Frank Robinson: ‘I designed the helicopter I would want’

[lt.ak]

Frank Robinson was a veteran of battles with regulators even before he embarked on series production of the aircraft that would make his name familiar to every helicopter pilot.

Having worked for six aircraft companies, he tired of trying to interest his employers in his concept of a light, simple aircraft – and decided to build it himself. But, starting in 1973 in the garage of his California home, he ran into opposition from the planning authorities.

Unable, and unwilling, to pay the fine imposed, the fledgling manufacturer pleaded innocence, fought for a jury trial, and defended himself. He was found not guilty.

That dogged refusal to give in was also vital when he sought certification of his two-seat helicopter. That took four long years.

In fact, the story of the Robinson R22 helicopter has striking similarities to the that of the Eclipse 500 very light jet.

Both held the promise of slashing cost of entry to an exclusive club – the R22 was designed to be half the price of existing light helicopters, and like the six-seat jet from Eclipse Aviation, was intended to be produced in large numbers.

But Eclipse Aviation failed in 2009 with only 261 aircraft made (although Eclipse Aerospace, which bought the rights to the design, intends to resume production). Meanwhile, Robinson Helicopter has produced not far short of 10,000 aircraft at its base in Torrance, California – becoming the world’s most prolific manufacturer of civil helicopters.

After it was certified in 1979, the low-tech, piston-engined R22 sold at a faster rate than Mr Robinson had imagined.

“I underestimated the training market,” he says. “I designed [the R22] to be the type of helicopter that I would want to have for my own personal use.”

That meant cheap and simple. Advertisements in 1979 from Sloane Helicopters, then sole UK distributor, claimed 108mph and 15 mpg, with low maintenance and capital costs. The initial price was $40,000.

It also meant light but reliable, with a low-inertia two-bladed main rotor that required special vigilance by pilots. So much so that US regulators imposed specific rules for instructors and students.

“In the early days, we had several problems that did give us a lot of trouble, and accidents,” he says. But he shrugs off questions about the difficulty of flying the R22, instead stressing the rules on who could instruct were initially far too loose.

When I learnt to fly helicopters, I found acquring the delicacy needed to fly an R22 made it easier to graduate into larger, less responsive helicopters.

Mr Robinson’s early dream was of a machine that would enable a personal transport revolution. “That hasn’t happened,” he says. “I had illusions it would.”

But he quickly adds: “And I don’t think it should. I wouldn’t like to see everyone flying R22s everywhere. The average person could learn to fly, but they don’t have the judgment that would be necessary to keep themselves and their passengers alive.”

The natural next step for the company was a four-seater – the R44, introduced in 1992 at a base price of $135,000. Essentially a scaled-up R22, it has the same parts replacement schedule simplified into a 2,200-hour or 12-year complete rebuild.

The first R44s had weightier controls than the R22 but were harder to fly. Robinson had rejected the hydraulic control systems on the market and was developing its own, so customers had to wait until 1999.

“I would have loved to have had the hydraulics in the original 44,” Mr Robinson says. “But it took a while to make the changes we needed.”

The company’s latest helicopter, though, puts Robinson into a different league. A five-seater, the R66 uses a single Rolls-Royce RR300 turbine engine. It has a specific aim – to replace an ageing star of the light charter and personal market, the 206B from Bell Helicopter.

“The primary reason I went ahead with the R66 programme was because I knew there were all those Bell [206B] JetRangers out there,” says Mr Robinson.

“And they were getting older and doggier. I knew we would have a really good replacement.”

The company has about 100 firm orders for the $800,000 R66. The helicopter is expected to win US certification in days, and in other regions soon after.

For Robinson, like almost every company in aviation, the credit crunch has been painful. “The bottom just fell out of sales in 09,” says Mr Robinson. Production of nearly 900 helicopters the year before was halved. Some 300 employees were laid off, from 1,400.

But the new helicopter should come in time to catch the upswing.

“From our perspective, everything is starting to go in the right direction. We feel very optimistic.” He expects improvement: “It isn’t going to shoot up like it did back in 07 and 08. It’ll be more sustainable.”

He stepped down as president and chief executive in August at the age of 80, handing over to his son Kurt. But he is still the sole shareholder, and very much involved.

“They all know that any time I felt really strongly about it I could pull the rug out,” he says.

Even without keeping an eye on the company, his retirement sounds busy. “I’ve got a lot of different things I’m interested in and want to do – I won’t have any problem filling my time,” he says. “I have a boat. I also like old cars and I want to collect more of them.”

He has a collection of 1930s American cars, and pride of place goes to a 12-cylinder Packard. But, he says, “those cars are very heavy. What they need is power steering.”

Given the change he wrought in the R44 by adding in hydraulic controls, would he be tempted to design a power steering system for his Packard? Could, indeed, that provide not just a pleasant diversion for a diehard inventor but also a new business line?

“I don’t think so,” he says. “I don’t want to compete in that industry.”

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b685ec7c-d887 ... abdc0.html

[RODEO]

Great MAN. I like this "I wouldn’t like to see everyone flying R22s everywhere. The average person could learn to fly, but they don’t have the judgment that would be necessary to keep themselves and their passengers alive.”