Thread: Robinson helicopters - new possible rules CAA

Most if not all operators in the Queenstown arena longer operate them. The risk to their business is too hight to have a fatal in a R44 when they have so much bad press.
Any helicopter can have a accident. And everyday when I fly i remind myself of that.
I consider myself a safe, cautious pilot and have flown all over the place. NZ, Canada, Papua New Guinea, Australia.
But i consider the risk to myself goes up vastly when flying the robby. I have a lot of time in Bell helicopters also and I certainly do not have the same risk assessment compared to the Crapinson Heli.

On a side note, if I'm Not the pilot and getting flown into the bush. h500, AS350 and thats it.

A while back I made a decision to not be a passenger in a robbi, after reading all this I glad I made that decision.

The difference between the bell heli's etc & the Robbies is they have high inertia blades whereas the Robbies have low inertia blades which don't help. A mate used to have a Jet ranger years ago & said there was enough inertia left in the blades after doing an auto rotation to lift it up again.

When Over the Tops one went in, the weather was apparently good so a couple of these accidents have a ? Over them

Also the fact Robinson does and still have blade issues.
The modification for the dash 7 blast is fu*ked in my opinion.
Tin snips!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2aPqgFq3A4

I was shocked when I saw this. This is after multiple cracks worldwide. A full recall would have been better. But nah, get the tin snips out!

Dash 7 blade I meant.
Some of the results of the mod look bloody ugly.

Originally Posted by outdoorlad

The difference between the bell heli's etc & the Robbies is they have high inertia blades whereas the Robbies have low inertia blades which don't help. A mate used to have a Jet ranger years ago & said there was enough inertia left in the blades after doing an auto rotation to lift it up again.

When Over the Tops one went in, the weather was apparently good so a couple of these accidents have a ? Over them

R22 has low inertia. R44 and 66 are high inertia.


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Well I have flown onto and off purseiners for work quite a few times but only the once in an R22 and that was enough.
500's and Jet Rangers feel positively safe compared to a robbie
Unfortunately most of the vessels bar one have gone to robbies due to maintenance cost and the remaining one was sold last week so I hear
Living in the salt ontop of a boat does not in my opinion make a great living place for a helicopter full stop
Fortunately with my change of employer I may never have too set foot on another seiner again

Haven't flown in a Robbie for years, when I was at school I had a holiday job with the pest board and we baited all the little islands in the waitaki river ( how/why there are actually possums living on them is still beyond me) and we did heaps of flying in a 22, he would drop us off, we would run a bait line and then radio him to take us to the next island, I thought it was great fun, and I got paid for it, couldn't believe my luck!
Now I'm a little older and questionably slightly wiser, you would have to pay me a shit tonne of money to fly in a Robbie

Had a close call in one coming into land at 1600m once, the pilot just yelled "hold on" as we hit the ground hard then she was back up and then down just before a major drop off - I told him it was my first time in a 22, he said nearly your last ......
Flew in one last week, just so cheap, $300 one way flight to the tops is so affordable, where if it was a 500 I suspect it would be around $600


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Flew in one last week, just so cheap, $300 one way flight to the tops is so affordable . Unfortunately they are know for the "one Way flights "

Originally Posted by Smiddy

Had a close call in one coming into land at 1600m once, the pilot just yelled "hold on" as we hit the ground hard then she was back up and then down just before a major drop off - I told him it was my first time in a 22, he said nearly your last ......
Flew in one last week, just so cheap, $300 one way flight to the tops is so affordable, where if it was a 500 I suspect it would be around $600


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No offence mate but unless you have a midget pilot that weighs 40kgs and running only 20mins fuel an R22 is over weight with a fella as big as you in it, at sea level.
No way would I have ever flown you with a pack and rifle up too the tussock in 1 load unless the wind was favorable.


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Originally Posted by R93

No offence mate but unless you have a midget pilot that weighs 40kgs and running only 20mins fuel an R22 is over weight with a fella as big as you in it, at sea level.
No way would I have ever flown you with a pack and rifle up too the tussock in 1 load unless the wind was favorable.


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Jeepers there weight capacity is that low?
Is that where the dragging 3 or 4 deer down a steep slope/over a bluff to get enough airspeed to lift the load came from?

Wayne Pratt of Karamea caught/killed over 7000 deer in the early model Robbie and uses the R44. He is not dead. Phil Janssen was full time on venison recovery in an R22 for many years and is still alive.Rule of thumb is over 20knots in the R22 and you are in danger country. In the hands of a skilled pilot there is nothing wrong with the R22 including heli hunting. Just pick your pilot.

Originally Posted by TeRei

Wayne Pratt of Karamea caught/killed over 7000 deer in the early model Robbie and uses the R44. He is not dead. Phil Janssen was full time on venison recovery in an R22 for many years and is still alive.Rule of thumb is over 20knots in the R22 and you are in danger country. In the hands of a skilled pilot there is nothing wrong with the R22 including heli hunting. Just pick your pilot.

Thats pretty fucken slow for something that flys and is megabucks an hour to fly!

Originally Posted by veitnamcam

Jeepers there weight capacity is that low?
Is that where the dragging 3 or 4 deer down a steep slope/over a bluff to get enough airspeed to lift the load came from?

Yeah, shouldn't even be doing that but everyone does.
How many times can ya stretch a rubber band before it breaks?

Their blades are crap imo and every heavy load adds a little more stress to them and the drive train as they struggle in their plane of rotation.

Saying someone has survived because of their skill until now, is neither here nor there and basically an insult to the pilots that have lost their lives in them. (Even tho I am sure that's not your intention.)
Where does 20knts fit in?
7000 deer is only a couple seasons on venison. I know Wayne has done a few more than that. Hope he has many more. But I am sure he would be the first to admit that the R22 doesn't leave much to chance.





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