Robinson Helicopter Company received Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification for its R66 Turbine Newscopter on July 13.
The turnkey ready R66 ENG (electronic news gathering) helicopter is positioned as theideal solution for television news outlets wanting a reliable, economical, turbine powered helicopter with a state-of-the-art news broadcasting system.
Powered by the Rolls-Royce RR300 turbine engine, the four-place R66 Newscopter delivers greater capacity and increased altitude performance. The standard R66 ENG package includes a five-axis gyro stabilized gimbal that houses an Ikegami HD camera and Canon’s 22-to-1 HD lens.
For tighter coverage, an optional gimbal that accommodates the camera and Canon’s 40-to-one lens is available. Also standard are Garmin’s G500H PFD/MFD system, Garmin’s GTN 650 navigator, three HD micro cameras, two seven-inch monitors, and two Geneva digital audio controllers.
In the aft compartment, camera controls are located on the center and laptop consoles and images display on several HD monitors. A multitude of options are available including a HeliSAS autopilot and air conditioning.
On July 24, Robinson delivered the first production R66 Newscopter to longtime Robinson dealer SKY Helicopters of Dallas, Texas. SKY, a leading provider of ENG services, operates 12 R44 Newscopters.
“The addition of the R66 Newscopter allows us to provide our customers (including those at high altitudes) with long-lens camera performance and dual-path simultaneous transport streams. This means we can send two different video feeds down one microwave path for stations that share the helicopter,” said Ken Pyatt, CEO of SKY Helicopters.
