Robinson R44 Raven II

A stylish, fast and comfortable addition to the Robinson range. The purpose-built Lycoming adds 100 hp and the reliability of fuel injection. “Better a new Raven than an old JetRanger,” says Mike Green.

G-HRPN LOOKED VERY smart indeed in its livery of red and blue, parked at Sywell. It was on a pad outside Sloane Helicopters who have a new business aircraft centre at the airfield.

   Starting my walkround, I noted the differences compared to other R44 models. There are the noise-attenuating blade-tip caps on both main and tailrotors and also the wider chord main blades.

   In the cabin, the engine starter has been repositioned from the magneto key switch and is a press button located at the forward end of the collective lever, adjacent to the governor switch. There is also a secondary starter button, on the pilot’s cyclic, above the handgrip; it can be operated by the pilot’s right forefinger. This is for use in the event of carrying out an engine air start. The mixture control is placed horizontally on the console, above the radio installation. There is the noticeable absence of the carburettor heat control and its associated gauge—an item impressed very strongly indeed on the minds of all Robinson pilots during their training.

   My first flight would be to Peterborough Conington, some fifteen minutes flying time to the east—we’d be accompanied by another R44 that would carry our photographers.

   I strapped into the right-hand seat, alongside Alan Runciman, who carries out Sloane’s flight-testing of Robinson helicopters. As we ran through the pre-start c