The Robinson R44 is a four-seat light
helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...
produced by
Robinson Helicopter Company
The Robinson Helicopter Company, based at Zamperini Field in Torrance, California, is a manufacturer of civil helicopters. Robinson produces three models – the two-seat R22, the four-seat R44, both of which use Lycoming piston engines, and t ...
since 1992. Based on the company's two-seat
Robinson R22
The Robinson R22 is a two-seat, two-bladed, single-engine light utility helicopter manufactured by Robinson Helicopter Company. It was designed in 1973 by Frank D. Robinson, and has been in production since 1979.
Development
The majority of fli ...
, the R44 features hydraulically assisted flight controls. It was first flown on 31 March 1990 and received
FAA
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...
certification in December 1992, with the first delivery in February 1993.
The R44 has been the world's best-selling
general aviation
General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...
(GA) helicopter every year since 1999. It is one of the
most-produced GA aircraft of the 21st century, with 5,941 deliveries from 2001 to 2020.
Design
The R44 is a single-engined helicopter with a semi-rigid two-bladed main rotor, a two-bladed tail rotor and a skid landing gear. It has an enclosed cabin with two rows of side-by-side seating for a pilot and three passengers. Tail rotor direction of rotation on the R44 is reversed compared to the R22 for improved yaw control authority. On the R44 the advancing blade is on the bottom.
Development
Designed during the 1980s by
Frank Robinson
Frank Robinson (August 31, 1935 – February 7, 2019) was an American professional baseball outfielder and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for five teams, from to . The only player to be named Most Valuable Player (MVP) of bot ...
and his staff of engineers, the R44 first flew on 31 March 1990. The R44 Astro was awarded an
FAA
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...
Type Certificate
A type certificate signifies the airworthiness of a particular category of aircraft, according to its manufacturing design (''type design''). It confirms that the aircraft of a new type intended for serial production, is in compliance with applica ...
in December
1992
File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...
, with the first deliveries taking place in January 1993. The first R44 Newscopter featuring onboard electronic news gathering equipment was delivered in 1998.
In January 2000, Robinson introduced the Raven with hydraulically assisted controls
and adjustable pedals. In July 2002, Robinson introduced the Raven II featuring a more powerful,
fuel-injected
Fuel injection is the introduction of fuel in an internal combustion engine, most commonly automotive engines, by the means of an injector. This article focuses on fuel injection in reciprocating piston and Wankel rotary engines.
All compr ...
engine and wider blades, allowing a higher gross weight and improved altitude performance.
During November 2015 Robinson announced the Cadet, a Raven I with a cargo area instead of the two back seats, a slightly less powerful engine and a more efficient muffler.
Robinson has carried out ground run testing with an
aircraft diesel engine
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines. C ...
that could replace its
Lycoming IO-540
The Lycoming O-540 is a family of air-cooled six-cylinder, horizontally opposed fixed-wing aircraft and helicopter engines of displacement, manufactured by Lycoming Engines. The engine is a six-cylinder version of the four-cylinder Lycoming ...
avgas engine. The diesel could provide better altitude performance, a fuel burn reduced from per hour and better fuel availability.
Operational history
In 1997, a Robinson R44 was piloted by
Jennifer Murray
Jennifer Murray (born June 1940 in Providence, Rhode Island) is a pilot. In 2000 she circumnavigated the globe in a Robinson R44 helicopter, traveling 36,000 miles in 97 days, earning her the Guinness World Record for the first helicopter circumnav ...
for the first helicopter
circumnavigation
Circumnavigation is the complete navigation around an entire island, continent, or astronomical object, astronomical body (e.g. a planet or natural satellite, moon). This article focuses on the circumnavigation of Earth.
The first recorded circ ...
of the world by a woman, covering a distance of 36,000 miles in 97 days.
, an R44 holds the piston speed record of 227 km/h.
Operators
Civilian operators
The aircraft is operated by many private individuals, companies and flying clubs. It is also a popular choice for law enforcement agencies.
Military and government operators
![G-ROYM (34834802080)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/G-ROYM_%2834834802080%29.jpg)
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Bolivian Air Force
The Bolivian Air Force ( es, Fuerza Aérea Boliviana or 'FAB') is the air force of Bolivia and branch of the Bolivian Armed Forces.
History
By 1938 the Bolivian air force consisted of about 60 aircraft (Curtiss Hawk fighters, Curtiss T-32 Co ...
;
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Dominican Republic Army
The Dominican Army ( es, Ejército de República Dominicana, is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Dominican Republic, together with the Navy and the Air Force.
The Dominican army with 28,750 active duty personnel consists of ...
;
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Estonian Air Force
The Estonian Air Force ( et, Õhuvägi, ) is the aviation branch of the Estonian Defence Forces. The air force traces its history to 1918, and was re-established in its current form in 1991.
As of 2016, the Estonian Air Force has a strength of ...
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Royal Jordanian Air Force
The Royal Jordanian Air Force (RJAF; ar, سلاح الجو الملكي الأردني, Silāḥ ul-Jawu al-Malakī 'al-Urdunī) is the aerial warfare branch of the Jordanian Armed Forces.
History
Early days
Jordan gained independence in 19 ...
;
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Lebanese Air Force
The Lebanese Air Force (LAF) ( ar, القوات الجوية اللبنانية, Al Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Lubnaniyya) is the aerial warfare branch of the Lebanese Armed Forces. The seal of the air force is a Roundel with two wings and a Lebanese C ...
![Robinson R-44 Raven II AN1539475](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/Robinson_R-44_Raven_II_AN1539475.jpg)
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Mexican Navy
The Mexican Navy is one of the two independent armed forces of Mexico. The actual naval forces are called the ''Armada de México''. The ''Secretaría de Marina'' (''SEMAR'') (English: Naval Secretariat) includes both the ''Armada'' itself and ...
;
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Nicaraguan Air Force
The Nicaraguan Air Force ( es, Fuerza Aérea Nicaragüense) is the air defense branch of the armed forces of Nicaragua. It continues the former Sandinista air units. Before 1979 the Nicaraguan National Guard had some air units ().
Air force
In 19 ...
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Peruvian Army
The Peruvian Army ( es, Ejército del Perú, abbreviated EP) is the branch of the Peruvian Armed Forces tasked with safeguarding the independence, sovereignty and integrity of national territory on land through military force. Additional missions ...
;
*
Philippine National Police
The Philippine National Police ( fil, Pambansang Pulisya ng Pilipinas, acronymed as PNP) is the armed national police force in the Philippines. Its national headquarters is located at Camp Crame in Bagong Lipunan ng Crame, Quezon City. Current ...
*
Air ambulances in Poland
Lotnicze Pogotowie Ratunkowe is an air ambulance service subordinate to the Minister of Health of Poland. The Independent Public Health Care Institution ''Aviation Rescue Service'' was established in 2000. Additionally, the Search and rescue s ...
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Forest Protection Service
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South African Police Service Air Wing
![Robinson R44 filtered (5241546639)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/Robinson_R44_filtered_%285241546639%29.jpg)
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Royal Thai Army
The Royal Thai Army or RTA ( th, กองทัพบกไทย; ) is the army of Thailand and the oldest and largest branch of the Royal Thai Armed Forces.
History
Origin
The Royal Thai Army is responsible for protecting the kingdom's so ...
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Alaska State Troopers
The Alaska State Troopers, officially the Division of Alaska State Troopers (AST), is the state police agency of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is a division of the Alaska Department of Public Safety (DPS). The Alaska State Troopers is a full- ...
;
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Police of Uruguay
The National Police of Uruguay is a national and institutional police force of the Republic of Uruguay, founded on December 18, 1829. It depends on the Executive Power through the Ministry of the Interior. Its main mission is to protect the free ...
Accidents and incidents
Fuel tanks
The R44 was found to be prone to post-accident fires due to damage to the aluminum fuel tanks, allowing fuel to leak out. In 2009, the company began installing bladder-type fuel tanks in all new R44 helicopters. It also issued Service Bulletin SB-78 on 20 December 2010, requiring R44 helicopters with all-aluminum fuel tanks to be retrofitted with bladder-type tanks to "improve the R44's fuel system's resistance to a post-accident fuel leak." The company recommended that the change should be done as soon as practical, but no later than 31 December 2014. The compliance date was later moved to 30 April 2013.
An accident investigation by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) in March 2013 found, after analyzing historical data, that a significantly higher proportion of R44 aircraft (12%) caught fire after crashing, compared to accidents involving other types of piston-engine helicopters (7%).
Preliminary analysis by the ATSB of the NTSB's accident database found a similar statistic, with 15% of accidents in the US involving R44 helicopters having post-crash fires.
![Heli Air Robinson R44 Raven II arrives RIAT Fairford 10thJuly2014 arp](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/Heli_Air_Robinson_R44_Raven_II_arrives_RIAT_Fairford_10thJuly2014_arp.jpg)
Although the data did not consider which type of fuel tanks were fitted, the report mentioned four fatal accidents to the R44 fitted with bladder-type tanks, but as far as they knew, did not involve a post-accident fire. The ATSB recommended that the Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) take further action to urge R44 owners to fit bladder-type tanks.
The
FAA
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...
, the governing body in the country of manufacture whose directives would normally be followed in other countries like Australia, had not mandated the retrofit; CASA therefore issued Australian-specific airworthiness directive AD/R44/23, grounding R44 aircraft on 30 April 2013 that had not yet been upgraded.
Rotor failures
On 19 February 2015, the
New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority
The Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand (CAA; Māori: ''Te Mana Rererangi Tūmatanui o Aotearoa'') is the government agency tasked with establishing civil aviation safety and security standards in New Zealand.
The CAA also monitors adherence ...
issued an
Airworthiness Directive
An Airworthiness Directive (commonly abbreviated as AD) is a notification to owners and operators of certified aircraft that a known safety deficiency with a particular model of aircraft, engine, avionics or other system exists and must be correct ...
grounding 80 of the country's R44 helicopters after two people were killed in an accident traced to a particular type of main rotor blade, the P/N C016-7 or Dash 7, which a preliminary investigation determined had failed in flight. It was the second failure or partial failure in two months. This was the largest-scale grounding of any aircraft in New Zealand's history. The CAA determined through laboratory tests that the rotor blade had failed due to overload during the crash and was not the cause of the accident and the fleet was ungrounded on 24 February 2015. The CAA left the Airworthiness Directive requiring repetitive inspections in place, however. Director of Civil Aviation Graeme Harris stated, "We don't want to see any complacency amongst operators as there is still a concern with these blades and we are waiting on test results from the USA before we review the Airworthiness notice."
Following the grounding in New Zealand, Australia's
Civil Aviation Safety Authority
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) is the Australian national authority for the regulation of civil aviation. Although distinct from the government, it reports to the Federal Minister for Infrastructure and Transport.
CASA is responsibl ...
(CASA) also grounded R44 helicopters with the same rotor blades.
Specifications (R44 Raven II)
See also
References
External links
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{{Robinson aircraft
1990s United States helicopters
1990s United States civil utility aircraft
R44
Single-engined piston helicopters
Aircraft first flown in 1990