R66 new empennage design

[cage]

Robinson Helicopter Company has introduced a new empennage for the R66 Turbine helicopter intended to reduce the likelihood of mast bumping, one of the most vexing causes of fatal crashes in the model.

https://verticalmag.com/news/robinson-r ... elicopter/

[Snitch]

Just for future reference

Old Then New:

[Fransw]

So it took Robinson 10 years to identify and find a solution for a tiny thing like this!? Eish!

No wonder Hill is on 1000+ sakes already!

[cage]

So it took Robinson 10 years to identify and find a solution for a tiny thing like this!? Eish!

No wonder Hill is on 1000+ sakes already!

Hill has yet to learn painful lessons. There is no aircraft safer than one that does not exist.
Every manufacturer will discover things as people slowly kill themselves in their products, which do not happen on paper and simulations.
Finding them can be challenging indeed, then making changes in a certified environment more so.
The 66 is lighter, more powerful and willing to run away with a pilot which is slower than the aircraft, so it poses different danger than the piston variants.
Having flown both, they are as different as they are similar.

[E816]

I'm a very big fan of the R66, less so of the new empennage .... only to be released on new R66's for now, so will be some time before I get to fly one

[csparksfly]

I wonder whether it can survive some hangar rash
or even some "repositioning handle" abuse.

Is there any indication of the retrofit kit price?

[Tim]

https://verticalmag.com/news/how-robins ... il-design/

While retrofit kits are not yet available, the new stabilizer is designed to be easily retrofittable, even without the optional new tail cone, and will be offered to the market at a very low cost, Smith said.

[jus]

https://verticalmag.com/news/how-robins ... il-design/

While retrofit kits are not yet available, the new stabilizer is designed to be easily retrofittable, even without the optional new tail cone, and will be offered to the market at a very low cost, Smith said.

Interesting their conclusions, which appears to bust some long held beliefs? It seems from the research, that the rotorhead design is not the issue per se, and it's not tail rotor thrust that's causing the right roll tendency in low-G... it's in fact the one-sided horizontal stabiliser, creating asymmetric (negative) lift!