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R44 Raven 2 info


307heli

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Hello fellas. Looking for some real life experience with working a raven 2. I own a fixed wing spraying operation and am looking at adding a helicopter to the fleet. So primary use would be spraying an some wildlife survey work, looking for some number figures as far as actual operating costs from people who own them and work them. Also wondering what you guys would consider max working altitude for one being as most of the work will be around 4000ft msl. I know a guy wouldn't be able to haul full loads or spray all day as it warms up but just looking for some real experiences. Thanks!

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I operate them daily or near daily in Montana. Our airfield sits at 4500msl, and even when staying local we are often at or above 6-8k msl and often enough over 10k msl with these machines. I have run full fuel and two pax on many occasions, with my pax weight limits at 400lbs. Anytime we take three up we reduce fuel loads.

 

The Raven II excells at these altitudes given your a smooth, very power management sensitive pilot, especially in summer when above 6k msl. DA's of course ramp up quickly mid morning through afternoon.

 

With even a small wind you will be impressed at how slow you can fly them, even being able to sustain OGE hovers as needed.

 

Operating costs will vary depending on ships total cost and your base operation overhead but generally speaking about $350 to $400 hr will cover you, any more is your profit to save for when you break it...I mean for steaks and champagne. 700-900 hr is a good commercial use range to bill out for. Hope that helps.

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The key to your success with the Raven 2 is going to depend on the type of terrain you are working and the gallons /acre your applications require. If you are working flat ground at low GPA you will be fine. If you are working steep hilly ground the added weight and drag of a spray system coupled with high density altitude will affect your performance to the point that it will be quite noticeable. If your application rates are 5 gallons/acre or greater you might want to do the math on your hourly production.

 

Operating in steep terrain also can cause additional maintenance issues. The constant power changes needed for AG work in hilly ground is hard on the 540 valve train . expect to do a top overhaul every 400 hours if you are working steep ground. You can also expect pre-mature wear on the rotor head and spindles along with loose rivets where the cabin meets the engine compartment and on the mast tower. Also you may want to check the chemical composition of the materials you are working with. We had trouble keeping paint on both the main and tail rotor blades and I often fretted over what it might be doing to the rotor blade bonding agents.

 

I'am not a Robbie basher. They are a fine machine for what they were designed for but I found them too light duty for the every day rigors of hard nosed AG work.

Edited by Dragbrace
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