Pro: Robinson R22
Cost - The R22 is the most popular training helicopter used in flight schools because of its low cost, therefore, availability for hire during and after training around the world is good.
The R22 opened up the helicopter flight training market due to the lower cost when the main competitors were the Hughes 300, Bell 47, and the Enstrom F28.
Reliable, all Robinsons are rebuilt at a twelve year or 2200 flying hours schedule. Therefore, the airframe and components are effectively reset to zero hours and date.
83Kts cruise speed
Manoeuvrable with very responsive handling.
software under the seats-soft bags only.
Cons: Robinson R22
The R22 was never designed to be a training flight helicopter and has flight characteristics that can be a challenge, costing more flight training hours that offset its cheaper hourly costs.
The primary of these is its two-bladed low intertia rotor system. Loss of the rotor system is a major safety issue in any helicopter and causes accidents. Having a low inertia rotor system is no problem in flight if power is available and the governor and throttle are managed properly. It is recommended that engine-off landing training is conducted to a hover power recovery to reduce the risk of damage to the engine during landings.
Therefore, you will only carry out a few engine-off landings to the ground in training - if at all. In any helicopter with a two-bladed rotor system, it is susceptible to control the problems if allowed to get into a low G situation, often caused due to turbulence or pilot mishandling - not a desirable outcome.
Size: if you are tall, well-built or broad-shouldered this is not the helicopter for you as the cockpit can be snug. There is a seat weight limitation of 17 stone as part of the crashworthiness design, this also includes the contents under the seat too. You may well feel squeezed in and, as a result, be less comfortable and take longer to pick up the sensitive control inputs required to fly this highly responsive machine.
T-bar cyclic control: some people do not like this Robinson design in the R22/R44/R66 and claim that it is not like flying a proper helicopter with a traditional between- the-legs cyclic. This is purely personal preference, and if staying on Robinson types not an issue.
Tail rotor pedals are not adjustable, so it's a one-size fits all.
Power can be limited.
The R22 ( like The R44) has an electric throttle governor which controls the engine and rotor RPM when turned on and active. This means that minimal time is spent practicing manual throttle control. While this is not major issue, knowledge of throttle control is important even when you go onto flying turbine helicopters. The permitted range for engine and rotor RPM in the R22 Beta 2 as an example, is limited which makes some training exercises hard to demonstrate.
