Motoring in Spain - Robinson R22 Beta II - Comments

Robinson R22 Beta II

Poster: Charlie Flindt 01/10/2006

TAKING A DETOUR THIS MONTH FROM OUR CUSTOMARY "ON THE ROAD" FEATURE, MOTORING CORRESPONDENT CHARLIE FLINDT BRINGS A FRESH APPROACH TO MOVING FROM A TO B.

A wise old man once told me to try to learn something new every year. These have indeed proved to be wise words; as one gets older, it’s scary to find another year has gone by with the mind on idle, with nothing to really stimulate and refresh the brain.

They also say that a change is as good as a rest and, at the risk of sounding like an ungrateful so-and-so, it’s possible to get slightly bored with a stream of expensive flash motors arriving for test on the driveway. That’s why I found myself sitting in a Robinson R22 helicopter the other day, having an extended trial lesson.

That’s not strictly true: I didn’t get into the machine until I’d spent an hour in the classroom and in the hangar. This hour was full of surprises. I assumed that the world of helicopters would be incredibly complicated, but it turned out that it was all very simple. Yes, there are a lot of hoops to jump through before you can become a helicopter pilot but, if you have half a brain and a decent helping of common sense, it shouldn’t be a problem.

It’s the same with the machine itself: it’s remarkably simple. There’s a big transparent bubble with a couple of seats in. Behind this is the flat-four air-cooled engine that connects to a long driveshaft with a couple of butch belts. This driveshaft runs the full length of the helicopter, and has a couple of right-angle gearboxes at each end, one to drive the big rotor on top, one to drive the tail-rotor.

Then there are the controls and, once again, the theme is simplicity. There’s a stick between your knees, the cyclic – push it the way you want to go: left, right forwards, backwards. What looks like a handbrake lever is the up/down lever. Up for up, down for down. Finally there are foot pedals: push the right one to swing to the right, left for left.

So there I was, strapped in and wired up, ready to put all that simplicity into practice. It came as a bit of a shock to find that it wasn’t as easy as I’d thought. For a start, helicopters are intrinsically unstable. And for another thing, every control you move affects the other two. Imagine keeping a marble in the middle of a dinner plate, while riding a skateboard.

Ian, my instructor, started things gently, getting us airborne and up and away, out of harm’s way. That’s when another problem started: the view. Luckily, I don’t suffer from vertigo, so I wasn’t worried about the 400-metre drop.

The problem was that there was a glorious view of the countryside and all the activities taking place thereon. And, being of farming stock, I found myself checking out who was combining what, rather than trying to keep our machine straight and level. More than once I was given a sharp reminder through the headphones.

I played with the cyclic first, then the pedals, and then the "handbrake". And then I tried combinations of two, which is when the fun started. After many minutes of lurching around the skies (which must have kept all those combine harvester drivers entertained), we headed back to the airport. Ian couldn’t resist giving a demonstration of what happens if engine power is lost: nothing really. It’s perfectly possible to glide gently back to earth – nothing like in the movies.

As a final treat, I was given the chance to hover. It was the control tower staff’s turn to be entertained as we bounced and hopped our way round the grassy outfield. I was sure I could hear laughter in my headphones. Finally, Ian took over the control and headed us back to the hangar.

We sat in our parking spot waiting for the engine to cool, and I realised that I was exhausted. I was soaked in sweat and all of a quiver. But my mind was buzzing. I’ve forgotten the last time that I had to concentrate that hard. It was as if my mind had been taken to the brain gym, and given the most thorough workout possible. It felt as though bits of it that had been completely unused for decades had been called into action. The best thing was that, unlike your body after the gym, it didn’t ache for days afterwards. All it did was keep asking: "When can we do that again?"

So, if you’re feeling a bit flabby in the grey matter area, you know what to do: go and have a helicopter lesson. You may not end up with a washboard stomach, but you’ll feel a lot better where it really matters. And you’ll have learnt something new for this year.

Robinson R22 Beta II

Engine: Flat four, Lycoming 0-360, air-cooled Power: 98 kW @ 2652 rpm Max speed: 190 kph Cruise speed: 177 kph Maximum range: 320 km Fuel consumption: 36-46 litres/hour Price: US$209,800

Useful website: www.robinsonheli.com

SUMMARY: The ultimate mental workout

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