ROBINSON’S NEW ERA
SEE Ascent AeroSystems’ Spirit UAS in flight
Ascent
AeroSystems’ Spirit UAS provides operators
with a rugged,
modular platform manufactured to aviation standards.
(Ascent AeroSystems Photo)
received FAA approval to double their life to 4,000 hours. “I think if we tell the right story, the true finan-
cial story, Robinson wins on the economics of the overhaul,” Smith says. “When you add all the costs of other aircraft that need constant main- tenance, including their much more expensive parts, repairs, and labor, we come out as far more superior with our set TBO, so there’s no reason to change that. We need to do a better job of telling
that story. And like what we did earlier this year with extending component life on some more expensive parts, we have opportunities to further decrease that overhaul cost.” In the past, Robinson aircraft’s tendency to
roll in low G, and pilots’ instinctive cyclic correc- tion, led to mast bumping and mast separation. The FAA in 1995 responded to the problem with SFAR 73, which required additional training of and placed certain limitations on R22 and R44 pilots to help avoid mast-bumping accidents. The FAA recently approved a new empennage design intended to correct that problem. Featuring an upgraded horizontal stabilizer
that resists roll in low-G situations in all Robinson aircraft, the design makes the potential for mast-bumping accidents arguably the same as for any other helicopter with a two-bladed tee- tering rotor system. The question then becomes, is the SFAR still relevant, and if not, can it be removed? “The SFAR was something that separated
Robinson from other two-blade helicopter manu- facturers, and I think in time with the new empen- nage we’ll prove the risk of mast bumping is similar between our aircraft and other two-bladed helicopters,” Smith says. “It’s our objective over time to make sure the SFAR is reevaluated for the R44, because it was just added onto the original SFAR for the R22. That said, I think the SFAR has been valuable for the R22. It gets people right when they’re coming in and gives them a special focus on safety.”
The Future Spotlights Diversity Smith turned industry heads in April 2024 when Robinson announced it had acquired Ascent AeroSystems, maker of compact coaxial helicop- ter unmanned aircraft systems (UASs, or drones) designed for industrial, public safety, and defense applications. Smith saw the partnership as an opportunity
to both expand Robinson’s aircraft offerings and use its manufacturing facilities to produce aviation-grade, quality drones to support law enforcement, public safety, firefighting, utility, and defense operations. “In the future, our aircraft offerings will be
34 POWER UP DEC 2024
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