On May 8, Robinson Helicopter Company delivered two R44 Cadets to the University of North Dakota (UND). The bright green and yellow helicopters are the latest additions to the University’s growing fleet of Cadets.
As with the two previously acquired Cadets, purchased in 2017 and 2018, the new Cadets will be used for training at UND’s helicopter division located at the Grand Forks, North Dakota, campus. The acquisition attests to UND’s commitment to transitioning to an all R44 helicopter training fleet.
UND’s chief helicopter instructor Wes Van Dell said, “By the fall of 2019, all incoming students will train in Cadets. The performance of the Cadet has been excellent in both the summer and winter months. The students particularly like the aircraft’s ease of operation and advanced avionics.”
In 2018, 30 students in the helicopter division received ratings, ranging from private to certified flight instructor (CFI), and logged more than 1,200 hours in Cadets.
The new aircraft are equipped for visual flight rules (VFR) and instrument flight rules (IFR) training with a fully integrated glass cockpit featuring Garmin’s G500H 1060 TXi (touchscreen) flight display, GTN 750 GPS/COM/NAV, and GTX 345 transponder with ADS-B In/Out.