Robinson Helicopter Company has received approval from the FAA for its redesigned empennage for the R66 model. The new design has been developed following a multi-year development programme. The core of the change sees the asymmetric horizontal stabiliser design with a symmetrical configuration, which is also mounted further forward on the tail boom than the earlier version. As a result of these changes, Robinson said roll stability in high-speed flight has been improved. Also, on maintenance costs, the TBO for the new horizontal stabiliser is doubled from 2,000 hours to 4,000.
The new empennage will be standard on all FAA-registered R66s from aircraft serial number 1279 onwards, which will also benefit from a new tail cone which will also have a 4,ooo-hour TBO. Meanwhile, the California-based manufacturer is working on certification of the new design empennage and tail cone with other regulators and will incorporate the redesign into aircraft bound for overseas customers as soon as the relevant certification is granted.
