How do you one-up the world’s best-selling helicopter, the Robinson R44? Simple. You put a turbine in it. But wait! … It wasn’t that easy.
Talk of a “Robinson turbine” began swirling around the helicopter community clear back in 2001. But if you asked company CEO and founder Frank Robinson back then if the company was indeed working on such an animal, he would smile and get very elusive. Truth is, Robinson had been thinking about a kerosene-powered helicopter for some time, but he wasn’t happy with the engine choices available to power the design. Everything he looked at, including the Rolls-Royce 250-C20B, lightest of the offerings, was too heavy — and too expensive. Over the years, while the turbine project moved from front burner to back shelf to front burner, Robinson investigated many power-plant options, including diesels. But the diesel options were all too heavy and didn’t offer enough advantages over the small turbines available.
