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Robinson Builds 700th R66 Turbine

Photo courtesy of Robinson Helicopter

On Dec. 18, Robinson Helicopter’s 700th R66 Turbine rolled off the production line roughly five years after its initial FAA certification. Serial Number 700, a pop-out float-equipped Turbine Marine, will be delivered to Robinson dealer Air Technology Belgium—making the aircraft the first of that variant delivered to Europe since its EASA certification in October. 

The R66 has brought about a recent spike in publicity for the normally quiet manufacturer. Earlier this month, the company finally achieved Transport Canada snow certification of the aircraft after having waited years for the necessary weather conditions. In August, Robinson announced it would offer the Genesys Aerosystems HeliSAS Autopilot packaged with Aspen’s EFD 1000H Primary Flight Display, instead of with the heavier Garmin G500H Avionics Display System. (R&WI recently got a chance to test fly the R66 HeliSAS, which you can read about here.) In July, Robinson announced it had upgraded the R66 Turbine Police Helicopter with new features and options.

 

The company said it currently is developing an auxiliary fuel tank and cargo hook, both of which are expected in 2016.