Robinson R44
Make/buy a cargo net that goes from the beam across the rear of the front seats and is anchored/clipped to the seat belt upper mounts on either side.
Do you have Helipods? Do a google search. Made in NZ. Just the cats pyjama's for the R44. Makes it into a useful helicopter.
Barring that, just toss the clubs in using the seatbelts. Its only going to be an issue if you crash, or you go negative and your balls come out.......
Do you have Helipods? Do a google search. Made in NZ. Just the cats pyjama's for the R44. Makes it into a useful helicopter.
Barring that, just toss the clubs in using the seatbelts. Its only going to be an issue if you crash, or you go negative and your balls come out.......
Join Date: Jan 2001
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Steve,
Unless the situation has changed our wonderful CAA does not permit us to fit such things on UK R22/R44s. It would make the aircraft too useful and we might be able to use them sensibly
Unless the situation has changed our wonderful CAA does not permit us to fit such things on UK R22/R44s. It would make the aircraft too useful and we might be able to use them sensibly
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or you could just buy a new set of clubs at each different course - R44 after much investigation realised its a pretty useless machine for things like this - you cant physically fit your gear in the cabin.
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Like this?...
I can't remember the bloke that built this setup, but if you do a search on the Robinson forum you may find him. He has several pictures available. Check here for links and other info...
http://www.r44helicopters.com/
Last edited by RDRickster; 11th Jul 2004 at 23:25.
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R44 Raven Beta / Raven Beta II
Hi
Apart from the obvious differences between the Raven Beta and Beta II (ie. fuel injection, speed, cost, etc.), what are the pro's and con's (if any) when comparing the two machines?
I am planning to purchase a Raven II but have been told that because it is a relatively new machine, it still needs to prove itself in the market, whatever that is supposed to mean.
Thanks.
Apart from the obvious differences between the Raven Beta and Beta II (ie. fuel injection, speed, cost, etc.), what are the pro's and con's (if any) when comparing the two machines?
I am planning to purchase a Raven II but have been told that because it is a relatively new machine, it still needs to prove itself in the market, whatever that is supposed to mean.
Thanks.
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If you fly at higher altitudes, then you'll appreciate the increased power and additional payload with the Raven II. If you fly mostly at sea level, don't waste your money... get the Raven I. Don't neglect the carb heat and you'll enjoy that ship.
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The Raven II is a major improvement over Raven I. I have flown Raven I for 3 years and just got a Raven II this spring. Totally different machine. Quieter (the blade end caps), more power which makes a big difference if you fly close to MTOW and the changes to the main blade have definitely improved performance. 18" hovers at 2000 ft are possible in no wind with full tanks and 3 up.
The increased payload is a bit misleading - the 100 lbs is actually only 75 because of the weight of the fuel injection gear......
Values of R44 Astros have plummeted in the UK as a result of Raven II success - and the same will happen to Raven I as soon as the new factory comes onstream at RHC and they reduce the wait time.
If you value your investment, do not get a Raven I.
But if you just want something to bimble around in for 10 years and you want to wait a bit.......go for a used Raven I once the prices start to drop.
Do NOT get an Astro.
The increased payload is a bit misleading - the 100 lbs is actually only 75 because of the weight of the fuel injection gear......
Values of R44 Astros have plummeted in the UK as a result of Raven II success - and the same will happen to Raven I as soon as the new factory comes onstream at RHC and they reduce the wait time.
If you value your investment, do not get a Raven I.
But if you just want something to bimble around in for 10 years and you want to wait a bit.......go for a used Raven I once the prices start to drop.
Do NOT get an Astro.
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>> it still needs to prove itself in the market
hmm.. and they have produced 450 so far (#448 ws reg'd in UK last week). Sounds pretty much like it's proved itself..
hmm.. and they have produced 450 so far (#448 ws reg'd in UK last week). Sounds pretty much like it's proved itself..
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The Raven II fuel injected uses a lot more fuel. An operator here is regretting (to a degree) getting one. Has a bit more max usable load but not much.
depends what you want to do and where.
depends what you want to do and where.
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Can't remember exact figures quoted to me but it was in the ball park of 56l per hour for the Raven 1 and about 70 for the Raven 11.
That's here in Oz with higher temps - 25 - 35 celcius most of the the time. But was also mostly at sea level sorts of altitudes.
That's here in Oz with higher temps - 25 - 35 celcius most of the the time. But was also mostly at sea level sorts of altitudes.
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Robborider,
If fuel consumption is that poor, perhaps it would be wise to get the injector checked out. It may be just that one aircraft.
If it is the same injector as an Enstrom (Bendix RSA) then correct adjustment can make a huge difference to fuel consumption but no apparent difference to performance - until the plugs foul up.
I have flown Enstroms with big differences in the full rich consumption.
Incorrect injector adustment is less of a problem on an Enstrom as hitting the lean knob in flight is routine. I don't know if anyone dares to do it in a Robbie.
If fuel consumption is that poor, perhaps it would be wise to get the injector checked out. It may be just that one aircraft.
If it is the same injector as an Enstrom (Bendix RSA) then correct adjustment can make a huge difference to fuel consumption but no apparent difference to performance - until the plugs foul up.
I have flown Enstroms with big differences in the full rich consumption.
Incorrect injector adustment is less of a problem on an Enstrom as hitting the lean knob in flight is routine. I don't know if anyone dares to do it in a Robbie.
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Hummmmm....
I bought a Raven I 9/03 and have about 200 hours on it. I have also flown another Raven II for at least 15 hours. My flying goes from the mountains near Yosemite and up north in the trinity alps to basic tours around the California coastline at sea level. Here's my general feelings:
1. Robinson makes really good, simple, cheap helicopters. Just can't find anything that touches them for what they put out. Granted, I'm sitting on a well maintained and hangered / less than 300 hour machine.... but so far I love it.
2. There is a performance difference at altitude between the 2. I notice with 2,200 lbs or so, once you get above around 6,000 ft on a reasonalbly hot day in the summer, you're going to need to slow down a bunch in my ship (Raven I). I have had mine up to 11,000 ft with one other guy and a bunch of gear but it was a constant source for concern and a good lesson in watching MRRPM.
On the other hand, going over the same mountains on the same job, over the same course in the Raven II you really can notice the difference in altitude performance.
3. Fuel Consumption - I was surprised to find that in an apples to apples comparison (again, doing pretty much the same job in 2 different ships within the same month (April 04) in similiar conditions), I was surprised to find that the Raven II got about the same fuel consumption.
4. Payload - Don't count on the extra 100 lbs making much of a difference.
=====================
Now, that said.. here's some unsolicited stuff...
1. Get the bubble windows - Much better than the stock stuff and worth it.
2. Get the instant VSI - It's pretty nice if you really need to know exactly what's going on.
3. Don't get the Robinson cart - I like the heli-tow cart from the guys in Canada. It's smaller and cheaper.
4. Get the 9 hole pannel and an AI - Nice to have and if you ever decide to do instrument training in it, you'll have a nicer setup than the instrument trainer pannel (kinda big and view blocking).
I bought a Raven I 9/03 and have about 200 hours on it. I have also flown another Raven II for at least 15 hours. My flying goes from the mountains near Yosemite and up north in the trinity alps to basic tours around the California coastline at sea level. Here's my general feelings:
1. Robinson makes really good, simple, cheap helicopters. Just can't find anything that touches them for what they put out. Granted, I'm sitting on a well maintained and hangered / less than 300 hour machine.... but so far I love it.
2. There is a performance difference at altitude between the 2. I notice with 2,200 lbs or so, once you get above around 6,000 ft on a reasonalbly hot day in the summer, you're going to need to slow down a bunch in my ship (Raven I). I have had mine up to 11,000 ft with one other guy and a bunch of gear but it was a constant source for concern and a good lesson in watching MRRPM.
On the other hand, going over the same mountains on the same job, over the same course in the Raven II you really can notice the difference in altitude performance.
3. Fuel Consumption - I was surprised to find that in an apples to apples comparison (again, doing pretty much the same job in 2 different ships within the same month (April 04) in similiar conditions), I was surprised to find that the Raven II got about the same fuel consumption.
4. Payload - Don't count on the extra 100 lbs making much of a difference.
=====================
Now, that said.. here's some unsolicited stuff...
1. Get the bubble windows - Much better than the stock stuff and worth it.
2. Get the instant VSI - It's pretty nice if you really need to know exactly what's going on.
3. Don't get the Robinson cart - I like the heli-tow cart from the guys in Canada. It's smaller and cheaper.
4. Get the 9 hole pannel and an AI - Nice to have and if you ever decide to do instrument training in it, you'll have a nicer setup than the instrument trainer pannel (kinda big and view blocking).
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R44 TRUE Operating Costs?
There have been a few previous posts on this general subject, but I wasn't able to find any SPECIFIC numbers relating to the R44 operating costs from the field. Therefore, what is your average HOURLY operating cost (include unscheduled maintenance, regular inspections, scheduled maintenance, fuel, and oil ONLY)?
Please do NOT include the purchase price, financing of your aircraft, insurance costs, nor any hangar fees. The answer will vary with flying conditions, type of operation, fuel costs, etc. Nevertheless, I thought it would be a useful comparison for everyone here.
Cheers!
Please do NOT include the purchase price, financing of your aircraft, insurance costs, nor any hangar fees. The answer will vary with flying conditions, type of operation, fuel costs, etc. Nevertheless, I thought it would be a useful comparison for everyone here.
Cheers!
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Thanks for the input. Here is the propoganda for reference:
http://www.robinsonheli.com/R44IIEOC04.pdf
Additional posts out there?
http://www.robinsonheli.com/R44IIEOC04.pdf
Additional posts out there?
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Well, when I was in the Aircraft Owning business, I would take what ever the cost of fuel that I was buying per hour and multiply by a factor of 5 for airplanes and 10 for helicopters. So if you take franks fuel burn of 14 gal an hour @ $2.00 a gallon, its more like $3+ you get 28 dollars an hour, times 10 and you get a good ball park DOC of 280 USD an hour. its a quick way to get an Idea of what the per hour DOC's is going to be. of course you would then fine tune it a little. Frank uses the 500 hours a year to work his numbers. To not consider the other costs, such as finance, Insurance and hangar is not giving the whole story. An R-44 or any helicopter is going to be an expensive toy with out it being used to generate some sort of revenue stream. The Idea of a helicopter as a rec vehicle is at best a dubious one. You need a very large income stream to do so.