Robinson SB-96

[Goldy]

This has got to be Robinson's biggest problem to solve right now. Seems every month is another AD or SB in the mail !! I got SB 96 in the mail this week..sure looks a lot like all the others..blade skins de-bonding at the skin to spar line....

Edited April 7, 2007 by Goldy

[brushfire21]

This is not a good thing...

 

PS, did you guys meet up for breakfast this month?

[Superman]

So, do you think we'll be seeing -6 blades soon?

 

Scares me

 

BTW.......does anyone have a '65 or later quarter that I can borrow?

 

Clark

[Goldy]

So, do you think we'll be seeing -6 blades soon?

 

Scares me

 

BTW.......does anyone have a '65 or later quarter that I can borrow?

 

Clark

 

Roger- We didnt....its been real hazy in LA lately..not great flying.

 

Clark- I guess the blades don't like solid silver??

[500E]

Goldy

Is this the reason for the sb?

http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=268532

 

Photo from imabell on pprune post With Thanks

[mechanic]

Maybe Frankie needs better paint? When I worked for Phillips 66 Petro, Railcar Div. we hated shot blasting interior linings that were DEVRAN 253. We could blast 2 or 3 cars per shift of Imron linings, but Devoe everyone would cuss. The longest car I remember took 3 SHIFTS of blasting to remove a paint lining uh oh. Thats 4 men blasting per shift, using 40/50 grit mix metal shot at 90 PSI from a 1 inch hardhose with .250 orfice. Maybe he needs to use something like this one. Devoe Abrasion Resistant Epoxy Coating DEVGRIP 238.

 

 

 

This is what Frankie is using now. Dupont Imron 5000 Polyurethane Enamel.

[Goldy]

500E- Thats such a great photo I copied it here for all to see :

 

 

 

 

I hate seeing this.... flying as much Robbie time as I do...I've been thinking about getting checked out in a 300..

Edited April 8, 2007 by Goldy

[flyby_heli]

Maybe Frankie needs better paint?

 

Maybe Frankie just needs a better product all together????

Hughes has not made any changes in other than lenght (A-model 1145's vs C model 1190's) in over 40 years, Robinson have had how many blade constructions since they got certified (less than two decades ago)? And like the post on one of the threads said: " most delamination accident has been blamed as a result of the accident rather than the cause of the accident..." Totally agree, something fishy there......

 

With all these type helicopter accidents, people should start opening their eyes to the real "operarting costs" of various helicopters......(and, yes I am reffering to certain threads about turbine helicopter cost vs the cost of other helicopters....)

 

Robinson SB 97:

RHC has received more money than any other helicopter company the last few years for sale of under par products, we are sad to report we had some of you fooled. In hindsight of all late accidents, we at RHC recommend that daily prefilghts of the aircraft be performed with these items at hand:

1. A rattle can of heavy duty paint

2. A postcrash fire-retardant Nomex suit

3. A trim that actually works

4. A cyclic that allows both pilots (if installed) the opportunity to control the machine under normal operations

5. Money for a checkout in the Schweizer 300, that is, admittantly a better product than what our highly overpaid engineers can come up with

Edited April 8, 2007 by flyby_heli

[Linc]

For the record, I didn't start talking 300C/CB/CBi on a Robbie thread.

 

More than the debonding skin of the blade in the picture, what makes my skin crawl is the state of the honeycomb underneath. Maybe one of you A&P guys with prop and rotor experience could set me straight on whether or not that just looks wrong or is wrong. Thanks!

[Goldy]

For the record, I didn't start talking 300C/CB/CBi on a Robbie thread.

 

More than the debonding skin of the blade in the picture, what makes my skin crawl is the state of the honeycomb underneath. Maybe one of you A&P guys with prop and rotor experience could set me straight on whether or not that just looks wrong or is wrong. Thanks!

 

Linc- My guess was that the honeycomb became deformed because of being subjected to the airflow of the rotor while spinning at 100% rpm...

 

And I take full responsiblity as the original poster of introducing the 300 in a robbie thread !!

 

Flyby- Yes the 300 rotor has had minimal changes...but I am reminded of a Bell 47 I hope to be flying again soon (its in overhaul). It still has the original wood blades from 1952...yeah they occasionally get cracks filled and painted, but after 55 years of flying, it's a pretty well proven design too.

 

Break out your 10X glasses before you lift off !

 

Goldy

[mechanic]

flyby_heli,

 

I am not particular fond of the current blade design that is in use with the robbies. Here is a link to a thread I started, RHC Blade Safety Alert, check out the links I provided, esp the Carson link. All I am saying is if the seam lines are that important to keep sealed then he needs to put a dang good coating on the blades, and not go cheap, with something thats gonna need constant refinishing at annuals etc...Besides, why would the A&P of the heli in that pic allow the paint to erode that far? No 100 hr inspections?

 

I would bet that the coating used was part of the problem with corrosion in the -2 blades? And, with a honeycomb design there are air pockets in the blades that can condensate when the temp cycles. Black blades, hot day, and cold night.

 

I have worked on a piece of equip where the factory had a shaft and bearings positioned vertical on the machine with a about a 5 inch airspace between the bearings. After shutting down the equip the air pocket would allow condensation to take place and the condensation would settle on the bottom bearing and eventully it would go out. Now, the factory uses grease as a filler to prevent the condensation, since the bearings have always been the sealed type.

 

 

 

Later

[mechanic]

The blade skin peel back has happened to a Brantly or two also. Here is another thread from the Brantly site.

 

 

 

Hey:

I flew my ship around for 3 years with a crack in a 202 blade that fell within the spec's of the daily inspection for airworthiness. I marked the crack and monitored it and it never got any bigger.

 

Then, one day about a year ago, I was doing aggressive quick-stops with a passenger, and when I came to hover on the last one, there was a moderate 1/per vibration.

 

We sat it down safely and were surprised to find that the inboard 12" of the blade skin had peeled almost all the way back to the trailing edge and the foam in that area had broken away. The d-spar was all that was there was for the inboard 8 to 12 inches.

 

The helicopter kept flying and I never felt in danger. I really don't want to experience that again, but it made me feel good to know that the skin and foam can become damaged pretty severely and still provide lift enough to put your butt back on earth! These cracks are not related in any way to the d-spar or the hinge block. If those parts crack... you better be on the ground when it happens.

 

By the way... the blade was replaced and it did no damage. I'm lucky the foam pieces stayed out of the tail rotor.

 

Bryan