Story ID: 
Robinson Increases Deliveries in 2015
By: Mark Huber
Caption: Robinson sees a soft market in 2016.
Word Count: 167
Robinson Helicopter delivered 347 aircraft in 2015, a modest increase from the 329 it delivered in 2014. The turbine R66—with 117 delivered, up from 101 in 2014—led all models in delivery value. The remainder were divided among Robinsons piston models: 152 R44 Raven IIs, 44 Raven Is, and 34 R22s. Robinson continues to employ 1,200 from its plant in Torrance, Calif.

Company president Kurt Robinson said a strong U.S. dollar coupled with a sluggish global economy continued to hamper further sales growth, noting that Robinson relies on the export market for more than 70 percent of its sales. Robinson expects the softness experienced in the second half of 2015 to continue into 2016.

Robinson plans to unveil more details on its new two-place R44 Cadet, aimed at the training market, at Heli-Expo in February. “We are very focused a low-cost, reliable, economical helicopter that we think will make a good trainer and also a variety of missions that need only two people,” Robinson said. “There's a lot of demand for that.”