NZFF

What do people think of these things?

You're full of questions tonight...

Meh they are pretty small, but ideal for training I guess...

Most everyone I know that flies helis started on an R22.

Pretty highly respected in the Helo industry because it is suitable for a lot of uses specifically Training and Private transport and they say if you can master a R22 you can master any helo.

SQ350

Excellent training machine, like the PA38, it actually makes you fly it. They are a little less daunting for students than the H300.

Good for what they were designed for. But -
They sometimes get a bad rap - especially in NZ. One reason for this is pilots operating them outside what they were intended for.

I don't think Frank Robinson quite had deer recovery operations in the NZ high country in mind when he built them.

My flatmate prior to me getting caught by the Mrs. was and still is a Helo pilot. He reckoned the R22 was a real handful to learn in and if you mastered it you were well set for others. He flew H300's for most of his training and prefered them. But that was quite a few years back and he's flying bigger stuff now.

He reckoned the funiest thing was when he and another guy were doing their turbine course in Akld. They showed up in their normal country boy attire and were surrounded by all these slick airline types with clean white shirts with eppilettes and dress trousers.

They are a good helicopter when operated correctly. As Bandit mentioned, unfortunately they are often operated outside what the manufacturer recommends as safe limits, which has led to a few accidents in NZ that were most definitely preventable. At the end of the day, it's a training/light transport helicopter, not a utility aircraft you can chuck around without fear of exceeding performance limitations.

I knew a friend that owned one of the R22's in Westland which he used for many jobs. They are good machines.