one so they could make the mold. I then asked if it would be expensive? And they went, "Oh God, yes!" And I laughed. I pity the first 505 operator that has to do a non-warranty windshield replacement. That's going to be pretty spendy.

[SASless]

Are Airbus Windscreens inexpensive?

[Spunk]

Are Airbus Windscreens inexpensive?
:ouch:
SASless 1 FH1100 pilot 0

[FH1100 Pilot]

:ouch:
SASless 1 FH1100 pilot 0
Oooooh, SASless got a zinger on FH1100! I guess I "lost" that one. Sucks to be me! Ugh. That's pretty childish, although I must say par for the course on this forum.

(I see to my dismay that SAS still has me unblocked.) Look, I have no earthly idea how much Airbus windscreens cost. Anyway, what's that go to do with anything? It's not relevant to this discussion. All I do know is that I see that huge 505 windscreen, and I think about the private owner (like Nigel maybe?) who perhaps chose the 505 over the R-66 because of the price point, and then I think about what replacing one of those giant pieces of Perspex will do to his bottom line. Oh, and it will happen. Maybe not to him, but someone.

Kids, not everything that gets posted on an internet forum has to be challenged and argued by someone who assumes superiority. It's not a competition or a tit-for-tat fight.

[nigelh]

My last post seems to have been deleted . As you can imagine it basically said what a plonker FH1100 is and that whatever awful thing Bell did to him when he was little .... He probably deserved !! FH ....you slag the 505 off at every opportunity , you are 100% wrong at least 90% of the time .... And then you have the gall to say you would like some owner to let you fly it !!!!!! Personally I wouldn't start it up to lift the Bambi bucket to put you out if you were on fire !!
please just go back to silly stories which you do quite well .


Nothing of yours has been deleted here, nigelh. Maybe you’re thinking of your posts on another thread?

Splot

[SASless]

FH-1100 garners his room name from his background where he was involved in the FH-1100 program somewhere in Florida.

I believe he also spent a fair bit of time flying for PHI in the past....as a lot of American Pilots have done at one point in their lives.

Sometimes....if you rake away enough leaves one can find an Acorn in his posts as he does have a fair bit of experience.

His people skills suggest the Marketing Office might not be the best of career fields for him.

[nigelh]

So somehow Bell were responsible for his failure with the FH1100 ? It is a shame because if he could get rid of that big chip on his shoulder he would be an interesting contributor rather than the hat eating ( or not ) village idiot !!!

[bellblade2014]

So somehow Bell were responsible for his failure with the FH1100 ? It is a shame because if he could get rid of that big chip on his shoulder he would be an interesting contributor rather than the hat eating ( or not ) village idiot !!!

Every village must have one... so we should be grateful he so willingly accepted the mantle.

[nomorehelosforme]

Blimey! Look out FH1100 you have incoming from multiple directions!! I wouldn't take BB2014's comments to heart all he ever bleats on about is the 505...probably has it tattooed on his forehead!

[nigelh]

To be fair most of BB,s 505 comments are in reply to another wildly inaccurate comment by FH fighting his one man war against Bell !

[nomorehelosforme]

To be fair most of BB,s 505 comments are in reply to another wildly inaccurate comment by FH fighting his one man war against Bell !


Nigelh, point taken... each man to his own!

[SASless]

All this begs the question....why does the Bell 505 generate such a discussion each time it gets brought up in a conversation?

I was disappointed in the final product introduced by Bell as I had hoped they would finally replace the Jet Ranger with some very new technology and step out ahead of their competition.

The aircraft is what it is....and as all aircraft has its warts and shortcomings....but why is it so controversial?

[nigelh]

I would suggest one if the reasons is that most on here are pilots and not owners . That is not a veiled criticism I promise ! With my pilots hat on I would have liked lots of things ...... 3-4 blade hingeless head maybe , new composite cockpit maybe , smart finished cockpit maybe . Well that is all quite possible but would end up being a $3-4m minimum price ...( don’t forget the old L4 would be close to that now ) . I agree it would be possibly a great machine but would be a) too expensive for a lot of people , me included and b) it wouid pose a real competition to the 407 . As an owner I accept all the shortcomings of the 505 ( forgetting all the nonsense about looks as I don’t see it as a toy and it doesn’t effect its performance) for a good reason . I am actually buying one , not being paid to fly one !! And it is 1/3rd of the price it would have been ... so I compromised. I would still say it is a bargain @ £1m
inc extras when compared to any other new helicopter , inc the horrible R66 !!

[Kahli]

Appreciate the discussion and pictures ladies and gentlemen - feel like I was there

[FH1100 Pilot]

... when compared to any other new helicopter , inc the horrible R66 !!
Sooo...I get crap when I criticize the 505 but it's okay to do the same with the R-66.

I see.

[Robbiee]

Sooo...I get crap when I criticize the 505 but it's okay to do the same with the R-66.

I see.

Hmm, you must be new to the internet.

[SansAnhedral]

Yes, Chopper2004, very interesting! Thanks for posting those. From your pics we can see that at 95% torque(?) in level flight you are doing 112 knots. Hmm, I'm guessing you have all the seats full and are probably pretty heavy. That's "about" what a 206B on low-skids (with fairings) and no wedge windows would do. You're nearly full of fuel, and the fuel flow is 220 pph (32 gph), about in line with what a 500 horsepower engine should be burning..

It's nice to see some actual photographs of the numbers instead of relying on the anecdotal figures some people report.

130kt straight and level @ 89% torque

https://twitter.com/helicompany/status/1100855049629171713

[SASless]

Gross weight, DA, fuel load, and CG numbers would be nice to know as well.

[grumpytroll]

It kind of looks like the original Prius with a tail boom attached. As I recall, that car took a bit of criticism for its look and yet they've sold billions of em.