Robinson Safety Course
To cut a long story short – sign up! I attended the course at the Robinson factory in Torrance, Southern California last December and it was fantastic. I thought I had a pretty good understanding of Robinson helicopters and how to fly them but a couple of hours in to the first day, I already realised I was wrong.
The course is three and a half days and is largely classroom based – but no need to worry – there are frequent breaks with endless supplies of coffee and donuts, and lunch is also provided giving you a great opportunity to chat with your helicopter pilot brethren. I met ex-Vietnam Huey pilots, an Air Ambulance pilot, an offshore pilot based in Qatar, and a number of Flight Instructors and private pilots from various countries – it was a real mix and part of what made the whole course thoroughly enjoyable and rewarding.
Topics covered by the Robinson Chief Flight Instructor, who ran the course, included an analysis of past Robinson helicopter accidents, critical flight conditions, energy management, an in-depth review of the Pilot Operating Handbook (POH), flight maneouvres and pertinent regulations. There was a tour through the factory which gave us chance to see Robinson helicopters at different stages of completion, including the new R66, and a morning spent with the Head of Maintenance who took us through systems and discussed engine and rotor overspeeds among other undesirable occurrences.
While the classroom element of the course was very enjoyable in it’s own right, perhaps the most exciting part was the flight with a factory test pilot. I had opted for an hour in the R22, based on the fact that it was the aircraft in which I was most likely to be flying and teaching in the near future. We ran through the whole spectrum of autorotations including a scenario that isn’t often taught in flight due to the narrow margin for error – simulated engine failure on take-off. This was demonstrated to me and certainly spelled out the need to keep your left hand on the collective lever during climb-out – the rate of rotor rpm decay was somewhat startling! We also practiced how to deal with a stuck left pedal and tail rotor failure in the hover as well as in forward flight. I felt completely at ease with the test pilot and after the flight, felt like we had condensed five lessons into one!
Class photo with two R44s outside the Robinson hangar at Torrance Municipal Airport.