Robinson Unveils New Large R88 Rotorcraft
Robinson Helicopters has announced the launch of the R88, its much-anticipated new large rotorcraft and the company’s first major product-line refresh since the R66 turbine was revealed in 2007.
Punching up into new territory above the company’s traditional light rotorcraft market sector, the multimission helicopter represents a significant growth step beyond the company’s four-seat R66 and is designed to undercut the operating costs of larger single- and twin-turbine-powered competitors.
With a planned internal payload of more than 2,800 lb. and a range of more than 350 nm, the R88 will be powered by a single 1,000-shp Safran Arriel 2W turboshaft. Seating up to eight passengers and with places for two crew, the aircraft’s reconfigurable 275-ft.3 cabin is designed to accommodate multiple seating layouts and be accessible via large sliding side doors and a truck-bed-style rear door for simpler cargo and stretcher loading.
While clearly recognizable as a Robinson product, the R88’s rotor mast is a slightly shorter version of its R44/R66 stablemates, on which the engine is located aft of the cabin. The R88’s turboshaft is aligned with the transmission and enclosed in a fairing above the cabin roof. “That’s a big change for us,” says David Smith, Robinson president and CEO. “It means that we were able to have the cowling and lines above the roof deck that fair in that mass quite a bit.”
Unveiling the R88 on the eve of the Vertical Aviation International Verticon convention here, Smith says the new helicopter is “a bold expansion of our product portfolio, a product designed to meet the diverse and evolving operating needs we see all over the globe.”
Describing the R88 as “the most capable, affordable and easiest to maintain workhorse in its class and perhaps in the next class beyond,” he adds that “it will retain all the hallmarks of our brand—ease of operation, predictability and affordability of maintenance—[and] our goal is to give you superior performance for an affordable price.”
More than two years in gestation, the R88 has grown bigger as the concept evolved, Smith notes. “The team started to lay it out as a smaller aircraft at one point, but as we gained knowledge about both the available performance of this new Arriel variant and we understood better our own architecture on the powerplant, drive train, gearboxes, all that, it gave us the flexibility to say, ‘no, we can do more,’” he says.
Targeted at roles ranging from aerial firefighting and air medical transport to utility and passenger transport, the R88 will be available with standard skids or optional high skids for increased ground clearance and compatibility with a firefighting water tank. Optional equipment is planned to include a 3,000-lb.-rated cargo hook, utility basket, wire strike protection kit and pop-out floats.
Maximum takeoff weight and associated performance limits have yet to be defined, Smith says. “From a max takeoff weight perspective, we’re not talking specifics at this point,” he remarks. “It is well above the seven-seat category of aircraft but still well below the twins. That gives us healthy headroom to the Part 27 [certification] boundary as well, so you can think in the 5,500-6,500-lb. range, and we’re dialing that in as the product gets shaped and built.”
The decision to finally launch the R88 follows persistent requests for a larger family variant from many dealers and operators within Robinson’s loyal community base, Smith says. “They’ve been begging us to do something like this, though most of them thought we would go a half step to this point, so maybe a direct competitor to an [Airbus H125] Astar or [Bell] 407,” he explains. “But when we got down to it, we feel like there’s an opportunity here to offer much more payload, much more economics for when you need lots of seats, you’ve got them. When you don’t need the seats, you can load a ton of materials in the back.”
Compared to some competing twin-turbine helicopters, the economics of the R88 “are going to make it super difficult to justify a twin,” Smith says. “The data does not support this thesis that twins are safer than singles. Singles are safer than twins. The data shows it.” He is referencing the large number of emergency medical service operators in the U.S. that currently use single-engine machines. “Air medical and utility are two of our bigger target markets here,” he adds.
The R88 cockpit will be dominated by a Garmin avionics suite, including G500H TXi displays and GTN navigators with touchscreen controls. The helicopter is also to feature a four-axis autopilot with functions such as level mode, hover assist, limit cueing and low-/high-speed protection. New for a Robinson will be dual cyclic controls with removable controls on both sides, allowing the pilot in command to be in either the left or right seat with a passenger in the other seat.
The dual cyclic feature is “a big difference that you’re going to notice right away,” Smith says. The change from the center cyclic configuration traditionally used in Robinson designs is driven by the extra width of the R88. This helicopter is “so large that the teeter cyclic was going to be very tall on one side and very tall when you tip it over on the other,” he adds.
Robinson also intends to seek optional single-pilot instrument flight rules (IFR) certification for the R88 as a key element of keeping the helicopter’s operating costs low. “We’re the first to go and certify single-engine IFR [on an all-new rotorcraft] in 20 or 30 years,” Smith says. “We feel that the time is right, and the economics of this will change with safe IFR operation when we deliver this package at the prices we’re talking about.
“Our customers have told us they want advanced flight controls, and we’re doing that with the four-axis autopilot as standard on the R88,” he continues. “It will be enhanced as well beyond [the standard] to give us the IFR capability. So it will be a slightly different version between the [visual flight rules] and IFR variants—but it’s four-axis in both cases.”
Some operators wanted Robinson to adopt fly-by-wire flight controls for the R88, like the modification under development by SkyRise, a Los Angeles-based automated cockpit developer that is working toward certification of the company’s SkyOS automated flight system in the R66. “We’re actively collaborating with them and talking to customers about it, but out of the box, I think it is what they want right now,” Smith says.
Configured with standard data recording with data link and a health usage monitoring system (HUMS) for predictive maintenance and safety, Smith adds that low maintenance costs will be a main pillar of the R88’s expected affordability. “Our goal is to have this so that you don’t need a mechanic touching the aircraft frequently at all,” he remarks. “You might go weeks at a time before you see a mechanic for a 100-hr. or 200-hr. inspection. We’re trying to get to a 200-hr. [interval] on this one, but initially we’ll probably start with phased [inspections] up to at 100 hr., like our R66 is today.
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