- Robinson Helicopter
The Robinson Helicopter Company of
Torrance, California is the largest manufacturer of civilhelicopter s in the world.The company was founded in 1973 by Frank Robinson, an ex-employee of
Bell Helicopter and The Hughes Helicopter Company. Since delivering its first helicopter in1979 , Robinson Helicopter has produced (as of September 2006) over 7000 aircraft.Robinson currently produces two models — the two-seat R22, and the four-seat R44, both of which use Lycoming piston engines virtually identical to those found in general aviation fixed-wing aircraft, e.g.,
Cessna 172 .In March 2007, Robinson announced plans for production of the
Robinson R66 , a 5-seat helicopter of similar configuration to the R44, but with the addition of a luggage compartment, wider cabin (by 8 inches), and powered by a Rolls Royce gas turbine engine.In 2007, Robinson delivered its 8000th helicopter, an R44. * [http://www.robinsonheli.com/prarchive/pressrelease/rhc_delivers_8000th_helicopter.pdf]
In December 2007, Robinson delivered its 800th helicopter for the year, a production record. The company was the highest rated helicopter manufacturer in "Rotor and Wing" magazine's survey of operators * [http://www.aviationtoday.com/rw/issue/features/17375.html]
R22
Though originally designed primarily as a small two-seat helicopter for personal use, the
Robinson R22 is a popular pilot training helicopter, due to its low price and low maintenance and operating costs. Its primary competitor, the Schweizer 300C, has a similar configuration, but more limited production quantity.R44
The
Robinson R44 has become an increasingly strong competitor to the ubiquitousBell 206 , and is arguably surpassing the Bell in many areas. Though the Bell has a larger cabin with more seats (four passengers plus pilot in the Bell vs. three passengers plus pilot in the R44) and carrying capacity, the dramatically higher cost of purchasing and maintaining a turbine-powered helicopter makes the Robinson a viable option for many prospective buyers.The R44 is available in several different configurations, including versions for
news gathering and law enforcement. The Clipper version is equipped with floats to enable water landings in the event of an emergency.R66
The Robinson R66 is a new five seat turbine powered helicopter. The R66 is intended to be somewhere between Robinson's four seat piston powered R-44 Raven 2 and a
Bell 206 JetRanger in terms of performance. A Rolls-Royce RR300turboshaft will power the new helicopter. The R66 is expected to reach the market sometime between 2011 and 2013.External links
* [http://www.robinsonheli.com Robinson Helicopter Company website]
* [http://www.robinsonhelicopters.org Robinson Helicopters Owners Group]
* [http://www.aircraft.co.za/Encyclopedia/R/494.php Aircraft.co.za - The Complete Aviation Reference]
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