Rotorway ownership

[Justin Travis]

Originally Posted by Tim Morris

Notice I did say the Rotorway had to be maintained and flown right. I didnt say anything about reliability.


But, I stand by my statement that a well built and maintained Rotorway is just as safe as anything I have flown - when flown correctly.

Unfortunately you are wrong. You could not be any more wrong either. For a guy who has been around aviation as long as you have, you obviously have not been around the rotorway long enough.

It is the best kit helicopter you can buy, but in NO WAY is it as reliable and safe as a certified if built to even the highest conditions.

You can start from the limited cyclic. How many certified ships you see with a weight you move around from solo to dual. I have seen a few roll overs as a result of this limited cyclic. Land, and winds shift. Go to lift off and guess what, you dont have enough cyclic to keep ship from rolling.

Then you can talk tail rotor authority.

Then you can talk power plant reliability. How many certified engines need rebuilt at 400-500 hours?

Then crazy things like the upper engine mount (which you cant see or inspect on preflight) which failed on a friend of mine resulting in belts going slack and luckily he was able to auto.

Looks like you just joined recently. Talk to some guys who have been in this community for 20 years or more. Ask Orv or Homer how many REAL autos they have had to do in a RW.

I know many 20,000 hour pilots who have only flown certified ships. I only know of a few incidents of those pilots having to perform an actual emergency landing.

I would be very careful if you convince yourself that your ship is as safe as a certified because you built it well. Hate to see those guys doing confined work in RW or things that are very close to the flight envelope that they dont even realize.

Be safe. Enjoy. Just dont kid yourself.