R22 Corner

[Vfrpilotpb]

Slightly of the track a little, but when I was a pupe I could not master the fine art of hovering and staying put above the target, so my lady instructor told me to hold the top of the pole to see if I could feel the minute movements needed rather than my extra big chasing the opposite movements that were setting the old Robbie rocking and rolling like John Prescott running for the last pie,

.....well it worked, and twenty minutes later I found I could move around the field and hover almost anywhere!
Vfr

[rotorcraig]

R22 Carb Heat / CAT Guage

During a recent R22 check flight away from my usual base, I was asked how I had been taught to use Carb Heat.

My answer was "Apply Carb Heat to keep CAT Gauge out of the yellow arc. Before reducing power to less than 18 inches MAP apply full Carb Heat".

Wrong, I was told - and dangerously so. Advice given was that in level flight Carb Heat should be applied to keep CAT Gauge between 10 and 15. Was told that out of the yellow arc but short of the 10 to 15 is the worst place to be as melting ice restricts the carburettor further, and that there are handbook updates / safety notices to this effect.

I've never heard this before. I can't find the handbook updates or safety notices that relate (the list here appears to be pretty up to date).

Can any of our resident instructors please advise?

RC

[Cyclic Hotline]

Of course there are those who might believe that the safest thing that you could do with an R-22 would be to KEEP it on a trailer!

[RDRickster]

kissmysquirrel,

I won't opine on the technical aspects of using carb heat all the time, but I wouldn't do that. First, it isn't in the POH. Second, check the Lycoming manual. Finally, talk with your mechanic and get their input... I bet you'll change your mind.

You can get carb icing if the degree difference between dew point and OAT is 20F/11C. Also, the OAT determines the appropriateness of carb heat. For very cold temperatures, you should NOT use carb heat at all! Keeping the temperature outside of the yellow arc means above and BELOW the yellow arc. At colder temperatures, any water vapor will crystalize and will not form icing within the carberator.

rotorcraig,

I keep my personal POH up to date via the RHC update service. I don't recall seeing anything about what you mentioned in the manual. These engines are NOT as prone to carb ice as you may think. Obviously, better safe than sorry (meaning follow POH at all times), but carb ice usually (note: usually) happens when there is visible moisture of some sort in the air.

[diethelm]

Carb heat simply raises the temperature of the air entering the intake of the engine. Running full carb heat when the ambient temperature is low will not harm your engine in a measurable manner any more than running your engine in 115 degree heat in Arizona. It will reduce the amount of power your engine can produce and will marginally raise the operating temperature of the oil and engine temp but it will not hurt anything. The IO360 comes in a turbocharged version and think about the temperature of the intake air after it runs through a turbo which is spun by exhaust gasses. A little heat extracted off the exhaust header is relatively speaking, cool.

[RDRickster]

Factory A/C for the R44?

I hear that RHC will start taking orders for R44 Raven II's with factory installed air conditioning early next year. Third-party manufacturer's were charging about $50,000 for an a/c system (had FAA approved STC); however, I hear one of those companies (the one in Florida) isn't doing too well. My questions are:

1) Approximate weight of the system?

2) Effectiveness of the system?

3) Reduction in performance?

4) Test Pilot Comments?

5) Ballpark costs?

[helibiz]

Clutch problem

recently a friend was off field with an R44 that had a clutch that wouldn't wind off. Belts engaged how could he get back to base, given that the start would be next morning with a cold engine. (I have been able to start with the engine hot, and belts engaged). My idea was that given that if a friend manually wound on the rotor via the tail rotor, this would have the overrunning clutch disengage the rotor from the engine drive.??? A start could be done at this time ?? Could this cause any damage?? Would it work?? Just an idea, I'm not sure I want to try it on my machine to find out

[R405]

i wouldn't be standing near the tail rotor when starting! if the clutch won't wind off, the fuse could have blown. the fuse is right near the warning light test switch panel. try swapping it with the spare fuse next to it.

[Flingwing207]

If the clutch won't disengage, it might well not maintain proper tension in flight.

I don't think I'd be the one to "hand prop" the tail rotor either..

[belly tank]

Is there a clutch microswitch overide fitted, most machines have them these days, it allows the microswithces to be overidden which will allow you to disengage or engage to get you out of trouble and back to the shop....

some mtors need a bit of coaxing as well they get a bit lazy as they get older...we just had a new clutch fitted to our 44 as the old one was rat@#$.....microswithcehs can be a problem also...they can get stuck with only a bit of dust and oil etc etc...i usually give them a spray with CRC eletrical cleaner seems to work pretty well.

As R405 said try the fuse first it would be the logical first step. also have a look at the clutch engaement switch on the panel they can be a bit dicky too....if your familiar with a multimeter this can help isolate a problem very quickly...just have a think a do some problem solving...usually works.......

then again sometimes the part is just F%^&#D and needs burning!!!!

[RobboRider]

Yep, There is now an after-market micro-switch override device available.

[bellsux]

R22 Turbine...

This one has to take first prize in what not to do with a flogged out Robbie and a surplus C18.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...489782261&rd=1


I wonder if anyone is going to be silly enough to part with their money buying this. If they do and even get it to fly I just wish there will be someone around with a video camera... and perhaps a paramedic.

[360BakTrak]

Now thats funny!

[Rotorbee]

Frank should have donne that years ago.

I don't trust that C18 to much. He should have used a PT6.

[ec135driver]

Not so daft, I was at a training school in the US in the late 80's that considered this very thing for turbine transitions for students.

I think Frank took a dim view of the idea at the time!

Looks weird doesn,t it?

Anyway I have put my bid in, anyone any good with a spanner???

[WhirlyGirl Sarah]

Now that looks fascinating! Does it come with free insurance and a 3 year service warranty?

WGS

[Bravo 99 (AJB)]

Well all you can say is
HELP

Where are the men in white suites I think they are urgently required

B99

[Vfrpilotpb]

On the face of it, it does seem crazy, but if you start to consider the concept, the motor held in that place would present a severe bending moment on the body to firewall area, and would seriously affect the Cof G, lastly in what could be a mamoth list of questions, could the R22 chassis cope with all that HP.

I think it best to carry on subscribing to Camelot!!
Vfr

[turboshaft]

Makes a change from seeing Mini 500s equipped with a Sundstrand T62 APU. Nice find !

[Shawn Coyle]

A whole host of engineering problems would arise from trying to fit a turbine to an R-22.
The vertical CG would move up significantly - this will affect the lateral directional stability, as well as the longitudinal stability - the rotor mast is pretty high up to give good effect to the main rotor-CG relationship, and moving the CG higher isn't going to help.
With the CG moved higher, the sideslip might well give a negative dihedral effect (i.e. left pedal gives right roll).
Can the airframe take all that power? Good question, and I assume it could be solved by limiting the power output of the engine.
More to the point - the rotor will run out of ooomph at some point, regardless of how much power you put into it. Where will that happen? Since the engine would be flat rated and able to put out the maximum the transmission could take until you were nearly on the moon, people would think the rotor could do the same. Unfortunately, not true.
Governing of the turbine would have to be adjusted for the relatively low inertia of the rotor.
A different sort of clutch arrangement would be needed instead of the centrifugal clutch currently fitted.
Anybody still want to bid on the project?