Robinson Helicopter is introducing several design changes aimed at reducing the operating and maintenance costs of its R22 Beta II helicopters. A new collective-activated hour meter will record collective up (flight) time and does not include engine warm up and cool down time. Previously, the R22 used an oil-pressure-activated meter which records all engine run time. The collective-activated meter can extend component lives by up to 12% percent. To upgrade existing R22s to include the collective-activated hour meter, see Robinson R22 Service Letter SL-67 available at www.robinsonheli.com.
Robinson also announced that updated hub and redesigned main rotor spindles are standard on all new R22 Beta IIs. The redesigned spindles are not subject to repetitive dye-penetrant inspections.