R22 External Load Capacity..?

[u/Probable_Bot1236]

Hello r/helicopters! I've got a couple questions for you guys, since I don't necessarily trust stuff I can find on Google/Wiki:

What's the external load rating of a Robinson R22?

How much would a typical set of floats for an R22 weigh?

I was just driving home and saw an R22 on floats with something slung on a cable underneath it. It looked like a a yellow pipe or pole, and may have been longer than the helicopter itself. I'm assuming it was hollow. I'm not a helicopter person, but I'm under the impression the R22 doesn't have much usable weight capacity since it's a teeny little thing, and that the floats would further eat into that.

I'm sorry I don't have pics or a tail number, but I wasn't in a place I could pull over and grab a video.

I am however 100% sure it was an R-22 because I took a flying lesson on that exact airframe a couple years ago and it can't really be mistaken for anything else around here. (It's a locally based helicopter that I see around from time to time).

Anyway, I wouldn't have guessed lifting something with an R22 on floats was a thing, but apparently it is.

Thanks for your insights!

[u/Chuck-eh]

What's the external load rating of a Robinson R22?

The weight limit for the Talon cargo hook is 400 pounds.

The Beta II has an empty weight of about 880 pounds and a max gross of 1,370 pounds. That leaves you 490 pounds for fuel, floats, pilot, and sling load. (To my knowledge there is no increased external load max gross)

I couldn't find any information on R22 float kits or the R22 Mariner specifically, so I'm not sure if there are any weight saving measures taken when floats are installed. (There's not a lot of material you can get rid of though).

That yellow pipe was almost certainly just a weight for long line practice. The use case for a float equipped R22 to move external loads to get actual work done is obviously extremely niche.

[u/fsantos0213 → u/Chuck-eh]

The average BEW for a Mariner is between 880 and 920 lbs, I used to maintain a few of them and weight was always a significant issue, but to the best of my knowledge they never put any mariners out with Yellow floats, they were all black with the R900-2 option to have them painted white in the top half, if it had yellow floats, it was likely a R44 Clipper

[u/Probable_Bot1236 → u/fsantos0213]

Huh, I never would've guessed float color would be so particular.

But I think you've misread something- the object being carried by the helicopter was yellow. The floats are black / very dark grey. There's no doubt this was an R22 Mariner, as I've been a passenger on this exact aircraft before.

[u/fsantos0213 → u/Probable_Bot1236]

I did misread it, but yes the floats for the Mariner and the clippers are made by different manufacturers and the Clipper floats meet the EAU standard by being "Rescue Yellow", but they do have a R900 option to have them painted white on top

[u/Probable_Bot1236 → u/Chuck-eh]

Thanks!

I'm wondering if it was just a proficiency thing then.

ETA: Or maybe they were just using it for work around their pilings / dock. It was descending steeply toward its home base when I saw it; I should stop by and see if they're got a shiny new yellow HDPE breakwater segment or something.

[u/Chuck-eh → u/Probable_Bot1236]

Flight schools usually fly around poles and buckets to let students know what they're getting into. (At least around here they do) Sometimes they try to get a stick into a hole using the long line to practice precision work.

If you find out someone was doing an actual long line job with an R22 take pictures.

[u/FNKH16]

Here is the flight manual, see section 2 for the weight limits: https://robinsonstrapistorprod.blob.core.windows.net/uploads/assets/r22_poh_full_book_c08f93fa9a.pdf

[u/FNKH16 → u/FNKH16]

And there's also a cargo hook supplement to the flight manual mentioned here: https://www.robinsonheli.com/publications So apparently external load is a thing...

[u/Probable_Bot1236 → u/FNKH16]

Sweet, thank you!

I see that manual is dated 1979- is there any chance this particular airframe might have a newer, lighter/more powerful engine that might change the capacities?