ROBINSON R22

The R22 is a light, two-place, single reciprocating-engined helicopter with a semi-rigid two-bladed main rotor and a two-bladed tail rotor. The main rotor has a teetering hinge and two coning hinges. The tail rotor has only a teetering hinge.

The normal production variant has skid landing gear. The Mariner version — which is no longer manufactured — provided floats. Wheeled gear is not available.

The basic structure is welded chromoly steel tubing. The forward fuselage is made of fiberglass and aluminum with a Plexiglas canopy. The tailcone and vertical and horizontal stabilizers are aluminum. It has an enclosed cabin with side-by-side seating for a pilot and passenger. The doors may be removed for flight, as is often done for photographic flights, interior cooling in high temperatures, or a 10.4 lb weight saving.

The first version was produced as the R22, followed by the R22 HP, R22 Alpha, R22 Beta, and R22 Beta II. Superficially, the aircraft appear similar. The R22 HP was fitted with a 160 bhp Lycoming O-320-B2C engine, an increase of 10 bhp (7.5 kW) over the original R22. The steel tube frame on the R22 Alpha was modified by extending the aft landing gear mounting points, giving the ship a slightly nose-down attitude on the ground and better matching of the skids to the ground in a low altitude hover with two people on board. The R22 Beta added an engine speed governor (optional), rotor brake, and auxiliary fuel tank (optional). The battery was moved from below the instrument cluster to the engine compartment for better balance. The R22 has been offered as an instrument trainer version, with optional fixed floats as the R22 Mariner, and other special configurations for police work, electronic news gathering, and so on. The R22 Beta II received a larger Lycoming O-360 engine de-rated for sea level operation. It allows greater altitudes for hovering in and out of ground effect (HIGE/HOGE). The R22 Beta II also made the engine speed governor standard and included a carburetor heat assist which correlates adding carburetor heat with decrease in collective control. Only the basic skid style is currently being sold.

Aircraft of similar role, configuration and era are: Aero Eli Serviza Yo-Yo 222, Schweizer 300C, Guimbal Cabri G2, Enstrom F-28.