Robinson R44 Guide

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Robinson R44 Guide Graeme Cash P I L O T A I R C R A F T G U I D E S Nothing in this manual supersedes any UK and EU legislation or European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) Regulations or procedures; or any operational documents issued by any United Kingdom Government Department, the Civil Aviation Authority, National Aviation Authorities, the manufacturers of aircraft, engines and systems, or by the operators of aircraft throughout the world. As maps and chart are changed regularly, any extracts reproduced in this book must not be used for flight planning or flight operations. Guide to the Robinson R44 - Graeme Cash ISBN 978-1-84336-182-4 © Copyright Pooleys Flight Equipment Limited 2022 First created by Graeme Cash – March 2009 First Edition Published August 2011 Second Edition Published March 2017 Figure 1.7 is taken from NTSB/SIR-96/03. Figure 1.19, and the charts in sections Limitations and Performance are taken from Robinson R44 Pilot's Operating Handbook RTR 061 including CAA amendments. Figures 1.3, 1.13, 1.15 and 1.38 are based on diagrams taken from the Robinson R44 Maintenance Manual. “Robinson” and “R44” are U.S. registered trademarks ® Pooleys Flight Equipment Ltd Elstree Aerodrome Elstree Hertfordshire WD6 3AW United Kingdom Telephone: +44(0)20 8953 4870 Email: sales@pooleys.com Website: www.pooleys.com All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form (including photocopying or storing it in any medium by electronic means and whether or not transiently or incidentally to some of the use of this publication (without the written permission of the copyright owner) except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 or under the terms of a licence issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency Limited, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London, England W1P 0LP. Applications for the copyright owner’s written permission to reproduce any part of this publication should be addressed to the publisher. Warning: The doing of an unauthorised act in relation to a copyright work may result in both a civil claim for damages and criminal prosecution Author - Graeme Cash Graeme Cash has been flying helicopters for over fifteen years and currently holds a commercial pilot’s licence and flight instructors rating. Originally from Wigan, Graeme now lives in Blackpool with his wife and daughter and conducts helicopter flight training in Robinson R22s and R44s. Intentionally left blank Contents Introduction 5 Aircraft Description 6 Pre-flight Check 40 Mass & Balance 45 Starting Procedure 48 Shutdown Procedure 52 Limitations 53 Emergency Procedures 57 Performance 65 5 Introduction This guide is designed to supplement and serve as a reference to your formal training. The Robinson R44 was initially certified in USA by the FAA, in order to be certified in the UK the CAA produced additional limitations and information on the R44. The CAA limitations and information are indicated by a 1 and supplement or in the case of conflict override those in the Pilots Operating Handbook (POH). 6 Aircraft Description The Robinson R44 is a very reliable four-seater, two-blade, piston engine helicopter designed by Frank Robinson. It is a very popular helicopter due to its price and low operating costs; over three thousand have been built since 1992. The first version of the helicopter was called the R44 Astro followed by the R44 Raven and R44 Raven II. The Raven had hydraulic cyclic and collective controls as standard while the Astro had an electric cyclic trim and ground-adjustable collective trim with the option of hydraulically assisted controls. The Raven II has a fuel injected engine, the maximum gross weight increased from 2400lbs to 2500lbs, a longer main blade chord, second oil cooler, solid-state magneto start booster, rounded tip main and tail rotor blades, hydraulically assisted controls, a 28-volt electrical system and the option of air conditioning. The R44 is also available with fixed or pop-out floats and added anti-corrosion protection; it is called the R44 Clipper if based on the Astro, or the R44 Clipper II if based on the Raven II. Other versions also include an instrument trainer with a larger instrument panel, a police version with a searchlight, camera and police radio and Electronic News Gathering (ENG) version with a nose mounted camera. Helicopter Structure The body of the Robinson R44 is constructed from welded steel tubing and riveted aluminum panels. The cabin has a stainless steel firewall at the rear and a plexiglass canopy. The cabin doors are made from fibreglass and split pins on the hinges enable easy removal. The tail boom is an aluminum monocoque construction with the tail rotor control rod and drive shaft running through the centre. The R44 has both a vertical and horizontal fin at the end of the tail boom with a tailskid attached to the bottom of the vertical fin to protect the tail rotor from striking the ground. Like the frame of the R44 the landing gear is made of steel Figure 1.1 – Robinson R44 Raven