Fly-Q.

Robinson R44 Safety Alert  -  RHC has received a report of an R44 C016-7 main rotor blade fatigue crack where the blade chord transitions to the extended chord.  Careful visual inspection of this area during preflight will provide early detection and prevent a catastrophic failure. 

During daily preflight inspection, visually inspect the trailing edge in the area shown on upper and lower surfaces of blade (a stepladder may be necessary) for any damage which may initiate a fatigue crack. If any damage is detected, the blade should be thoroughly examined by a qualified technician prior to further flight.

If unusual rotor system vibration is detected in flight, land immediately and have blades examined by a qualified technician.

Click here to download Robinson R44 C016-7 R44 Safety Alert.

Aluminum skin C016-7 main rotor blades do not require compliance with FAA AD 2011-12-10. Stainless steel skin C016-2 or C016-5 blades may be replaced with aluminum skin blades for a discounted price. The C016-7 blade is part of the C005-12 blade and spindle assembly and a set may be installed on any helicopter that complies with R44 Service Letter SL-37A.

Click here to download Robinson R44 Service Letter SL-49.

It has been a great start to the fair-weather-flying season here at Fly Q. Managing Director Tom Moore has been over whelmed by the enquiries received from new strategic website marketing, "It is not uncommon that we receive over 200 enquiries a month from buyers across the globe". He added that Fly Q had brokered the sale of 8 helicopters in the last 4 weeks with more deals to close before month end.  “This is likely to be our biggest month yet with projected sales of almost $15m.”

With so many enquiries many buyers are missing out on helicopters that do not even make it to the listing pages before they are sold.  Fly Q has implemented a facility for buyers to lodge their interests so Tom or Sales Director, Duncan McDonald, can notify buyers immediately when new helicopters are offered through Fly Q.  Click here to fill in the buyer profile form.

Through our network of engineers and shipping agents and a London FOREX platform, buyers have quickly and easily been able to pay in their preferred currency and had their helicopters delivered to them – in recent weeks Canada, Namibia and Australia.  With a weak Pound now is the time to be buying in the UK.

Just want to say a big thank you to Sloane Helicopters for visiting us with their Robinson R66 demonstrator.  From the outside looks like a R44 with a body kit but that little bit of extra height, width and length makes all the difference in the cockpit.
The new Rolls Royce engine is a revelation. Very powerful but so tiny, which has the added benefit of the R66 having a bigger boot than its R44 sibling.
Brief flight found it to be very smooth and cruised around in VFR land very happily.
I wasn’t sure what to expect when driving into work this morning to meet the R66 but I have been suitably impressed and bowled over.
Much as the Bell 206 set the standards for single engine turbines all those years ago, this new kid on the block is a worthy successor to the all conquering 206.

Try an R66 today, you won’t be disappointed.

 

Internet Scams when buying a helicopter

This is one of those articles that I hoped I would never have to write. Sadly adverts for helicopters that don’t exist are becoming more and more common.  We see helicopters that we have sold being re-advertised by fraudsters and used in scam adverts.  We have reported it to the Police, Trading Standards but nobody wants to know.  We report it to the web site owners and they remove the adverts but they just keep re-appearing.  It’s a nasty business and we’ve even received threats from the scammers when they find out that we have reported them.  So how do they normally work it and how do you stop yourself becoming a victim?  First remember the old expression: “If a deal sounds too good to be true then it probably is!”

Normally what happens is they choose a helicopter at random (say a 2007 R44 Clipper II) and they advertise it for 150,000 USD/GBP/Euro.  Wow that’s a great price so people are interested and call in.  They tell you the reason it is being sold so cheap is that the owner is in financial difficulty and needs a quick sale. But then they say there is a lot of interest so to secure it you will need to send a 10,000 holding deposit over.  They also say of course if you don’t buy it then your money will be refunded straight away.  It all seems above board because often they can send you over certificates of registration or ARC forms because when this helicopter was for sale they enquired about it and asked the seller to send that information over.  I know because I sent some info to a scammer once who sent it back to me 3 weeks later – with my hand writing still on the component spec sheet!!!!!! What’s more, they’ll back it all up with very convincing legal contracts from “escrow” lawyers.

So you come over to inspect the helicopter but there is no helicopter.  We had an Engineer arrive to do a report on a helicopter we had sold to Switzerland 3 months previously.  The buyer lost a €10,000 Euro deposit and he had to pay the Engineer.

So always buy from a trusted source.  Ask to speak with buyers who have dealt with this broker before.  If the helicopter is based in the UK give us a call and ask us about the helicopter.  We know most of the helicopters for sale and we also know most of the brokers in Europe.

I would rather you call us and buy a helicopter from a competitor than give any more money to these scammers.  They do it and continue to do it because they make money from it.

Don’t become another victim of the internet scam.  Buying a helicopter should be a fun and enjoyable experience, and we are here to help you.

So if you have any concerns about a helicopter give us a call.

Buying a helicopter?  What do you look for?

The first piece of advice I give is to take care when listening to advice! 
The price is always a difficult area. As well as the usual difference depending on whether you are buying or selling, you'll find that all helicopters fit into just two categories:  Pay Now, or Pay Later.

The same type of helicopter can vary in price by hundreds of thousands of pounds, and it can be ever so confusing as to what represents good value.


Again, it comes down very much to your personal circumstances - what is important to you and what you intend to do with the aircraft. As a (very) general rule of thumb, a nearly new helicopter usually represents best value in the same way as buying a 2-3 year old car does.  But you must also take into consideration factors such as capital invested, insurance costs, depreciation and in particular scheduled maintenance. My view is that you should find the best compromise in all these factors.

The first step in buying your first helicopter is to set yourself a budget. If you don't you'll be forever chasing your tail, vacillating between this one and that one. You'll waste a lot of time, and possibly a lot of money. Having set your budget, it will be easy to discount not just lots of a particular type of helicopter, but also whole
categories of helicopters.
The second step is to be decisive. Once you've found the one you think you want, make an offer and if it is accepted, put a deposit down.

On the subject of engineer's reports, my view is that if the records are complete, the aircraft is NOT a turbine helicopter and the aircraft is less than (say) 12 years old, the benefit of getting a report is questionable. On the other hand, if you are buying (for example) a 30 year old Jet-Ranger, then an engineer's report is essential. If you've already made the decision that you are going to have your own helicopter, but you've only just started to learn, you should buy sooner rather than later. First, to rent a machine to learn to fly is expensive. Second, you'll get best value, better flexibility in training and more fun if you learn on your own machine. Third, you really should learn on the type that you are going to buy.