New Robinson R44 Empennage Design Approved

The FAA has approved the new empennage design for R44 aircraft which includes a symmetric horizontal stabilizer and tail cone.

Meg Godlewski

Tuesday, February 06, 2024 at 01:57 PM ET

Verified

This new empennage design includes a symmetric horizontal stabilizer and tailcone and is now standard on all newly manufactured R44 helicopters registered with the FAA. [Image courtesy Robinson]

Key Takeaways:

The FAA has approved a new empennage design for Robinson R44 helicopters, featuring a symmetric horizontal stabilizer and tail cone.
This new design, previously approved for the R66, is now standard on all newly manufactured R44s registered with the FAA and provides enhanced handling characteristics during high-speed flight.
For existing R44 aircraft, Robinson offers a KI-285-2 retrofit kit at a discounted rate of $3,600 until December 2024, allowing for installation of the new stabilizer without a full tail cone replacement.

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There is hardly any helicopter pilot out there who hasn’t spent time behind the stick of a Robinson R44. The FAA has approved the new empennage design for R44 aircraft which includes a symmetric horizontal stabilizer and tail cone.

The design is now standard on all newly manufactured R44 helicopters registered with the FAA. It follows on the heels of the FAA’s prior approval of the same configuration for the Robinson R66 Turbine in September 2023.