Less than 2 weeks ago at AAAA, MG Gill said he wanted to bid a Commercial Solution Offering this summer. Technically pre-decisional, but that's coming up pretty quickly.
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- Thread starter Randy Daytona
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Gen Gill is 1/6 of the decision.
It’s called a General Officer Steering committee for a reason. (Though humorously one of the most influential members still hasn’t pinned his star). Nothing is close to being done.
Then there is the drama of whatever Aviation as a branch decides on, it still goes to TRADOC for their approval, which could get to have some unique delta in it considering who the current commander is.
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I have had a chance to do some flying in the R66 and honestly didn't hate it. Sure, the T-Cyclic looks weird, but within about 5 seconds of lifting off I completely forgot about it. Seriously, it feels, acts, and moves just like any other cyclic. They also did a redesign in 2023 to address the mast-bumping issue.
As far as an IFR Cert, none of the helicopters being seriously considered have one. The AW119 and the Bell 407 GXi are the only two single-engine IFR certified helicopters on the market right now. In my opinion, the 407 is by far the best option out there, but like you said, at close to $5M a copy it's not very competitive.
Also, don't think I'm saying this as some sort of Robinson fanboy - heck, I was a 505 instructor at the Bell Training Academy before I got pulled back on to active duty - but I think people are giving the R66 a lot of flack based on incomplete or inaccurate information, and a lot of, "That ain't the way I did it back in my day" thinking. Ultimately, any trainer the Army goes with will come with compromises, but I think the R66 does check a lot of the right boxes.
So let's say they decide the T-cyclic is too scary and take the R66 off the table. Which aircraft do you think they should go with instead?
When you say "they're working on" you mean Skyryse, not Robinson. Skyryse is one option, sure, but it's not the only option. In fact, newer R66s, like the ones currently being used by Helicopter Institute for Flight School Next are leaving the factory with a Garmin G500 coupled with a GTN-750. There's even an STC out there to refit older R66s with the same Genesys avionics suite that's in the TH-73.
As far as an IFR Cert, none of the helicopters being seriously considered have one. The AW119 and the Bell 407 GXi are the only two single-engine IFR certified helicopters on the market right now. In my opinion, the 407 is by far the best option out there, but like you said, at close to $5M a copy it's not very competitive.
Also, don't think I'm saying this as some sort of Robinson fanboy - heck, I was a 505 instructor at the Bell Training Academy before I got pulled back on to active duty - but I think people are giving the R66 a lot of flack based on incomplete or inaccurate information, and a lot of, "That ain't the way I did it back in my day" thinking. Ultimately, any trainer the Army goes with will come with compromises, but I think the R66 does check a lot of the right boxes.
So let's say they decide the T-cyclic is too scary and take the R66 off the table. Which aircraft do you think they should go with instead?
For the record, I’m currently at Novosel getting to routinely share in the collective unhappiness with anything the way it is, but don’t get that twisted with anything in its current state being concrete or final.
There are some pretty severe fiefdoms in this gestational cesspool that have been able to establish little circles of power, and nobody to include Gill can singularly crush some of the bad trends or previously initiated efforts without a buttload of politicking and money we currently don’t have.
I will whole heartedly support you guys pointing and laughing at anybody introducing themselves as a “tactics instructors.” Misrepresentation and co-opting reputations as SMEs they didn’t earn is like a way of life for some of them. Apparently any sew shop can just make patches guys, who knew.
There are some pretty severe fiefdoms in this gestational cesspool that have been able to establish little circles of power, and nobody to include Gill can singularly crush some of the bad trends or previously initiated efforts without a buttload of politicking and money we currently don’t have.
I will whole heartedly support you guys pointing and laughing at anybody introducing themselves as a “tactics instructors.” Misrepresentation and co-opting reputations as SMEs they didn’t earn is like a way of life for some of them. Apparently any sew shop can just make patches guys, who knew.
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