The Passing of a Legend

When I was around ten years old, I went to a pumpkin patch in Aurora, Oregon. At the patch, we tossed rotting tomatoes, searched for the perfect pumpkin—and took a helicopter tour! At that time, I was obsessed with airplanes, but I didn’t know anything about helicopters. In fact,
helicopters annoyed me because I couldn’t find the “hover button” on Microsoft Flight Sim 95!
However, even though I didn’t know the type of helicopter, I remember how distinctive the
aircraft looked—bubble-like cabin, with a disproportionally large mast leading to the two rotor
blades. About eight years later, I would again see this bizarre-shaped helicopter. When I showed up at Hillsboro Aviation for my demo flight, I looked at more than twenty of the uniquely designed helicopters I had seen as a pre-teen.

I would soon find out that the aircraft with the dragonfly-like body and “too tall” mast was the
Robinson R22, and the four-seat version was the Robinson R44. At ten years old, I didn’t know that much of my twenties would be spent flying around the oddly shaped R22 and R44.
Recently I learned that the man who pioneered these odd machines, Frank Robinson, had passed away. It made me think about what he created and how many people (like me) learned how to fly helicopters at the controls of the Robinson R22 and R44 helicopters.
I believe many in our community are familiar enough with Frank Robinson’s vision and later execution of building an empire, so to pay my respects, I wanted to share my experience flying Robinson helicopters.

“If you can fly an R22, you can fly any helicopter” is often what I tell people. For the first five years of my helicopter “life,” I knew nothing other than the R22 and R44. In my experience, both models are fantastic for initial helicopter training and help to build a solid foundation, which translates into other larger airframes. With all Robinson models having an underslung, low-inertia rotor system, students and instructors learn very quickly that you must respect the limitations of any Robinson model. Some believe this is a design flaw; however, every single helicopter–from R22 to Blackhawk–has specific limitations. In my experience, Robinson helicopters are highly reliable if you respect the limits.

As pilots, we always want more power. Therefore, it is easy to say that Robinson helicopters are “underpowered.” Still, I would argue they have plenty of power for their mission profile. The power management you learn from flying Robinson helicopters translates nicely when you start flying larger airframes. Whether I was flying an H130 fully loaded in high-density altitudes or lifting from a hot Texas Highway flying near max gross in Air Medical, many of the techniques I learned from the Robinson helped me in those commercial applications. Robinson helicopters produce great helicopter pilots.

I am grateful to Frank Robinson because his innovation allowed me (a civilian-trained pilot) an
affordable route to obtaining my helicopter certificates. Before Robinson helicopters, there
weren’t cost-effective helicopter airframe options for training. For the cost of a Ford King Ranch edition pickup truck, I could obtain all my helicopter certificates and ratings that I could later use to support myself and my family. Before Robinson helicopters, such affordable training options didn’t exist.

Now as a business owner, I have even more respect for what Frank Robinson was able to create. Of course, I can’t say for certain; however, I am sure Frank gave up a decent salary to forge his path, let alone in an industry that was not ripe for innovation. Nevertheless, he didn’t allow the noise to dissuade him and was able to build an American made helicopter empire near the Pacific Ocean in Torrance, California. Frank Robinson was the living embodiment of the American Dream, a man willing to stir the pot to change an industry forever.

I am grateful for his innovation and sad to hear of his passing. Robinson helicopters will
continue to thrive, and Frank’s legacy will last forever. Blue skies and calm winds, thank you for what you did!

Written by Halsey Schider

CEO and Founder of Sellacopter.