R66 gimbal mount
 

Apparently there is a R66 offset nosemount on the drawing board that will take a decent size gimbal.

Comments on the suitability of the R66 for aerial film work?

In respect to the nature and reliability of the flappy bits, up to a few years ago when I stopped keeping records, in terms of absolute number of fatalities or injuries, the R44 news has the best safety record for aerial filming of any helicopter in regular use. (That includes a decade or so without fuel bladders)
Zero serious injuries or fatalities of camera crew. One pilot killed flying into poor weather after dropping off the crew.

Would the R66 with nose gimbal have similar handling power characteristics to the R44 news?

(The R44 news has a compact lightweight 12 inch gimbal centered on the nose. CofG is fragile so a slightly larger gimbal can't be fitted. It seats two upfront and one in the back,)

Mickjoebill

mickjoebill - The first FAA/EASA nose mount for an R66 was approved 22 months ago!

see ZatzWorks ? World?s First FAA and EASA approved R66 Nose Mount

http://zatzworks.com/blog/wp-content...78-590x885.jpg

Well,
Why not go a little smaler?
http://www.helipal.com/handheld-gopro-stabilizer-3-axis.html
😉

We just finished off our FAA STC flight test program for our new light weight nose mount (<50lbs) for the R44 and R66. Will be in a position to sell the mount in approx 2 months.

Meeker Aviation

Not a fair comparison. Robinson's produced perhaps 50 Newscopters? ENG flying is generally low risk, high altitude fairly static work. Much aerial filming work is low altitude higher risk work, that naturally will lead itself to a higher incident rate. Additionally, as there aren't a great deal of aerial platforms that can be mounted to the R44, most production work is done with AStars/TwinStars/206/407's. That will also skew the statistics.

While the R66 may make a good filming aircraft, it will take the STCs some time to catch up, which will keep the incident rate low as the R66 simply won't be widely used for some time.

Hi southerncanuck,

let me know when you hace that EASA STC (and a price tag).

Spunk

I refered the R44 news accident info as "raw numbers" hoping to avoid a statistical comparison which is impossible.

I didn't refer to regular R44 with side mount which, despite the apparent precariousness, has nil accidents up to 2015 as far as I can tell.

There are a few R44 news in use for production work outside of the USA, (with nil accidents by the way.)

What STCs will have to catch up?

How will the R66 fly with a nose mount and up to 50lb payload?

Mickjoebill

It is not the new one.

Mickjoebill

Sydney Helitours has developed a nose mount for the R66 which was approved in Australia in 2014. The mount is certified for all Cineflex V14 variations, GSS 516 and the Shotover F1 with a 60kg max payload limit.

We have conducted numerous aerial filming projects with the R66 to be an exceptionally capable aircraft providing an economical option for many productions that may not have the budget to send up a larger heli.