Robinson Helicopter Commences 2021 By Making Helicopter Delivery

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Robinson Helicopter, which is a California-based company, started the year 2021 by making its 13,000th rotorcraft delivery. This development came amidst the Coronavirus pandemic, posing a distraction to the manufacturer who didn’t realize the milestone he had made until weeks later.

According to a statement released by the company’s president Kurt Robinson, the airframer was in good shape until last year January, when COVID-19 hit the state of California and they had to go into a shutdown. The company spent several weeks trying to determine if it fell under the category of the essential service provider or not.

When they determined they were amongst the group, they started bringing their workers back slowly and embracing every pandemic protocol such as social distancing through the erection of plastic barriers and conducting temperature checks.

With all this chaos, the company was ready for a decline in production. But to their surprise, the production didn’t plummet as they expected, as they were able to deliver 177 choppers in 2020, which was 19 short of the 2019 figure.

Determined to move forward, the company also continued with the projects under development. For instance, they had promised an impact-resistant polycarbonate windscreen. But with clear plastic barriers needed for PPEs, they could not source the plastic needed for the project.

But the most incredible upgrade made by the company’s piston-powered rotorcraft was the integration of the Engine Monitoring Unit (EMU). This project has been in development for the past 7 years.

The new technology will serve to monitor rotor speed, cylinder head, manifold pressure, engine speed, and outside air temperature just to mention a few. These improvements, of course, come at an increased cost on the company’s expenditure, but the airframer is cognizant of its audience. They believe if they raise the price, certain customers may fail to afford them.

And with almost the end of the first quarter of 2021, Robinson has high hopes for the company considering many orders for new aircraft have been placed. He believes this year they’ll make more deliveries as compared to last year.

About FairLifts

At FairLifts, we pride ourselves on providing heavy lift helicopter services for many decades. These helicopters come in handy in construction, air freight, and pipeline inspection amongst many other services. Other unique services we offer include corporate helicopter charters and emergency services.

Photo Credit: Loretta Conley/Robinson Helicopter