Bell to Robinson R44II

[culver10]

I'm doing an import on a 140 hour R44II. I'm at the stage of checking the dynamic balance of the spiny parts and need a competent pilot for the hover tests and such. The owner just got his license and is not all that smooth yet. I have a good friend who is currently flying our Griffon’s and he is keen to try the R44. What are the flight differences between 206 and Griffon vs. the R44?

[sky's the limit]

The differences between a Griffon and a 44 are pretty large.... that said, I'm sure he could figure it out pretty quickly. You might want to get a pilot with extensive R44 time so he/she can compare the feel of yours with past experience, using someone who's never flown one, they'll have no comparison.

Where is this happening btw?

stl

[culver10]

Edmonton area. The 20000 hr pilot who flew it here claimed that it was a very smooth R44. I would just like to get some good IPS readings from the rotors. The fan was around 0.2ips and I would like to get that lower. We are going to work on the fan and check the tail tomorrow (on the ground).

[sky's the limit]

Nice, sounds good then.

I don't know anyone in the YEG area unfortunately, but good luck.

stl

[Injun]

There is an operator in Whitecourt that only has 40 or so of these 44's. Surely you could find a pilot willing to do some runs for you.

[arctic navigator]

Aren't there also 6 or so 44's sitting in the Esso hangar at YXD? Someone around there should be good with one...