Enstrom Helicopters 2022
Nevertheless, it would take a clean sheet of paper to make them competitive. Dump the pistons, concentrate on a successor to the 480B. Lose the grease gun and nitrogen bottle, add some real luggage space and 4 conventional seating positions, and add hydraulics. Keep the rotorhead and blade system, obviously, since that's the crown jewel of their engineering portfolio. Add a pilot operable blade fold kit so it can fit in the same space as the competition. Keep the flat floor of the 505, the high level of standard interior finish of the R66, and the superior full fuel payload and range of the R66. Avoid anything inelegant like the 505 tail weights.
Or his infusion pump business or his iBot wheelchair business, or his dialysis work or ...
Dean Kamen has had more successes and failures than I have had hot dinners.
it would take a clean sheet of paper to make them competitive. Dump the pistons, concentrate on a successor to the 480B. Lose the grease gun and nitrogen bottle, add some real luggage space and 4 conventional seating positions, and add hydraulics. Keep the rotorhead and blade system, obviously, since that's the crown jewel of their engineering portfolio. Add a pilot operable blade fold kit so it can fit in the same space as the competition. Keep the flat floor of the 505, the high level of standard interior finish of the R66, and the superior full fuel payload and range of the R66. Avoid anything inelegant like the 505 tail weights.
The time, effort and money required is immense, that's before you consider re-tooling, re-certifying people etc.
Without volume or defense funding, it is beyond the grasp of a small business.
Even Robinson won't clean-sheet an aircraft, it's cheaper and more practical to live with the flaws and evolve it - they at least have a market.
In engineering you can't polish a turd, you can only cover it with glitter.
Enstrom were stuck in a narrowing niche, in a struggling industry, with neither the funds nor vision to change.
There will be further contraction in the rotary market, it is unavoidable.
Let’s rather think what an investor can do with the remaining assets and goodwill (that is, in particular the Type Certificate for the 480).
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Can't think of how they can save the 480 or evolve it into anything that would be successful in the marketplace, unfortunately.
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The car I own (like the helicopter I would buy if I were rich) I'd base on looks and how fun it is to operate. That's why I own a Trans Am and would love to own an R22.
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It's sad to see Enstrom closing its doors for good. I'm a geologist and in 1982 we used a 280C (from Les Hélicoptères Verreault, now defunct, I believe) for geological survey work between Baker Lake and Chantrey Inlet on the northern Canadian mainland. It worked fine and as I remember was well-liked by the pilots. As to the Robinson, one pilot I knew from another year recounted how he'd been invited to test fly a Robinson (model?), did so, and was so frightened swore he would never set foot in one again. Different strokes for different folks, I guess.
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It's sad to see Enstrom closing its doors for good. I'm a geologist and in 1982 we used a 280C (from Les Hélicoptères Verreault, now defunct, I believe) for geological survey work between Baker Lake and Chantrey Inlet on the northern Canadian mainland. It worked fine and as I remember was well-liked by the pilots. As to the Robinson, one pilot I knew from another year recounted how he'd been invited to test fly a Robinson (model?), did so, and was so frightened swore he would never set foot in one again. Different strokes for different folks, I guess.
Rockhound
Rockhound
Well, how about this:
I flew an Enstrom for about 10 hours 33 years ago. It was the worst of the 22 aircraft types I have flown, and the ONLY type that I would never want to be in again. Rattly, flimsy, engine wouldn't re-start until it had cooled right down, couldn't even maintain height if the turbo failed.
I flew an Enstrom for about 10 hours 33 years ago. It was the worst of the 22 aircraft types I have flown, and the ONLY type that I would never want to be in again. Rattly, flimsy, engine wouldn't re-start until it had cooled right down, couldn't even maintain height if the turbo failed.
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I've got pictures of the new glass cockpits we were designing. I've flown the F28/280 throttle governor (makes an easy helicopter to fly stupid easy to fly). I've got emails with companies ready to kick off new aircon systems and discussing autopilot STC's. I've got a full social media and marketing plan.We had millions of dollars in parts sales, and were working on multiple new aircraft contracts. The will was there, just not the way.
The good news is that there's a number of groups competing to buy the assets out of bankruptcy and restart the company. If they do even 1/4 of what they are promising, it's going to be great for Enstrom owners and fans. Keep the faith.
Dennis Martin
(they guy who signed the letter in the original post)
Lack of capital led to a lack of new products and a lack of marketing. This in turn led to a lack of capital, which led...you get the idea. It's a classic death spiral. We warned our ownership this was going to happen, but it seemed to fall on deaf ears in China. They refused to invest in the company and instead funded it with debt. The result was they lost their company, we lost our jobs, and the aircraft owners are left holding the bag. .... The good news is that there's a number of groups competing to buy the assets out of bankruptcy and restart the company. If they do even 1/4 of what they are promising, it's going to be great for Enstrom owners and fans. Keep the faith.
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Enstrom
I own a 480 B and use it as a private owner. I looked at all of the usual suspects before buying it. I always assumed that I would buy a MD 500. What I found in my research was interesting. My main goal was cross country travel.
1. There is no comparison in comfort. The Enstrom has real seats. All of the others you sit on a box with a cushion. I’m a big guy and found the MD horribly uncomfortable. He 206 is legendary with chiropractors. The R44 isn’t any better.
2. There is no comparison in operating costs. Robinson was probably the most expensive, considering how the ship was to be used. 100 hrs/hr. The Enstrom has 3 calendar items, the TT straps. There are less than a dozen Hobbs limited items on the airframe. Most items are “on condition “ including the blades. I just finished my third annual, I had a loose belt and a loose cable. Last annual was similar.
3. When properly set up it will fly hands off as long as most airplanes. You can’t take your hands off a Robbie stick. Yes the cyclic is heavy. It’s also heavy n a MD600. The thing is you don’t fly it by tugging on he stick, you use the trim. If you use the trim you don’t feel the weight, same on the MD. It’s not for mustering cattle it’s for comfortable traveling. Also no hydraulic system to break and maintain.
4. It’s smooth. Again I’m traveling in it. The Robbie and 206 are not. Too much 2 per. MD is nice. The 3 per is damped by dampers on the controls and tail.
5. Although unorthodox, the seating configurations are great. There is way more leg room for the “rear seat” passengers than the Robbie and certainly the MD. The straight 206 is close. If you don’t need the seat, then fold them up out of the way. Believe me it only looks weird.
6. It’s not good for shooting hogs out of. Only one door/gunner at a time.
7. My wife and I carry our golf clubs in it, in he baggage compartment not the cabin. Try that in anything else.
8. They are heavy. My useful load is 1100 lbs. With 3.5 hours of fuel that’s only 500 lbs in cabin. Not sure how this compares.
9. Although not IFR they are a great instrument platform. Vey stable and easy to fly.
10. Much slower than Robbie. I plan on 110 kts at 185 lbs/hr @ 2000 agl. I have a G500H that displays true airspeed.
11. You don’t have to slow down in turbulence. (Yes,I know I’m already going slow.😕
12.. No exposed pitch connecting rods. This, believe it or not is a biggie for me. I fly around a lot of big birds, geese and buzzards. They scare me in a 206. History has shown that it’s not a significant factor. I don’t want to find out. Also probably not as effective as wire cutters, but there are plenty of Enstrom pilots who have hit wires then backed off of them.
okay I’ll get off my soapbox now. The 480B is a great helicopter for traveling. It is also has the lowest cost of maintenance for the private owner (no comment on training).
Bill
1. There is no comparison in comfort. The Enstrom has real seats. All of the others you sit on a box with a cushion. I’m a big guy and found the MD horribly uncomfortable. He 206 is legendary with chiropractors. The R44 isn’t any better.
2. There is no comparison in operating costs. Robinson was probably the most expensive, considering how the ship was to be used. 100 hrs/hr. The Enstrom has 3 calendar items, the TT straps. There are less than a dozen Hobbs limited items on the airframe. Most items are “on condition “ including the blades. I just finished my third annual, I had a loose belt and a loose cable. Last annual was similar.
3. When properly set up it will fly hands off as long as most airplanes. You can’t take your hands off a Robbie stick. Yes the cyclic is heavy. It’s also heavy n a MD600. The thing is you don’t fly it by tugging on he stick, you use the trim. If you use the trim you don’t feel the weight, same on the MD. It’s not for mustering cattle it’s for comfortable traveling. Also no hydraulic system to break and maintain.
4. It’s smooth. Again I’m traveling in it. The Robbie and 206 are not. Too much 2 per. MD is nice. The 3 per is damped by dampers on the controls and tail.
5. Although unorthodox, the seating configurations are great. There is way more leg room for the “rear seat” passengers than the Robbie and certainly the MD. The straight 206 is close. If you don’t need the seat, then fold them up out of the way. Believe me it only looks weird.
6. It’s not good for shooting hogs out of. Only one door/gunner at a time.
7. My wife and I carry our golf clubs in it, in he baggage compartment not the cabin. Try that in anything else.
8. They are heavy. My useful load is 1100 lbs. With 3.5 hours of fuel that’s only 500 lbs in cabin. Not sure how this compares.
9. Although not IFR they are a great instrument platform. Vey stable and easy to fly.
10. Much slower than Robbie. I plan on 110 kts at 185 lbs/hr @ 2000 agl. I have a G500H that displays true airspeed.
11. You don’t have to slow down in turbulence. (Yes,I know I’m already going slow.😕
12.. No exposed pitch connecting rods. This, believe it or not is a biggie for me. I fly around a lot of big birds, geese and buzzards. They scare me in a 206. History has shown that it’s not a significant factor. I don’t want to find out. Also probably not as effective as wire cutters, but there are plenty of Enstrom pilots who have hit wires then backed off of them.
okay I’ll get off my soapbox now. The 480B is a great helicopter for traveling. It is also has the lowest cost of maintenance for the private owner (no comment on training).
Bill
I own a 480 B and use it as a private owner. I looked at all of the usual suspects before buying it. I always assumed that I would buy a MD 500. What I found in my research was interesting. My main goal was cross country travel.
1. There is no comparison in comfort. The Enstrom has real seats. All of the others you sit on a box with a cushion. I’m a big guy and found the MD horribly uncomfortable. He 206 is legendary with chiropractors. The R44 isn’t any better.
2. There is no comparison in operating costs. Robinson was probably the most expensive, considering how the ship was to be used. 100 hrs/hr. The Enstrom has 3 calendar items, the TT straps. There are less than a dozen Hobbs limited items on the airframe. Most items are “on condition “ including the blades. I just finished my third annual, I had a loose belt and a loose cable. Last annual was similar.
3. When properly set up it will fly hands off as long as most airplanes. You can’t take your hands off a Robbie stick. Yes the cyclic is heavy. It’s also heavy n a MD600. The thing is you don’t fly it by tugging on he stick, you use the trim. If you use the trim you don’t feel the weight, same on the MD. It’s not for mustering cattle it’s for comfortable traveling. Also no hydraulic system to break and maintain.
4. It’s smooth. Again I’m traveling in it. The Robbie and 206 are not. Too much 2 per. MD is nice. The 3 per is damped by dampers on the controls and tail.
5. Although unorthodox, the seating configurations are great. There is way more leg room for the “rear seat” passengers than the Robbie and certainly the MD. The straight 206 is close. If you don’t need the seat, then fold them up out of the way. Believe me it only looks weird.
6. It’s not good for shooting hogs out of. Only one door/gunner at a time.
7. My wife and I carry our golf clubs in it, in he baggage compartment not the cabin. Try that in anything else.
8. They are heavy. My useful load is 1100 lbs. With 3.5 hours of fuel that’s only 500 lbs in cabin. Not sure how this compares.
9. Although not IFR they are a great instrument platform. Vey stable and easy to fly.
10. Much slower than Robbie. I plan on 110 kts at 185 lbs/hr @ 2000 agl. I have a G500H that displays true airspeed.
11. You don’t have to slow down in turbulence. (Yes,I know I’m already going slow.😕
12.. No exposed pitch connecting rods. This, believe it or not is a biggie for me. I fly around a lot of big birds, geese and buzzards. They scare me in a 206. History has shown that it’s not a significant factor. I don’t want to find out. Also probably not as effective as wire cutters, but there are plenty of Enstrom pilots who have hit wires then backed off of them.
okay I’ll get off my soapbox now. The 480B is a great helicopter for traveling. It is also has the lowest cost of maintenance for the private owner (no comment on training).
Bill
1. There is no comparison in comfort. The Enstrom has real seats. All of the others you sit on a box with a cushion. I’m a big guy and found the MD horribly uncomfortable. He 206 is legendary with chiropractors. The R44 isn’t any better.
2. There is no comparison in operating costs. Robinson was probably the most expensive, considering how the ship was to be used. 100 hrs/hr. The Enstrom has 3 calendar items, the TT straps. There are less than a dozen Hobbs limited items on the airframe. Most items are “on condition “ including the blades. I just finished my third annual, I had a loose belt and a loose cable. Last annual was similar.
3. When properly set up it will fly hands off as long as most airplanes. You can’t take your hands off a Robbie stick. Yes the cyclic is heavy. It’s also heavy n a MD600. The thing is you don’t fly it by tugging on he stick, you use the trim. If you use the trim you don’t feel the weight, same on the MD. It’s not for mustering cattle it’s for comfortable traveling. Also no hydraulic system to break and maintain.
4. It’s smooth. Again I’m traveling in it. The Robbie and 206 are not. Too much 2 per. MD is nice. The 3 per is damped by dampers on the controls and tail.
5. Although unorthodox, the seating configurations are great. There is way more leg room for the “rear seat” passengers than the Robbie and certainly the MD. The straight 206 is close. If you don’t need the seat, then fold them up out of the way. Believe me it only looks weird.
6. It’s not good for shooting hogs out of. Only one door/gunner at a time.
7. My wife and I carry our golf clubs in it, in he baggage compartment not the cabin. Try that in anything else.
8. They are heavy. My useful load is 1100 lbs. With 3.5 hours of fuel that’s only 500 lbs in cabin. Not sure how this compares.
9. Although not IFR they are a great instrument platform. Vey stable and easy to fly.
10. Much slower than Robbie. I plan on 110 kts at 185 lbs/hr @ 2000 agl. I have a G500H that displays true airspeed.
11. You don’t have to slow down in turbulence. (Yes,I know I’m already going slow.😕
12.. No exposed pitch connecting rods. This, believe it or not is a biggie for me. I fly around a lot of big birds, geese and buzzards. They scare me in a 206. History has shown that it’s not a significant factor. I don’t want to find out. Also probably not as effective as wire cutters, but there are plenty of Enstrom pilots who have hit wires then backed off of them.
okay I’ll get off my soapbox now. The 480B is a great helicopter for traveling. It is also has the lowest cost of maintenance for the private owner (no comment on training).
Bill
It is so refreshing to hear Discap's private owner perspective! The 480B is indeed a very viable machine. It goes to show that to a large degree smoothness and reliability of a helicopter depend on having a good mechanic to look after your machine.
That of course applies to other helicopter types too. I can assure you that a well-balanced Robbie can fly as smooth and without annoying or tiresome vibrations as any 3-bladed helicopter that I have been in (H269, EN28, EH48, Cabri G2, AS341). I agree though that the rotor head, and the overall weight, make the 480B less susceptible to turbulence than it's two-bladed hangar companions.
How does 3.5 HRS of fuel and 500 lbs in the cabin compare? Well, out of all the machines you mentioned, only the R66 can carry 3.5 HRS of fuel at all.
While you correctly say that the 480B is not your typically cattle mustering machine, Dennis Kenyon has shown us that it is nonetheless highly manoeuvrable:
That of course applies to other helicopter types too. I can assure you that a well-balanced Robbie can fly as smooth and without annoying or tiresome vibrations as any 3-bladed helicopter that I have been in (H269, EN28, EH48, Cabri G2, AS341). I agree though that the rotor head, and the overall weight, make the 480B less susceptible to turbulence than it's two-bladed hangar companions.
How does 3.5 HRS of fuel and 500 lbs in the cabin compare? Well, out of all the machines you mentioned, only the R66 can carry 3.5 HRS of fuel at all.
While you correctly say that the 480B is not your typically cattle mustering machine, Dennis Kenyon has shown us that it is nonetheless highly manoeuvrable:
When Steve Daniels was the VP of Marketing there I did a couple of air to air shoots with them and used the 480B as the camera ship and have to say it was one of the smoothest helos I have shot from.